Long-serving Tewkesbury Rugby Club star James Watkins is counting down the days to the start of the new season.

The club won Counties 3 Gloucestershire North at a canter last season – they were unbeaten in the league – and are now looking forward to making the step up to the newly-formed Counties 2 Gloucestershire.

The 12-strong division largely comprises the top teams from last season’s Counties 2 Gloucestershire North and Counties 2 Gloucestershire South – clubs such as Cheltenham North, Stroud and Old Patesians – so it will indeed be a big step up for Tewkesbury.

“Technically it’s two steps up because of the way the leagues have been reorganised,” said 34-year-old Watkins, a former captain of the club. “But we’re looking forward to the challenge.

“We’ve played these teams in years gone by, with the players we’ve got I think we should be pushing for the top four.

“The key is keeping the core of young players at the club and they do seem to want to play for Tewkesbury.”

The young players include the likes of Ollie Thomas and new captain Max Rendall, who both play in the centre, and full-back Brendan Llewellyn.

Llewellyn was the top try-scorer in Counties 3 Gloucestershire North last season and Watkins said: “He’s class, other clubs have been after him.”

Tewkesbury's players have been given the chance to showcase their skills by former Gloucester back row Gareth Evans, who has introduced an attacking style of rugby since taking over as head coach last year.

“We’re playing a style we want to play,” said Watkins. “It’s running rugby, we want to play a fast-paced, counter-attacking game, we want to excite our supporters.”

They certainly did that last season, scoring 756 points in the league, and Watkins, who describes himself as a kicking fly-half, said modestly: “My job is just to distribute the ball. The oldest player after me in the backs who plays regularly is 23.”

By the age of 23, Watkins had long established himself in Tewkesbury’s first team, but even though his grandad Robin, dad Kev and mum Teri all played for Tewkesbury, it was never a guarantee that he would follow in their footsteps.

“I used to play football when I was younger,” said the one-time Tewkesbury School pupil. “I was at Aston Villa’s academy and then Birmingham City’s academy from the age of 10 to 15 until I was released.

“I went and played for Bishop’s Cleeve for a bit but I never played men’s football.”

By then he had started playing rugby in the junior sides at Tewkesbury and by the age of 16 he was in the club’s 2^nd XV.

“I played a couple of games with my dad,” he recalled. “When I was 17 I was in the 1^st XV.”

In those days he was playing full-back and he has good memories of those times.

“The club were in Gloucester Premier and I was playing with the likes of Shaun Everis, Simon Bytheway, Nick Smith, Joel Bond and Tom Wilkinson,” said Watkins. “I was voted 2^nd team player of the year the season before, I was buzzing to be in the 1sts.”

And he’s still buzzing to play for the 1sts now, even though he knows he needs an operation on his right knee at some stage.

It won’t be his first operation either but he remains fit – he ran three marathons last year with a best time of three hours, 55 minutes in London – and he is hoping to carry on playing for another couple of seasons.

It’s easy to see why because he is still plenty good enough to compete and Tewkesbury is a fun place to be at the moment.

“Gareth Evans has got us all enjoying our rugby,” said Watkins, a self-employed plumber and heating engineer.

“He’s brought the excitement factor back. We’re getting 25-35 people to training on a regular basis, that shows how much the boys are enjoying their rugby and their support for him.”

And in the years to come there could be another Watkins making a name for himself at Tewkesbury Rugby Club.

Watkins, who lives in Tewkesbury and is married to Lucy, is dad to Franklin, who has just turned two.

“He’s always got my kicking tee around the house and he’s already been to Tewkesbury Tots,” said his proud dad.