An incredible amount of hard work, huge perseverance and no little skill has taken Drybrook Rugby Club to within touching distance of South West Premier – the league currently populated by the likes of Dings Crusaders, Bournemouth and Maidenhead.

It’s a level they have never played at before but with two games to go the Forest of Dean club have got their noses in front for the first time this season, holding a two-point advantage over long-time leaders Exeter University.

It is between these two for the title, with the runners-up at least having the consolation of a play-off against the second-placed team in South West One East to determine the third promoted side.

That Drybrook have got themselves in this position at all is really quite remarkable because they have been playing catch-up since day one after losing at home to fierce rivals Newent in their opening game of the season.

Undeterred, they have remained on the coat tails of Exeter University all season, even when the students were picking up bonus-point wins for fun.

A couple of postponed games over the festive period left Drybrook with further ground to make up, but make up the ground they did, so much so that their only other defeat this season came – very surprisingly – at struggling Clevedon.

The Drybrook faithful really started to believe that this could be their year of years – the club are celebrating their 125th anniversary in 2018 – when they went down to Devon and defeated Exeter 31-28 in the middle of last month.

Even that wasn’t enough to propel them to the top but the students’ narrow defeat at Keynsham coupled with Drybrook’s 31-27 win at Launceston on Saturday has allowed the Forest of Dean club to grab pole position.

Not that it gets any easier for Drybrook because their final two games are at Matson on Saturday and then Newent seven days later.

Two games against two teams who would like nothing more than to put one over their neighbours and spoil their title party.

Not that forwards coach Chris Fortey, the one-time Gloucester hooker, is focusing too much on the opposition.

“It’s two games,” he said. “We’ve got to get away from the fact that they’re local derbies and just look at what we can control.

“The message is that we need two wins. It doesn’t matter how we get them but it’s there for us to take.

“It will be tough and very hard work but what this club have achieved is brilliant, just brilliant.”

Matson have got a big part to play in deciding which team finishes the season as champions because they host Exeter University on the final day of the season. On Saturday the students are at home to Launceston.

It promises to be a fantastic finale to the season.