John Barnes describes it as “an incredible journey” and the good news for supporters of Hartpury rugby is that there are absolutely no signs of it ending any time soon.

Hartpury’s flagship team are preparing to embark on their second season in the Championship – one level below the elite clubs in the land – with director of rugby John Barnes hopeful that they can improve on last year’s 10th-placed finish in the 12-strong division.

That was no mean feat of course and Barnes is experienced enough to know that staying in the division is the first aim this season.

Not that that is his only aim and he sees no reason why they can’t improve on that and maybe climb into mid-table this time around.

“Last season was really tough,” he said. “It was a massive step up and we face another tough challenge this season.

“A good number of the clubs who will be at the top of the division are fully professional and they have some very good players.

“We had Bristol last season and now that they have gone up they’ve been replaced by London Irish who will also be very strong.

“Then you’ve got teams like Ealing but Cornish Pirates and Jersey showed that it is possible to compete at the top end of the table.”

The Pirates finished fourth and Jersey fifth and Barnes believes that Hartpury have what it takes to compete with teams like Richmond, Nottingham and London Scottish and climb into mid-table.

“That’s not unrealistic,” he insisted. “Apart from two games we were very, very competitive in every game last season. We could have won another three or four games and if we had we’d have finished in mid-table. With a bit of luck, it’s possible.”

Coventry’s promotion in place of Rotherham may make that task just that little bit tougher but Barnes has every faith in his players.

“It’s been an incredible journey,” he said. “People still talk about our National One season but that was a long time ago now.

“What is really pleasing is that a good number of our players are going on to play for Premiership clubs.

“We’ve also got former players playing for Cinderford and current players at Drybrook and Coney Hill. It’s great that we can help out other clubs because this is an outstanding rugby area.”