Andrew Piercy has been playing rugby for Stow-on-the-Wold for 30 years.

Now 37, the front row forward started in the club’s under-9s and it’s fair to say he enjoys the game now just as much as he did all those years ago.

“We have a lot of fun,” he told The Local Answer. “We play rugby the Stow Way.”

So what is the Stow Way?

“To be competitive and enjoy what we do,” he said. “But we want to improve what we do and that is what we have been striving for in pre-season.

“When we’re playing we’re not looking to go from scrum to scrum, we want to play a quick, expansive style of rugby.”

That expansive style of rugby will be played in a different league this season because the Rugby Football Union have switched Stow’s flagship men’s team to the Midlands Division from the South West Division.

They will be playing in Midlands 2 Regional West – their first game is at home to Moseley Oak on Saturday 2^nd September – and Piercy, who is looking forward to his third season as club captain, is certainly up for the challenge.

“It will be a great league,” he said. “It will be really competitive, it’s going to be tough but it will be fun. We’ll have our derby games against Shipston-on-Stour and Stratford-upon-Avon and we’re looking forward to playing Cheltenham, we’ve had some good games with them in the local cup competition.

“We’ll also be playing the likes of Worcester and Hereford, we can’t wait. Clearly we want to be competitive and do as well as we can.  We have an ambitious bunch of lads and our new coaching set-up are really hot on the detail.”

Piercy reckons the new league means fewer miles on the road when it comes to away games. The 12-strong division is completed by Newent, Berkswell & Balsall, Silhillians, Malvern and Ludlow, and Stow will certainly have to go some to match the achievements of the past couple of seasons, as they finished fourth last time out in Regional 2 South Central after winning the old Southern Counties North the year before.

Piercy, a loosehead prop, will be hoping to play his part in any success that comes their way, of course, and he’s certainly played his part over the years.

“I started off on the flank, then moved to second row before getting pushed forward into the front row about four years ago,” he said.

So is loosehead his favourite position?

“It is now,” he said with a laugh. “Getting to every third breakdown… I’ll take that!

“At my age, unless you’re in the front row you are probably on the bench or watching from the balcony. You stick your hand up and stay involved.”

It’s that kind of attitude that runs through the club and is epitomised by the 1^st XV’s on-field captain Jim Wood.

“He’s a great fella, he’s brilliant on the pitch, he leads from the front,” said Piercy.

The back row has been captain for the past two seasons and with Will Oughton continuing as skipper of the 2nds, who will play in Counties 3 Berks Bucks & Oxon North after last season’s promotion, there is a continuity at the club that is important as they prepare for the new campaign.

They do have a new coaching set-up though with Jamie Gibbs taking over from Matt Carter as head coach, although Gibbs is a familiar face around Oddington Road having joined the club a couple of years ago.

“He played for us for two seasons, he’s an ex-Richmond number 9, he’s a class act on and off the pitch and he has put his mark on pre-season,” said Piercy. “Both the seniors’ set-up and our pathway coming through are gaining from his vast experience.”

Gibbs will work closely with Piercy in his role as club captain, a role that Piercy clearly enjoys.

“I took it on when Craig Voisey stepped down. Rob Millar, our old director of rugby, asked me to do it,” he said. “I’d been at the club so long, we were going through a transition period and I thought it was the right thing to do.”

So what is the role of a club captain?

“You have eyes in every single part of the club,” he said. “You help along with the committee and an army of volunteers to bring it all together as a collective. We pride ourselves on our One Club approach.”

And that doesn’t mean just the rugby, even though he is heavily involved with the Colts and juniors as well as the seniors.

The club recently held a hugely successful Summer Ball that attracted 250 people, do a lot of work with mental health charity Mind – “We’ve signed up more than 22 mental health ambassadors at the club,” said Piercy – and work hard to attract sponsorship to make sure the club remains sustainable, something which is becoming ever more challenging.

All that requires time and effort, of course, but the rewards are obvious, both for now and in the future.

Piercy has his eye very much on the future because his three children are all part of the next generation coming through.

His oldest son Harry, a front row, is young enough to play another season with the Colts, although he is also likely to get game-time with the United in 2023/24, while his second son Milo is with the under-8s and his daughter Nelly is involved with the under-5s.

“I’ve been coaching Harry’s age group for the past 10 years,” said Piercy with obvious pride. “I started with them and a number of other coaches at under-8s. This year I’m their team manager. Craig Chapman, a club legend, is taking over as head coach, he’s a very good coach so hopefully they might start learning something!”

And Piercy, who says he’ll also play for the 2^nd XV this season, is certainly looking forward to playing alongside Harry.

“We played together for 10 minutes last season, it would have been longer but I was yellow-carded,” he said with a laugh.

“It was a friendly against Cheltenham North last Christmas, it was an absolute pleasure to play with him, it’s what it is all about.

“I remember when I was a youngster the likes of Pete Taylor and Matthew Hicks kept us on the straight and narrow on the pitch. I reckon it’s probably my turn now with all these boys, you just want to put an arm around them.”