John Hennessy is set to captain Matson Rugby Club again next season.

The big second row, now 28, has led the side for the past 10 years but is ready to carry on for one more year after an excellent season in South West One West.

“What I’d like is to bring someone on who is capable of taking over from me,” said Hennessy.

The Matson-born lock’s decision has been made easier by the club’s fine run of form following last season’s promotion from Western Counties North.

They’d become a bit of a yo-yo club after relegation at the end of the 2014/15 season and the omens didn’t look good when they lost the first four games of this campaign.

“I thought, ‘here we go again’,” admitted Hennessy, “but after Christmas we went on an eight-game winning run and we’ve never looked back.”

Despite their impressive form, talk of a promotion push next term is premature, says Hennessy.

“Maybe in a couple of years,” he said. “We’ve got a very young side and it’s a big step up.”

So young is the team that Hennessy says he sometimes feels likes he’s 40. “I have to tell myself that I’ve still got a few years left in me,” he joked.

The club have introduced a number of their younger players into the first team this season and they’ve “coped well” said Hennessy.

The under-16s and under-15s are also doing well and Hennessy expects them to be pushing for places in the first team in the next few years.

Like Hennessy, coach Shaun Knight is Matson born and bred. The Gloucester prop has been playing for Bath this season and Hennessy said: “He’s been good for us. He loves the club and he’s Matson through and through.

“His dad Adrian used to play for the club and we’re lucky because as a player he’s been learning from all these top coaches and now he’s passing it on to us.”

Hennessy is also grateful for the on-field support he has received from experienced centre Chris Hawkins.

“He’s very knowledgeable,” said Hennessy. “He talks a lot to the other players, he’s a good communicator.”