Played 23, won 23… the stats don’t lie and on Saturday all-conquering Matson could clinch the Western Counties North title with two games to spare.

Cheltenham, the only team who have been able to hang onto their coat tails this season, are the visitors to Redwell Road with Matson needing just two more league points to make absolutely certain of winning the title.

The fact that they have already accumulated 114 league points this season means their supporters will be in confident mood ahead of Saturday’s game, but even if they do win against Cheltenham, impressive player/coach Jack Hayes will still be demanding more.

“I want to go through the league season unbeaten,” he told The Local Answer. “If we do that then we’ll have a party. It’s a big achievement to be where we are but what has been so remarkable about this season is our points difference, it’s massive.”

Indeed it is with Matson scoring 946 points and conceding just 168 in those 23 games, and a quick look at the division’s stats shows Matson, unsurprisingly, top of every list.

Cheltenham feature prominently in those lists too and although they trail Matson by 14 points with three games to play, they have had a good campaign.

They have lost only two games – one of them 33-22 to Matson at the start of December – and head coach Jack Petelo says they are not going to Matson to just make up the numbers.

“They beat us earlier in the season so we’d like to return the favour,” he said. “It was a really good game, they were quite good. Every time they got in our 22 they seemed to score a try.”

Petelo is in his first season as Cheltenham’s head coach and he continued: “I’ve got a very good coaching team and I’m very pleased with how it’s gone. We’ve got a very young team and I’m excited to see them develop in the future.”

Hayes, meanwhile, first played for Matson as a 16-year-old and now, turned 30, he is in his first season as player/coach.

“It’s not been bad,” he said with some understatement. “We’ve got some good players, I’ll definitely do another year as player/coach, although I’m hoping I maybe won’t play quite as much.”  

Matson’s final two league games are at Cheltenham North a week on Saturday and at home to Chipping Sodbury on 23^rd April, and they are also through to the last four of the North Gloucestershire Combination’s Senior Cup after winning 28-3 at Longlevens. They have been given a bye in the quarter-finals.

Cheltenham are also through to the semi-finals of the Cheltenham and District Combination’s Senior Cup after being given a walkover by Cheltenham Saracens. Big rivals Old Patesians reached the last four by beating Smiths 33-29 at Everest Road.

Other cup results - North Gloucestershire Combination Senior Cup first round: Spartans 15 Coney Hill 20; Old Richians 0 Hucclecote 52; Brockworth v Widden HWO; Old Cryptians v Old Centralians AWO. Quarter-final draw: Gordon League v Old Centralians; Chosen Hill v Hucclecote; Brockworth v Coney Hill. Bye: Matson. Ties to be played Tuesday 5th April.