Ethan Badham says he will be the “proudest man in England” when he leads Spartans out at Twickenham on Saturday (11am kick-off).

The 21-year-old hooker will be centre stage when the Gloucester One champions tackle Goole of Yorkshire Three in the National Junior Vase final at the home of English rugby.

“I still can’t believe it’s going to happen,” said Badham. “I’ll be the proudest man in Gloucester - make that England - when we go out onto the field at Twickenham.

“It only really sank in a couple of days ago. I’ve been having sleepless nights as the excitement builds and builds.”

Badham may have been having sleepless nights but Spartans are living the dream as they prepare for the biggest day in their 90-year history.

And while it has taken the Gloucester club nine decades to play in such a high profile game it has taken Badham only a fraction of the time.

“I only joined the club 18 months ago,” he said. “This is my first full season with them after joining from Matson and it’s incredible what we’ve achieved.

“We might never get the chance again so we’ve got to go out and enjoy it.”

It may be a one-off cup final but a place at Twickenham was definitely on Badham’s radar at the start of the season.

“We sat down at the start of the season and discussed as a team what we wanted to achieve,” he said. “And we said we wanted to win promotion from Gloucester One and get to Twickenham in the National Junior Vase.”

The first box was ticked 10 days ago when they defeated nearest rivals Brockworth 25-22 to claim the title - their second in two seasons after winning Gloucester Two in 2015/16 - and now they are looking to complete a remarkable league and cup double.

Their 32-19 win over Old Whitgiftians last month ensured their place at the showpiece occasion and now they are there they don’t want to finish second best although in the euphoria of that semi-final victory that was not the overriding emotion at the time.

“When we first knew that we were going to Twickenham I think that was all that mattered,” said Badham. “We were going to Twickenham and that was good enough.

“But there’s been a noticeable change in attitude and now we’re going there determined to win. We’ve put in all the hard work and now we want to put the cherry on the cake.”

It turned out to be a slice of great fortune for the go-ahead club when Badham decided to make the short move across the city from Matson.

“I don’t know why I moved,” he admitted. “I suppose I was stuck in the 2nds at Matson and I’d played a couple of games for Spartans so knew what the club were all about.

“Everyone is together at Spartans. We all sit down and have a laugh together. It’s a very welcoming club.”

And what of his role as a captain and a player?

“I hate talking about myself,” he said. But when pressed, he added: “I like to think I’m a hard, physical player. I put my body on the line and give 100 per cent every time I go out on the pitch.

“I’m very lucky because I’ve got some great players around me. They’ve been massive and as a captain I’ve not had to do anything.

“I’m not a shouter. I much prefer to give players a pat on the back and encourage them. They’re good enough to know when they’ve messed up and are able to put it right.

“They’ve made my job easy. It’s been a real team effort and all 18 players know their job and just get on with it.”

Ask him to pick out a couple of players and he will tell you that back row of Jordan Fowke, Luke Foran and Elliot Mayer have been “outstanding”.

Push him on his front row colleagues and he said enthusiastically: “The one and only Tezzer. Tez Connor joined us just before Christmas and he’s a great tighthead. We’ve got a small pack and we were always getting pushed back but since he’s come to the club that doesn’t happen anymore.”

And of loosehead Rich Groves he was equally upbeat. “He’s a technically brilliant prop,” said Badham.

There will be no shortage of support for Spartans on their big day with eight coaches already booked to make the trip to Twickenham.

The team will be heading up to London on Friday and will be given a stadium tour in the afternoon before settling in for the night in a nearby hotel ahead of the biggest game of their careers.

Badham has played in a couple of Premiership club stadiums - at Kingsholm and Sixways for Matson and Matson under-17s respectively.

He won at Kingsholm but lost at Worcester and is determined to be on the right side of the result on Saturday although he knows it won’t be easy.

“I’ve seen a few videos of Goole and they look alright,” he said. “It’s going to be a hard game but we’re up for the challenge.”

Win or lose there will be a party at Spartans’ clubhouse on Saturday night.

“If we win I’ll be getting p***** to celebrate,” he said. “If we lose I’ll be drowning my sorrows.”

The whole of Gloucestershire hopes it is the former.