The waiting is almost over for Hartpury’s players as they prepare to take on Gloucester for the first time.

The pre-season game takes place at Kingsholm tomorrow night and Hartpury director of rugby John Barnes confirmed that there was an obvious level of expectation throughout the squad.

“The players that are involved are really looking forward to it,” he said, as Hartpury face up to their second taste of Premiership opposition in the space of less than two weeks after their game against Worcester Warriors at Sixways.

Tomorrow’s match will have the feel of an old boys’ reunion for a number of the players in both teams.

Ignoring current injuries, the Gloucester squad features a large number of players with Hartpury connections, with the likes of Tom Savage, Henry Trinder, Ross Moriarty, Lewis Ludlow, Gareth Evans, Ben Vellacott, Billy Burns, Callum Braley, Jason Woodward and Charlie Sharples all having spent time at the college.

Equally, Hartpury will be fielding four players – Harry Randall, Alex Craig, Will Safe and debutant Henry Walker – who are members of the academy at Gloucester. All except Walker have studied and played at Hartpury in the recent past.

Despite that – and the satisfaction that comes from making a contribution to the Charlie Sharples testimonial year – Barnes insists that the main value of the game is as preparation for next weekend’s opening Championship clash at Bristol Rugby.

“It’s another game for us to see what our guys are all about against a high-quality Premiership squad,” he said. “We’ll rest a couple of players who have already featured in our first two pre-season matches and that creates the chance for some other lads to get some valuable minutes on the pitch.”

Hartpury come into the match on the back of a convincing 66-12 win over Rosslyn Park last weekend.

A Hartpury XV will play Clifton Rugby tonight (Thursday, 7.30pm) at the Gillman’s Ground. A 26-man squad has been named, featuring a combination of RFC and BUCS (student) players. Entry is free.