Preparing for a new rugby season has always been tough, something that Old Patesians tighthead prop Connor Thompson knows better than most.

Although he won’t be 28 until September, Thompson is preparing for his 10th season with the club and he admits that this pre-season has been tougher than ever before.

When he spoke to The Local Answer, the country was in the grip of a Mediterranean style heatwave and, rather like farmers and gardeners, he was desperate for some rain.

“It’s been tough as you can imagine because of the weather,” he said.

“There’s no in-between at the Pats. The ground is either rock hard and like concrete or it’s a mudbath. At the moment it’s like the Sahara Desert which isn’t ideal for a 19-stone tighthead!”

And the players have certainly been put through their paces.

“There’s been a lot of strength and conditioning work and working on how we react when we’re fatigued,” Thompson explained.

“We were fairly fit last season but we could be better. We’ve been analysing our decisions with the aim of making better decisions when we’re fatigued.

“We’ve got to be a lot more clinical when we get opportunities to score.”

Those opportunities are likely to be fewer than last season, of course, because the Pats will now be playing in South West Premier after last season’s South West One East title-winning campaign.

“Yes, it’s going to be difficult,” admitted Thomson. “We’ve been at this level before but there are a few new teams in the division.

“We’ve got seven trips to either Devon or Cornwall so that says it all about how hard it is going to be.

“But this is the level we want to be as a club. We’ve been quite successful at this level for a few years in the past and we’d like to re-establish ourselves in the division.”

The step up means an even greater commitment by the players and that is something that Thompson, who has been playing 20-odd games a season for the club since he made his debut in 2009, is fully aware of.

“Yes, it is an unwritten rule,” said the club captain, “but at the same no one gets paid to play at the Pats. The coaches are very understanding that sometimes players have work commitments or other commitments.”

Thompson has plenty of experience to call on after his near 10 years with the club and he says he has seen the game change significantly over that period.

“It’s crazy how it’s changed,” he said. “The changes in professional rugby have filtered down to the lower leagues. It’s the speed and physicality. The size of players is going through the roof.

“Gone are the days when players can play on a Saturday and then expect to go full on smash at training the following week.

“Sometimes it takes me until Tuesday or Wednesday to recover and then you’re looking at the following Saturday’s game.”

Fortunately for Pats there is a strong leadership group at the club because as well as Thompson, hooker Chris Dean will continue as 1st XV captain with George Angell and Josh Stevens as his vice-captains.

Hugh Howes will captain the 2nd XV and Jonathan Bullock the 3rds.