Old Patesians Rugby Club mean business this season.

Four more players have committed to the South West One East side ahead of the new campaign – utility forward Bryce White, scrum-half Darren Moore and back rows Jake Worthington and Rich Hance.

The signings come hot on the heels of the club confirming last week that they had signed prop Dan Burnham, fly-half Tom Eddolls and versatile back Lee Hathaway.

Head coach Craig Jones is delighted with the new captures.

“Bryce and Darren are rejoining the club,” he said. “Bryce was a very powerful, big front row forward before he injured his back.

“There’s every chance he’ll switch to six or eight this season and he’s certainly dynamic enough to play in those positions at this level. He’s going to work on his fitness but it’s great to have him back.”

Moore is another who is returning to a club that he knows well.

“Darren has played a ridiculous amount of games for the first-team over the years,” Jones said. “He took a bit of time off when he became a dad and played a handful of games for Cirencester but he’s now decided he wants to give it another go back at Pats.

“He’s got a wealth of experience and will pressure Takuya Osaki for the scrum-half spot.”

Jones is also excited by the acquisition of youngsters Worthington and Hance.

Worthington is about to start life as a student at the University of Gloucestershire and, says Jones, “randomly appeared at Old Pats towards the end of last season”.

“He’s a back row and was outstanding in the Senior Cup final when he went on for the last half-hour against Saracens,” added Jones. “And that was without knowing any of the structures and systems. He’s a young boy and he’s in very good shape and he’s going to give it a real good shot.”

Hance, at 21, is a couple of years older than Worthington and is described by Jones as “a local gem”.

He has joined the club from Cheltenham North and is another back row player.

“I’ve never seen him play,” admitted Jones, “but our forwards coach Mark Peacey has seen him grow up through the ages and speaks extremely highly of him.

“It’s quite exciting to see how he fits in. From what I’ve seen of him so far he has got a lot of raw talent. He’ll be a big part of our squad. There’s going to be a lot of competition for back row places and you need that strength in depth when you get injuries.”

Jones is delighted with the way things are shaping up ahead of the Pats’ first league fixture at home to Oxford Harlequins on Saturday 2nd September.

And far from last season being regarded as a disappointment after the club just missed out on promotion, Jones looks back on the campaign with plenty of satisfaction.

“Last season was really positive in so many ways,” he said, “because everyone bought into what we are trying to do. They trusted their balls skills and wanted to go out and play rugby.

“We’re in a lot better place now at this stage of pre-season than we have been for quite a long time.”