Stow-on-the-Wold Rugby Club should be rocking on Saturday afternoon.

That’s certainly the hope of head coach Matt Carter as his in-form team prepare for the biggest game in their recent history.

Top takes on second in Southern Counties North with visitors Reading holding just a three-point advantage courtesy of their greater bonus points haul.

Both teams have won 11 and lost two and Carter, who took over as head coach at the start of the 2019/20 season, said: “It’s a very big game, we’re hoping the whole of Stow will come out and watch us.”

And those who do head down to Oddington Road will almost certainly be entertained because that is part and parcel of what this Stow side are all about.

“We play from touchline to touchline,” said Carter. “Our philosophy is, ‘Let’s play rugby’. We don’t believe in kicking the ball away, we want to keep the ball and score more points than the opposition.”

And the stats back up those claims because Stow have scored more points – 470 – than any other team in the division.

That haul includes their 15-10 win at Reading at the end of October, a win that Carter said was “well deserved”.

But while that victory confirmed that Stow were a force to be reckoned with this season, Carter certainly isn’t under-estimating Saturday’s opponents.

“They are a quality side,” he side. “We’ve opened up a bit of a gap between second and third, this game will decide how close we are to title contenders.”

Reading have won all eight of their league games since that reverse against Stow – Stow have won their last three – but whatever happens on Saturday, things certainly look bright for the club in the heart of the Cotswolds.

“I don’t think we’ve reached our full potential, we’re a young team,” explained 36-year-old Carter, who is very clear on how he wants his team to play.

“I want them to have enthusiasm and heart,” he continued. “I want them to play rugby and move the ball, I want a brand of rugby that people want to come to watch.”

Carter is hoping that there may be somewhere towards 200 supporters at the game on Saturday – “That would be great for a community club,” he said – and is looking for that support to come from both inside and outside of the club.

“The minis and juniors can play a big part in helping us to increase the numbers, I really want to big this game up,” he said.

Stow’s win at Reading last year was a big moment because it was the first time that they had beaten them and if they were to do the double over their city rivals it would set up a ding-dong battle over the final eight games of the season.

“In geographical terms we are punching above our weight,” admits Carter, a former head coach at Cirencester who also does some coaching at Kingham School. “But in terms of the facilities and the playing side, we’re certainly not.

“The club is buzzing at the moment. Everyone who is at our club is there because they want to be.”

And that will obviously go for every supporter who is at Oddington Road on Saturday. Don’t be late, the game kicks off at 2pm.