Old Patesians chairman Matt Cape is backing new coaches Chris Downes and Ben Smith to have a major impact this season.

The pair were appointed at the end of last season, a season that saw the Pats drop out of South West Premier after winning promotion in 2017/18.

It was a tough campaign for the club but Cape is confident that in Downes and Smith, the club have chosen two men who can help the club enjoy a successful season back in South West One East.

Cape says that the club have not set promotion as a target although they clearly want to be competing near the top end of the table.

“Chris and Ben are a really good balance,” said Cape. “Chris as the head coach has an intrinsic understanding of what it means to be an Old Pat. He’s been a supporter and a player at the club – as a junior and a senior – for 20 to 30 years, he knows what makes our club unique.

“He knows the challenge of our infrastructure – it was very important to get someone in who is able to step into the environment and be effective from day one.

“A lot of the guys who were younger players when Chris was playing are now senior players. Chris has been part of their development and he’s got a good relationship with them.”

Downes, who spent most of his playing career in the front row, is also director of rugby at the University of Gloucestershire and Cape continued: “He’s coached at Coney Hill and a number of other clubs and he’s taken on the role at the university, a role he has grown into. He’s a fantastic coach and has a great record of developing players.

“We have a young squad and they will be innovative in their coaching technique. The approach will be high impact, high skill and high intensity.

“The coaches will make it hugely enjoyable for the players and we’re excited to see what he can bring to the club and the squad.”

Cape stressed that Downes and Smith will operate in tandem – “They have a fantastic relationship, Ben’s a really good guy,” he said – and his role at the club will certainly be very important.

“Ben has been head coach at Ledbury for three or four years,” Cape said, “so he’s got a really good grounding in a proper rugby club. They’re a club a lot like ours, they’ve got a similar philosophy and the Pats will give Ben a chance to coach in South West One as part of his development.

“He’s a community coach for the RFU so he’s a professional coach and he’ll bring new ideas, a new approach. It’s important to say that they’ll be different and the players will be challenged and supported in different ways.”

The club won only three of their 26 league games last season – Cape’s first as chairman – but while it was certainly tough, Cape said there were obvious reasons for that.

“It was the perfect storm,” he said. “A number of senior players retired and we lost a number of players through job relocations – we lost 80 per cent of our promotion-winning squad.

“But I was immensely proud of the lads who came in and played last season. They played with great fortitude and a great spirit, I can’t speak highly enough of them.

“We went down to Weston and had 37 players unavailable. We had a number of players playing their first 1st team game, we got beaten but we scored 30 points and demonstrated what this club and their players are all about.”

Many of those players will be available this season and, says Cape, one of the attractions of the club for the players will be the brand of rugby that they play.

“We play a fast, attacking, open style of rugby,” continued Cape, who said that eight or 10 of last season’s Colts team will step up into adult rugby in 2019/20. “It’s enjoyable to play and watch and when it comes off it’s challenging for the opposition.”

And if they click more often than not then the club will near or at the top of their division.

Promotion may not be the stated aim but a place near the top of the table certainly is.

“It’s absolutely vital,” added Cape, “The lads want to get the buzz from playing well and winning together. It’s really important for a group of players who want to develop and league position is one indication of success and a real demonstration of how they have developed.”