Super Smiths wrote another chapter in their ongoing success story when they clinched the Counties 2 Gloucestershire North title on Saturday.

Their 55-15 win at Spartans took them past long-time rivals Gordon League, who had finished their campaign the previous week, and ensured back-to-back championships after their Gloucestershire 1 North triumph in 2021/22.

And yet the job is still not quite done for resurgent Smiths because they have a play-off final game with Counties 2 Gloucestershire South title winners Clifton 2nds at the weekend, a game that will determine which club will be playing in Counties 1 Gloucestershire North next season.

Happily, Smiths will have home advantage on Saturday, something they’ve earned because they’ve got a better playing record than Clifton 2nds over the season.

“We’ve had only one walkover all season,” said experienced Smiths front row John Bryant. “We’ve done it the hard way, to actually have played all those games is one of the stories of our season.”

They finished two points clear of Gordon League – the gap was four points in the previous campaign – and Bryant admitted that being pushed all the way by the Gloucester club was “a challenge”.

He also said that the title celebrations were “muted” after the win at Spartans, although only because of the upcoming play-off final game at the Prince of Wales Stadium.

“It was a bit strange because we’ve still got one game to go, we want to go up,” Bryant explained. “The journey we’re on we want to keep improving, we want to win promotion.

“When the league was restructured we thought winning the division was a realistic aim because we’d beaten half the teams the previous season.”

Clifton 2nds, who have won 19 of their 21 league games this season, will be no pushovers, of course, but Smiths will be in very good heart of completing win number 21 in the 12-strong division on Saturday.

“Winning at Spartans was another statement win,” said Bryant. “Going to a club like Spartans, a Gloucester club, who historically have always played at a higher level than Smiths, to beat them so convincingly was great.”

When Bryant joined Smiths in 2014 – he’d been with Cheltenham for the previous eight years – they were in the basement division and the only way was up.

“I think that was the year when everything started to come together,” Bryant said. “The coaching, the training, we quite quickly developed into a proper team.”

And should Smiths win on Saturday it will give Bryant the opportunity to record a pretty impressive personal milestone.

“It will give me the chance to play in every division in regional rugby after my time with Cheltenham,” he said.

Bryant doesn’t need any extra motivation, of course, and while all the focus will quite rightly be on the flagship team at the weekend, one of the big things about Smiths this season is that they have real strength in depth, so much so that they have entered three teams in the end-of-season Cheltenham and District cup competitions.

“We’re really mindful about everybody at the club,” continued Bryant. “The 1^st team have had great success but the 2nds have had a really positive season too.

“They won the Gloucester and District 2 League and although they had a few walkovers, they’ve also beaten Coney Hill 2nds and Hucclecote 2nds this season.”

The 2nds travel to Cheltenham North 2nds for a first-round tie in the Cheltenham Combination Junior Cup on Saturday 15^th April, while the club’s 3rds host Gloucestershire Police on the same day in the first round of the Minor Shield.

Smiths 1^st XV entertain Cheltenham in the last four of the Senior Cup on Saturday 22^nd April.

There’s still a lot to play for!