Oli Newman takes over as captain of Cirencester Rugby Club this season and he certainly won’t be short of support.

Because when he leads the team out he’ll have by his side his two brothers – Luke and Noah – who are also first-team players at the Gloucester One club.

And it’s very much a family affair because dad John was a player back in the day while a fourth brother – James – is also coming through the ranks at the club.

Oli plays in the centre while Luke and Noah play in the forwards – in the second row and hooker respectively – and club captain Will McCarthy is certainly backing Oli, who is in his mid-20s, to be a success.

“I hope so,” he said. “He’s been playing for the club since the minis. He’s a Cirencester player through and through which I think is important.

“He’s committed to Cirencester and he’s a committed rugby player. He works hard on and off the pitch.

“He encourages other players and because of his age has good connections with the youth section. He knows a lot of the younger guys coming through.”

Andy Deacon continues as the club’s director of rugby but there are two new coaches to support him.

“Harry Cochrane and Luke Stratford will work under Deacs,” said McCarthy. “Harry will look after the backs and Luke the forwards.

“They both play for Hartpury so I think we have a good coaching set-up.”

McCarthy, who took on the role of non-playing captain last season after rupturing ankle ligaments at the end of the previous campaign, has taken part in some of the sessions and said: “It’s just for my own fitness, the sessions were very well organised. It’s good to hear fresh voices.”

Cirencester were relegated from Gloucester Premier at the end of last season so what constitutes a successful campaign this time around?

“I think you always want to be as successful as you can and get promoted,” said McCarthy. “But I think we should be focussing on consolidation, making sure that we are supporting the young guys coming into the first team.

“A number of older players have re-emerged so hopefully combined with the youngsters we should have a good mix.”

These days McCarthy, who has just turned 31, is also on the club’s committee and having only recently stopped playing he knows that success is more likely on the field if things are right off the pitch.

“We’ve done a lot of work renovating the clubhouse,” he said. “We want to make it more appealing to a wider audience because we want to improve our links with the town.

“The rugby club is a big part of Cirencester life, we’ve had some fantastic players over the years and have got a great history.

“We’ve got a very hardworking committee. There’s a strong sense of everyone pulling in the right direction and making the club successful on and off the pitch.

“We’ve had a couple of tough years but I’m confident that things will be much better now.”