Old Cryptians are clearly a club on the up and Chad Crosby, as captain of the 1st XV, has clearly played a big part in that upturn in fortunes.

The 26-year-old has been at the club since the mid-noughties when he signed up as an under-13, but while the good times are in plentiful supply around the Gloucestershire One club these days that hasn’t always been the case.

It’s been only in the past three or four years that the feelgood factor has returned to a club that were founded as long ago as 1925.

Crosby has known the bad times as well as the good – “I stuck through it,” he said - and he’s certainly enjoying the good times now.

But although there were some difficult seasons – the club dropped into Gloucestershire Three at one stage – it’s also fair to say that those tough times gave Crosby the chance to fast-track his career.

“I got into the 1st XV pretty quickly,” he said. “In those days we were in Gloucestershire Two and we weren’t nearly as strong as we are now.

“We weren’t running a 3rd XV and sometimes couldn’t get a 2nd team out.”

When former Chosen Hill School pupil Crosby first broke into senior rugby close on a decade ago he was a hooker.

Now he is predominantly a 7 although he can play at blindside, and, unsurprisingly, he is happier playing in the back row than the front row.

“Much happier,” he laughed.

So did he drop back once he became captain?

“No,” he said. “I still played hooker after I was captain. I can still play hooker if needed but I lost some weight and I don’t think I’m big enough to play in the front row now.

“I’m a better back row. I’m a worker, I do the dog work, a lot of the stuff that people don’t see.”

Crosby, who admitted that he was a big football fan when he was younger, took over as captain at the relatively young age of 20.

“Tom Barnes came in as captain but then injury forced him into early retirement,” he recalled. “It was six or seven games in and I was handed the captaincy until the end of the season.

“I stood for it at the end-of-season AGM and I was elected unopposed and I’ve never been opposed since which is quite nice.”

Indeed it is, so what sort of captain is Crosby?

“I’m not quite sure,” he said, “it would be nice to see what the boys say!

“I try to lead by example and do all the right things in terms of commitment. I’m quite supportive of the boys, I give their tummies a tickle!

“I try to make sure the squad are engaged, keen and hungry.”

The club get 30 players to training on Tuesday and Thursday evenings - they run three senior teams on a Saturday afternoon these days - and, at the time of writing, had used close to that number in the 1st XV this season.

That number is sure to increase as the club, who are chasing promotion to Gloucestershire Premier, look to feed in some of their better under-17s into senior rugby.

And if and when they graduate to the 1st XV they’ll certainly have someone to look up to in the well-spoken Chad Crosby, who works in insurance.

“I absolutely love it, not just on the pitch but off it as well,” he said of the club.

And with the club captain having a positive attitude like that, it’s easy to see why Old Cryptians are doing so well these days.