It has taken a long time for James Simpson-Daniel’s children to believe that their father was once a professional rugby player let alone one of the most prodigious talents of the early years of the Premiership with Gloucester.

“We were coming down the stairs at Kingsholm and there was some memorabilia on the walls, including a photo of me with the caption ‘Simpson-Daniel scored two tries’,” Simpson-Daniel says. “One of my boys said ‘are you sure that’s you, Dad?’ And I was like ‘my name is right there. What more do you need?’”

Those photos provided a snapshot of Gloucester’s glory days, at least in the professional era, when the Cherry & Whites topped the table three times between 2003 and 2007 when Simpson-Daniel became the Shed’s favourite son. For the first time in quite a while, a similar level of optimism is brewing in Kingsholm after Gloucester’s flying start to the season.

Anyone who remembers Simpson-Daniel in his pomp will recall the most devastating attacking runner of his generation alongside Jason Robinson. He could skin a player with his hands, feet or even with a glance of his eyes. Even the greats were not safe. Lawrence Dallaglio was one victim. Jonah Lomu, with a trademark outside break, another, but Simpson-Daniel derived no great pleasure from those scalps.

“I don’t like to show off,” Simpson-Daniel says. “People always bring up the Jonah try but the only reason they do is because it was against Jonah. He did that against far more people than I ever did. If you made a list of everyone he ran over, ran round or handed off, you’d run out of ink.”

In fact, Simpson-Daniel was not even that bothered about scoring despite holding the title of Gloucester’s record try-scorer. Growing up as a fly-half, he was always far more fascinated by the construction of a try rather than the conclusion.

“I never really cared about scoring,” Simpson-Daniel says. “It was only because I didn’t really have a kicking game that I got moved to the wing but I kept playing as a fly-half with an 11 on my back. I got far more happiness out of assists than I did in scoring tries. Anyone can dot the ball down. I have no interest in a run-in, dot-down hat-trick. I would much rather be setting someone else up and I am sure I would have more assists than tries in my career. That was one of the things that gave me the most satisfaction.”

Simpson-Daniel deserved far more than the 10 caps he won for England. He was desperately unlucky. Just as he broke into the team, he contracted glandular fever. Another time, on tour in Australia, an innocuous knock in training led to him being in hospital for four days. There were many other injuries.

Yet there was also the feeling that he was never backed by certain coaches, following in a rich English tradition of distrusting the unorthodox or free-spirited. “Maybe with some coaches I wasn’t their cup of tea,” Simpson-Daniel says. “There was a match against Italy where I missed a couple of tackles on Denis Dallan where I went too high, got handed off and then I was dropped.

“I have seen other players who maybe have not had a great game but are given a chance to back it up the following week, but I never seemed to have had that.”

If anything his England omissions brought him closer into Kingsholm’s bosom and for Simpson-Daniel there was no greater feeling in sport than hearing the Shed in full voice. “It shouldn’t make a difference, but it really does,” Simpson-Daniel says. “For some reason when the Shed are behind you, you get off the floor a second quicker than you would normally. I don’t know if that is just subconscious. I have played at a quiet Kingsholm and it is totally different. You can see it when you run out and if the corners are a bit bare. But when it is full and they are behind you, there is nothing else like it.”

It remains a lasting regret for Simpson-Daniel that Gloucester never delivered a title to reward their supporters’ backing, particularly when they finished 15 points clear of Wasps only to lose to them in the first iteration of the play-offs in the 2002-03 season. “We had such a good season and we topped the table by a considerable margin,” Simpson-Daniel says. “What sticks in my throat about that is for 99 per cent of the season we were the best team in the country and we never got to lift a trophy.”

There have been numerous false dawns since then, so Simpson-Daniel is not ready to go all-in on George Skivington’s team. The visit of Bath on Friday night will provide a litmus test of Gloucester’s revival and Simpson-Daniel says they need to bring the fear factor back to Kingsholm if they are to be true contenders. “It has been extremely promising.

“I have played with quite a few of the guys in the set-up. I knew they were hopeful this season was going to be much better with their signings and some new management. They have got a few injuries now so it will be interesting to see how they go.

“When I started here, it was fortress Kingsholm. We won all our matches at home. I am hoping they will bring that back, making Kingsholm a horrible place to come to. I am sure George will remember how hard a place it was to win back in the day. If you win all your home games it puts you in a great place to qualify for top four.”