The final farewell to 2018 is likely to have been welcomed by a good number of people – Theresa May, Jose Mourinho and former Australian cricket captain Steve Smith spring immediately to mind – but it’s fair to say that there may have been some who weren’t singing Auld Lang Syne with the same gusto on Monday night as in previous years.

That could certainly apply to members and players of Cheltenham North Rugby Club, who ended last year with nine wins on the bounce, a run that has seen them storm into title contention in Gloucestershire One.

“We’re on an amazing run,” said club stalwart Malcolm Kedward. “We’ve got some good young players coming through. They are good lads and hopefully the good days are returning but we’ve got to continue our good run this year.”

That starts on Saturday with a trip to Smiths, who are one of only two clubs to have beaten the North in the league this season.

That was at the start of the season – Smiths won 33-12 to inflict a second successive defeat on the North following an 11-10 opening-day loss at Ross-on-Wye.

Since losing to their near neighbours the North have been unbeaten and Kedward said: “I’m not making excuses but we had a lot of players missing that day. I think only two players who played that day will be playing on Saturday.”

The North’s fine run of form has coincided with Damien Dinwiddy taking on the captaincy full time, a run that has seen them climb into second spot, just two points adrift of Ross-on-Wye.

It’s a tight division with Cirencester, Old Cryptians and Old Colstonians also in the title mix. And the race for the title could go all the way to the final round of matches on 13th April, a day when the North host Ross-on-Wye.

“Anybody can beat anybody,” said Kedward. “We had a real battle at Old Cryptians before Christmas. We won 7-6 and I said at the time that those are the games we need to win if we are to win the title.”

Kedward has seen it all and done it all in his 50-plus years with Cheltenham North and Saturday’s game with Smiths will certainly rekindle some special memories.

Smiths play their home games at the Prince of Wales Stadium these days, a ground which used to host the annual Cheltenham and District Combination cup finals.

The North were the dominant club in the area from the mid-80s through to the early 90s and Kedward, who these days is the club’s ambassador, admitted: “It will be nice to go back and play there.”