Leaders Chosen Hill head to Cheltenham North on Saturday knowing that a win would put clear daylight between themselves and their closest rivals in the Gloucestershire Premier.

Chosen Hill have a nine-point advantage over second-placed Cheltenham North and victory at Stoke Road would see them take another big step towards reclaiming the place in Western Counties North that they lost at the end of last season.

Not that Chosen Hill head coach Rich Planchant is taking anything granted on Saturday, even though they have won 14 out of 14 in the league this season.

“Cheltenham North will be a big test,” he said. “We beat them by 50 points earlier in the season, but we ran in a few tries at the end. It should be a good game.”

That defeat remains North’s only reverse in the league – they’ve also drawn one – and they are enjoying an outstanding season themselves after coming up from Gloucestershire One at the end of the previous campaign.

A playing record of played 14, won 12, drawn 1, lost 1, would in normal circumstances be good enough to take a club to the top of the table, but Chosen Hill, who have scored more than 550 points and conceded only 83, have been going like a train since day one.

“We’re in the position we wanted to be,” said Planchant, who took over at Chosen Hill at the start of the season.

“The players have worked hard, and they deserve to be in this position. This is a tricky league, there are a lot of good teams who are all playing different brands of rugby.”