Will Hartland was the toast of Cheltenham North when his late, late penalty earned the club a 23-22 win over Ross-on-Wye and with it promotion to Gloucestershire Premier.

It was a penalty he would have expected to land – it was just to the left of the posts – but considering there were just a couple of minutes left on the clock, the match situation and the fact that he had already missed four conversions, it was a real pressure kick.

Soon after the ball had sailed through the posts, the final whistle blew and the celebrations started at Stoke Road, which remains one of the more atmospheric rugby grounds in the county.

The win earned the North runners-up spot behind already crowned champions Ross in Gloucestershire One and such is the spirit of rugby that both teams celebrated together on the pitch after clinching promotion.

Dan Hewett with two tries and Sam Coles and Sam Allen with one apiece were North’s other points-scorers and new North president Rich Prewer couldn’t have been more pleased.

“It was a fantastic day,” said Prewer, “we won it with almost the last kick of the game.”

They certainly did and it was absolutely vital Hartland slotted that penalty because Old Cryptians, who finished third one point behind the North, would have taken second spot after winning 35-22 at Dursley.

“We’d heard they were losing by 20 points at one stage so we thought the result of our game would be irrelevant,” continued Prewer.

“But then they went ahead and it got very nervy, the old ticker was certainly going!”

Prewer, who has just turned 59, took on the role of president just a couple of months ago.

A former second row – he joined the club at the age of 15 – he, like so many who were cheering the club on on Saturday, is a true North man and he couldn’t be happier that they will be playing at a higher level next season.

“Gloucestershire One is a tough division,” said Prewer. “It’s where we started when leagues first came in 30 years ago. We were in the same division as Old Pats and it’s a division we definitely don’t want to go back to.”

They’ll be going head to head with the likes of Old Richians, Cheltenham Saracens and Longlevens next season and Prewer is confident that they have what it takes to succeed.

“I think we need a season of consolidation before we try to kick on,” he said. “It’s a tough league but we want to test ourselves.”

Prewer was part of the successful North teams of yesteryear when the club won Cheltenham Combination Senior Cups almost for fun in the mid-to-late 80s and early 90s.

But he is keen that the club look forward rather than back and is confident that after a few difficult seasons there are good times ahead at Stoke Road.

“We’ve struggled for consistency,” he said, “we’ve had no strength in depth.

“We had a bit of a soft underbelly but we seem to have got some of the old North fire back and it’s great to see.

“We want players who play for us because they want to play for us, it’s all about the red and black shirt.”

Promotion should help the North attract new players and Prewer said the club are planning a recruitment drive.

“We want to field a 2nd team,” said Prewer. “We’ve fielded a 2nd XV a few times this season but not regularly.”

And the club have other plans such as refurbishing their clubhouse and forming a girls’ team as well as ensuring that their junior section continues to go from strength to strength.

It certainly seems like the good times are returning at the North.