It will be exactly a month before Guy Fawkes Night when Cheltenham North and Cheltenham Saracens lock horns in an eagerly awaited Gloucestershire Premier clash at Stoke Orchard Road on Saturday.

And while 5th November is always marked in this country by bonfires and fireworks, the game between the North and Saracens on Saturday 5th October also has all the makings of being a real firecracker.

And it’s not just the long-standing rivalry between the two clubs that stretches back well over 40 years that is likely to mean sparks will fly.

It’s also the fact that they are neck and neck at the top of the league after making flying starts to the new season.

Both have won three out of three – only Chosen Hill in the division can match that – and as Saracens committeeman and former chairman Jim O’Shea said: “Something has to give on Saturday.”

Both have been racking up the points and scoring tries for fun and there’s every likelihood of more to come when the two teams collide in three days’ time.

“It’s a big game,” said long-serving North official and former player Malcolm Kedward. “It’s two teams going really well.”

And while Saracens’ start to the season has not come as a surprise to too many – they have been established in Gloucestershire Premier for a number of seasons now and finished third last time out – the form of Cheltenham North has certainly made people sit up and take notice.

The newly promoted club have already scored close on 140 points and thumped Widden Old Boys 75-0 four days ago.

“It’s something we’ve been working towards for a while,” added Kedward. “We’ve been blooding quite a few of our younger players.

“We’ve got a good Colts and junior section and they’ve done well.

“The forwards have been winning decent ball and we’ve got some really good backs. We’ve been scoring tries from all over.”

It’s a similar story at Saracens where O’Shea said: “The boys are playing really well. We’ve got quite a few young players in the side and they just want to play, they don’t fear anyone.

“We’re not the biggest team but we’ve got some very good backs. We like to run with the ball, the sides we’ve played so far have struggled to keep up with us.

“North will be a good test but we’ll be ready.”

O’Shea admits that Saracens have done better than he thought they would in the first month of this campaign after they lost skipper and fly-half James Butler to Cinderford in the closed season.

But while they may have picked up maximum points, he knows it will be a long season for Saracens and everyone else in the 12-strong division.

“This division is getting harder and harder,” he said. “It’s going to be very tight, there are so many proper derby games.

“I think three or four teams may break away, I just hope we’re one of them.

“If we could finish in the top three or get promoted, that would be brilliant.”

That’s something Cheltenham North would love to achieve as well, of course, but while there is a fierce rivalry between the clubs – “The rivalry will never, ever go away,” said O’Shea – there is also a common bond that ties the two clubs together.

“We play for the James Connolly Memorial Cup every season,” said Kedward, “and we’re playing for it on Saturday. James died a few years ago and he did so much for both clubs, he was a great guy.”

The cup is currently held by Saracens.