In another life, Tom Anderson may have been a captain in the Army or a captain of industry.

As it is, in this life he is a captain in rugby and has been in charge at Coney Hill for the best part of two seasons.

It is a job that comes pretty naturally to him because he was captain of Hucclecote – as well as their age group teams – before making the short trip from Churchdown Lane to Metz Way at the start of the 2015/16 season.

Within a few months of switching to Coney Hill he had taken over as skipper and the 25-year-old hooker has done the job ever since.

“It’s something I enjoy,” he said. “It was quite challenging when I first took over at Coney Hill but I enjoy a challenge.”

It certainly was a challenge back then.

“The club had got promoted to South West One West after winning Western Counties North the previous season. That’s why I joined Coney Hill because they had a good squad and I wanted to challenge myself at a higher level.

“But it was much tougher after we got promoted. We were losing games and I got asked to take over as captain halfway through the season.”

By then relegation was all but inevitable but the go-ahead club – far from being put off by the experience of two years ago – are now looking to climb back up to that level again.

Club Chairman Simon Harrison told The Local Answer in the summer that the aim was back-to-back promotions and that is something Anderson would love to make a reality. It would certainly add another coat of gloss to what is already a pretty impressive captaincy record for the self-employed painter and decorator.

“It would be nice to see the club play at a higher level next season and then even higher after that,” Anderson said. “We are ambitious and want to be up there with Matson and Old Centralians.”

Anderson of course will have a key role over the next couple of seasons and more, so what makes a good captain?

“Just to be captain you’ve got to have the respect of all the players,” he said. “You’re the one who is leading them and you’ve got to set an example to them in terms of attitude on the pitch.”

Man-management is also a big part of the role these days.

“I like to think I give motivational speeches before games,” Anderson continued. “I’m not a screamer and shouter, I like to talk to the players on the pitch.”

By his own admission, Anderson does a lot of talking once the referee has blown the first whistle and a lot of that chat is directed at the man in the middle.

“I do like to talk to the referee,” he laughed. “It’s a big part of being a captain. I’m constantly talking to them. I like to have a laugh and joke with them and keep them on side.”

The way rugby players talk to the ref is very different to the way footballers behave towards a referee of course.

“There’s none of that surrounding the referee in rugby,” Anderson said. “You have to respect the referee. They’re giving up their Saturday afternoon so that we can play a game of rugby so why should they get a load of abuse?”

Anderson’s is a good message and it’s one that he will certainly pass on to his son when he is older – Anderson’s wife Bianca gave birth to Rory just before the start of this season.

And what’s the betting that baby Rory’s first words when he starts to speak aren’t ‘mummy’ or ‘daddy’ but ‘Coney Hill’?

“Yes,” laughed his proud dad, “he’s already got a Coney Hill baby grow! One of the players Andy MacRae and his wife Lucy bought it for him. He looks good in it!”