“Rugby has been in my blood since day dot.”

Those are the words of 46-year-old Ben Slatter, who played the game for many, many years and these days is head coach of Old Richians.

“My dad told me he took me to Old Centralians when I was three days old,” said Slatter.

“There’s a photo of me somewhere when I was not much older sitting up in a Cents kit.”

Dad Stuart and his brother Martin, who is president of Old Cents, were major players at the club back in the day when they were known as Saintbridge Former Pupils, but that was not the club where the young Ben learned his rugby.

“I started with Old Richians at under-nines or under-10s,” he said. “I went with Chris Hall and Leon Liggett, a couple of mates from Coney Hill Infants and Junior School, they are two of my oldest friends.”

Hall and Liggett, like Slatter, went on to become very good rugby players and their ability was apparent almost straight away.

“We were pretty good, we were a long time unbeaten,” recalled Slatter. “We won the County Cup at under-15s and under-17s, they were great times.

“Junior rugby was superb, winning makes it very enjoyable. Sixteen of our squad were in the Gloucestershire Schools under-16 squad.”

Hall’s dad Wes was their coach at Old Richians and initially Slatter played in the front row before moving to the back row when he was 17.

“I did the reverse of what most players do,” he laughed. “I was a blindside or number 8, I wasn’t quick enough to play 7.”

Slatter, who went to Saintbridge School, joined the Navy when he was 17 but he continued to play for Old Richians whenever he could.

His mum Barbara was a stewardess at the club for 15 years and his younger brother James, a hooker, played for the club for a good number of years so he retained very close connections with the club, even when he was away at sea.

“I did do a couple of global deployments but they were mainly in the summer so I didn’t miss too much rugby,” said Slatter, who has worked for the Fire Service for the past couple of decades.

By the early noughties he had moved to Coney Hill to link up with his old pals Liggett and Hall, who were captain and coach respectively.

“I wanted to test myself at a higher level,” he said.

And it was that desire to test himself that took him to Lydney when he was in his mid-20s.

He played in the old National League Division 3 and said: “I was at Lydney for three years, I loved it there. Nick Bartlett asked me to go there, he’s a very good friend of mine, I played rugby for the Navy with Nick.”

And while they had some great times playing for Lydney, they also had some great times playing for the Navy.

“We played in New Zealand for three-and-a-half weeks, we played for the Commonwealth Cup in Auckland against New Zealand and Australia,” he said. “We won it, we won both games.”

Slatter reckons he played his best rugby while he was at Lydney and he admits he should have stayed at the club longer.

“I went back to Old Richians as captain and to do a bit of coaching,” he said. “I’d still got a strong draw to the club but I do regret not staying at Lydney and playing at a higher level. I didn’t fulfil my potential.”

After Old Richians he had one more move as a player and it was one he had always wanted to make.

“I went to Old Centralians for five years,” he said. “It was something I wanted to do for my dad and my uncle.”

His dad sadly passed away a couple of years ago which makes the success that Ben enjoyed while at the club just that bit more special.

“It was great,” said Slatter. “We won promotion to National 3, we had a really, really good side.

“I played for about three years before my body started giving up. I then took on the team management role and also did some coaching.”

Slatter has always been ready to take on a challenge and he also captained England’s and Great Britain’s Fire Service teams, something he very much enjoyed.

“I’ve been extremely lucky,” he said. “I love rugby, I love the sport, I love the camaraderie, the team ethos, the culture.”

Slatter is very refreshing to talk to. He has gained a lot from rugby but he has also given a lot to rugby and he has clearly enjoyed every minute.

“I was lucky enough to play for Gloucestershire in the county championship,” he said. “That was under Paul Williams when Mike Rafter was also involved.”

So what sort of player was Slatter?

“I like to think I was a robust, aggressive ball carrier and aggressive in defence,” he said. “I liked to get my hands on the ball and play a bit.

“I didn’t mind getting a thump or a kick, I liked playing on the edge.”

He didn’t get to play at Twickenham but he played at Kingsholm, the old Memorial Ground in Bristol and at Exeter’s Sandy Park in an EDF Cup quarter-final tie when he was at Lydney.”

Slatter, who is married to Emma, is now in his second year as head coach of Old Richians, who play in Counties 2 Gloucestershire North.

“I had about two years away from the game before I took on the role,” he said. “I had a bit of family time but I had an itch that I needed to scratch.

“Jason Mitchell, who is director of rugby, is a good friend and I thought it was the right time to come back.

“It’s been really rewarding. It can be frustrating with player unavailability but the improvement I’ve seen in the team gives me a real sense of pride.

“The work the players have put in has been phenomenal, I love seeing people develop and get better.”

Slatter’s stepson Tyler Malcolm is part of the team, so what does Slatter think the team can achieve this season?

“If you’d asked me that at the start of the season I’d have said our goal was to finish in the top six and comfortably in the top six,” he said. “Now I think fourth is really realistic.

“We’ve got a small squad and a couple of injuries could throw us under a bus, we’re not a side ready for promotion.

“The next league would be too much but it’s good to hear other clubs talking positively about us.”

Slatter comes across as a very positive person himself and while rugby has been a huge part of his life – he is going to Australia with Emma and their daughter Jessie next year to watch the Lions – he’s something of an all-rounder when it comes to sport.

He was recently part of a six-strong relay team that swam the English Channel, raising thousands of pounds for charity along the way, and he said: “When I was younger I played all sport – rugby, football, cricket, a bit of golf. I was a really keen sportsman, my parents never saw me.

“Now I watch any sport that’s on TV. I should have been a sports reporter!”