New pitch, new facilities, new management team.

Things are certainly moving on apace at Cheltenham Tigers Rugby Club as they look ahead with some confidence to the new season in Western Counties North.

One of the things that hasn’t changed is the 1st XV captain – James Hillier will lead the side for a fifth season and that’s most definitely a positive as well because although he lives some 20 miles away in Upper Rissington, talk to Hillier for a few minutes and it’s clear he is a Cheltenham Tigers man through and through.

The 26-year-old, who plays in the second row or back row, first played for the club’s under-11s in the early noughties and apart from a two-year spell with Cheltenham Saracens – when he helped them win a promotion – he has been with the club ever since.

“Cheltenham are a really, really good club,” he said. “I started with them when I was quite young and went all the way through the minis and juniors and then into the Colts before playing for the first team.”

A lot has changed at the club since he first started – not least the move to their current home at The Newlands some 10-plus years ago – but Hillier is certainly not one of those people who is anti-change.

Quite the opposite in fact and he is excited by what the club’s new-look management team can add to the flagship team this season.

Two of them – Ross Nelmes and Leroy Hughes – are Cheltenham boys through and through while the third, Jack Petelo, is a cousin of Gloucester legend Terry Fanolua and has joined the club from Old Richians.

Nelmes has taken on the role of first-team manager while Hughes is the club’s new head coach. Petelo, who was born in Samoa and has played rugby in New Zealand, has joined as a coach.

“We’ve got a really good management team,” enthused Hillier. “Ross Nelmes was involved with the United and has always been a Cheltenham man, just like Leroy, who played in the first team alongside our chairman Steve Ratcliffe back in the day.

“And Jack Petelo is a really good bloke who said he liked where the club are going.”

And Petelo, who lives in Bishop’s Cleeve, will certainly have been impressed by the new artificial grass pitch that will be used for the first time at The Newlands this season as well as the spanking new changing rooms that have just been built.

“The new pitch will suit our style 100 per cent,” added Hillier. “We play an expansive style of rugby so it will be ideal.

“It’s a privilege to call The Newlands our home ground with all the new facilities.”

Hillier is clearly looking forward to his first competitive game on the new pitch, so what type of captain is he?

“I try to lead by example,” he said. “I’m at training twice a week and I enjoy leading the boys out on a Saturday. I’ve got a lot of friends at the club.”

And if he has a choice, would he play in the second row or back row?

“Wherever I’m selected,” he laughed, “there are no player privileges here!”

Cheltenham’s supporters will be hoping that the performances on the pitch reflect the new-found confidence at the club and the signs were certainly good at the back end of last season.

A four-game winning run in March and April saw them secure their place in Western Counties North for another season and they also won the Cheltenham Combination Senior Cup, while the 2nd XV won the Junior Cup.

While that was obviously a good way to finish, it couldn’t hide some of the problems that the club had faced for much of the league campaign – most notably the fact that they conceded 872 points in their 26 games.

“We had a meeting and we know we must address our defence,” admitted Hillier. “We conceded the most points in the division and it cost us dearly.

“We struggled for player consistency in terms of availability but we’ve addressed that and identified what we want to achieve.”

So what is the aim this season?

“We want to be in the top four by Christmas,” said Hillier. “If all is going well, who knows, we could push for the top two. There’s no reason why we can’t, there is so much talent at the club.

“We want to make Newlands Park a bit of a place to come, a bit of a fortress. It’s really important for morale to go up to Christmas unbeaten at home.”

Hillier clearly believes that the good times are just around the corner for the club.

“We’ve had a hard three or four years but we’ve stabilised,” he said. “There’s a lot going on at the club and if we get some good results that should help us to attract new players.

“That will help us build and it could have a snowball effect. It’s a long term thing but we want to get Cheltenham back to where they were – in the national league.

“They’re a fantastic club with a great history – 110 years ago they played the All Blacks and there aren’t too many clubs who can say that.”

Indeed not. And while Cheltenham do have a proud history, Hillier is confident that the future is very bright too.