Rupert Foote has given blood, sweat and tears to Stroud Rugby Club – and he’s unlikely to stop donating to the cause any time soon.

The Western Counties North club’s director of rugby is as passionate about the club today as he was almost 40 years ago when he first wore the blue and white shirt as a 16-year-old.

Foote was a tough, uncompromising second row back in the day and he can remember his first game for the club in 1978 as if it were yesterday.

“It was against Ledbury and I played for the Gothamites which were our third team,” he said. “I remember Russ Hillier, who is now our president, was in that side as well.

“In those days, we used to run four senior teams and an under-21 side.”

Foote learned his rugby at Archway School in Stroud and his ability – he could also play number eight – was evident from the day he walked into Fromehall Park.

It was a good time to be playing rugby, too, because in those days there was no league rugby and clubs like Stroud played all the top teams in the land.

“We had an excellent fixture list,” said Foote, who played alongside Stan Price in the engine room making his debut at US Portsmouth. “We played Gloucester, Bath, Bristol and all the London clubs.

“We also played in the Bass Merit Table. I think there were 12 teams in it – teams like Lydney, Cheltenham, Taunton, St Ives and Redruth.”

So, what did you get if you won the merit table?

“Nothing,” said Foote, “there was no promotion.”

And if you finished bottom?

“A kick up the backside,” he laughed, “we didn’t have relegation or anything like that.”

What they did have, though, were some very competitive matches.

“We used to go down to St Ives and play against the Corin brothers,” he said. “They were a bit tasty. And there was Jeremy Weech at Lydney, that was always a lineout battle.”

Stroud, and Foote, more than held their own, however, winning the merit table in 1982.

“That was some season,” remembers Foote. “We beat Gloucester at Fromehall Park that season as well.

“We used to play 44-45 games a season. We’d play on Wednesdays and Saturdays. We used to play teams like Penarth, Lydney and Cinderford in midweek.

“I used to call those games at Cinderford the Battle of Cadogan. We’d play in the fog and the only person on your side was the tea lady who felt sorry for you after the game!

“We’d play Lydney on an Easter Monday and then slot in another midweek game against them wherever we could.”

In those days, of course, players didn’t switch clubs nearly as much as they do today so you could be coming up against the same opponents once, twice or in some cases three times a season for a decade or more.

“I remember having a few tussles with John Orwin and Steve Boyle at Gloucester,” recalled Foote, now 55. “And then there were the likes of Mike Teague and John Brain – you didn’t want those two running all over you!”

Foote actually played alongside Teague when he had a handful of games with Stroud in the early part of his career.

“He came over with Mike Longstaff,” said Foote, “and John Gadd came over for five to six years at the end of his career. He was a great player for us, one of the best back rows I ever played with.

“We had a great Stroud/Gloucester relationship. Paul Taylor, Jim Breeze, Dave Spencer, Jerry Perrins and many more played for both clubs.”

Foote has nothing but fond memories of Teague, who went on play for England and the British Lions with such distinction.

“He was a tough person,” he remembers. “You could tell he was going to be something special even from an early age.

“I also remember playing against Phil Blakeway. He broke three of my ribs!”

The introduction of league rugby in the late 1980s meant that Stroud’s games against the elite clubs became more and more infrequent.

Not that league rugby wasn’t embraced by the South Gloucestershire club.

“I remember when I was captain in the 92-93 season and we won promotion back into South West One,” Foote said. “We won the County Cup that season as well.

“I remember we beat Matson in the final at Kingsholm. We won 15-13 and Martyn Kimber kicked the winning penalty in the last minute of the extra time.

“It was a pretty big deal because Princess Anne was there in a Gloucestershire RFU capacity and she met all the players before the game.”

So, what was it like receiving the cup from the Princess?

“I remember going up the steps at Kingsholm and when I got to Princess Anne I leant over towards her as if to kiss her,” he laughed. “All the club’s committee were behind her and they were shaking their heads!”

Foote was to have a couple more seasons at first-team level before making way for the next generation of players in the mid-1990s.

So, what sort of player was he?

“I was a lineout man who knew what he was doing in a ruck situation,” he said. “In those days there was none of this come through the gate stuff that you get now; whoever dived on the ball won the ball.”

Those skills that had stood him in such good stead for more than 15 years were not lost to Stroud rugby as he spent the next decade and a half plying his trade for the club’s 2nd XV, which he captained and managed.

He only gave up playing five years ago and continued to manage the 2nd XV until taking over as manager of the 1st XV before becoming director of rugby at the start of last season.

“We changed the structure of the club,” Foote said. “We’d always been run by a committee but now we have five directors who have been nominated and voted in for three years. I think it’s the way forward and things are a bit more transparent.”

Foote has been helped in his new role by the fact that his 23-year-old son Harry is captain of the 1st XV, a position he has held for the past three years. It’s almost a case of the club putting their best feet forward!

“When we’re talking rugby, it’s more of a business partnership,” said Foote senior, “it’s not really a father and son thing.”

Foote’s oldest son Charlie is a prop for the club’s 2nd XV but neither were forced to follow in dad’s hoof prints.

“Harry didn’t show much interest in rugby when he was younger,” said Foote. “He never really liked it.

“He played football when he first went to school – his mum used to go and watch him play a lot – and it wasn’t until he went to Rednock School and met Andre Sharpe, who had a short spell at Gloucester, that he started to show some interest in rugby.

“That was when he was about 14. One day he said he fancied having a run-out so he played a couple of games for Dursley before playing for Stroud under-14s and 15s.”

Like his dad, young Harry clearly had potential. So much so that within a few short years the inside centre was leading the club’s 1st XV out onto the pitch.

And also like his dad, he is totally committed to the club and played the back end of last season with a knee injury that was still niggling him at the start of pre-season.

Foote senior is understandably very proud of his boy.

“He’s a cross between Richard Mogg and John Bayliss,” he said. “He reminds me of them. He’s a straight runner but he can play a bit as well.”

Foote junior will again be a key player for Stroud this season, although his dad is reluctant to say how the club will fare this season.

“I don’t like saying we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that,” he said. “No season is going to be easy. The whole aim is to go out and win games but no teams roll over these days whatever level they’re playing.”

What he will say is that the club have some very good players who can help them build on their top five finish last time out.

“No. 8 Phil Middlemass is back training after dislocating his shoulder,” he said. “He’s a very fit guy and is instrumental to the team.

“Full-back Sam Hester who came from Minchinhampton four years ago is another. We’ve got a good set of backs and Sam is very talented. He’s safe under the high ball and can kick you out of trouble.

“Then there’s Dan Gordon who plays 10. I call him Jairzinho after the Brazil footballer because he’s got an immense amount of talent and makes something from nothing.

“Phil Frewin is a utility forward who started in the front row and did a brilliant job but he also played in the back row and can play in the centre. He’s a real player for the future.

“And we’ve got Sam Leworthy back this season. He’s just returned from New Zealand and can play centre, wing or full-back. He’s a very strong runner. He’s 6ft 2in and looks a bit like a basketball player.”

Foote talks with real authority and affection for the players in his charge and after 30 years in the game has strong views, as you’d expect, on the way rugby is moving forward.

“The professional era had to come and league rugby is here to stay,” he said, “but I do have a couple of gripes.

“I think kids are starting to play too young. Some are starting as young as four or five and once they get to 16 you never see them again.

“The other thing that concerns me is the exceptionally good players who are ring-fenced and taken into the academies.

“These kids can give so much to league rugby but you never see them once they’re in an academy. I’ve been around a long time and the last thing I’d ever do is stop a player from progressing.

“But let these youngsters play a season of league rugby. Let them dominate and then they can go forward on the strength of a good season and with a greater knowledge of what rugby is all about.”

Foote also wants to see greater structure for 2nd and 3rd team rugby.

“There needs to be proper, well run leagues for these teams,” he said. “If players want to play what I call pub rugby, fair enough, but for those who want to play a decent level of rugby then I think it’s so important that the administration is good.

“I also think we’ve got to be more flexible with games at this level. The players sometimes aren’t quite as committed as 1st XV players so if Gloucester are playing Leicester at Kingsholm on a Saturday afternoon, switch the 2nd XV game to a noon kick-off, or a Friday evening or a Sunday afternoon.”

While they may be issues that he has little influence over, Foote is very pleased with the coaching set-up he has under him this season.

“We’ve brought in Edward King from Cinderford as our forwards coach” Foote said. “He was at Plymouth Albion and Graham Dawe was his mentor.

“Lex Brookes is the backs coach. He’s been a valuable first team player as a 10, 13 and 15 and is now doing an excellent job as backs coach.”

It’s a good team and Foote is indebted to his wife Toni for allowing him to get on with what he does best.

“She does a lot of work behind the scenes,” he said. “All the registrations, that sort of thing. She’s brilliant.”