Smiths Rugby Club, who have won a collection of leagues and cups over the past few years, are planning for the future.

This season’s Counties 2 Gloucestershire North champions, are setting up a minis and junior section which will be up and running ahead of the new campaign.

Smiths, who were founded in 1952, have never had a youth set-up before and Sam Cook, one of the driving forces behind its formation, is understandably excited.

“The club always said they wouldn’t set up a minis and juniors section until they were ready,” he said.

Now they are, and Cook, an ex-Smiths player, will be on the club’s minis and juniors committee - Paul Cole, another former Smiths player, will be their first chairman - and they plan to run two teams in the under-15 age group in 2025/26.

Two or maybe four parents will be part of the club’s minis and juniors committee with Cook adding: “We want to do it slightly differently at Smiths, we want to give the parents a voice, the kids will always come first.”

The club also plan to run the Chris Raymond Tag Trojans sessions for nine-year-olds and below which have proved so popular at Old Patesians for many years.

The club are also on the lookout for players in other age groups – anyone interested should visit https://www.smithsrugby.co.uk/mini-s-junior-s

Meanwhile, Smiths’ flagship team, who were beaten 45-28 by Dings Crusaders 2nds in the Counties 2 Gloucestershire promotion play-off last week, are at home to Oxford in the second round of the Papa John’s Cup Counties 2 Championship on Saturday.