These are exciting times for Minchinhampton Rugby Club.

They opened their new clubhouse in March, Sam Viggers joined the club as player/coach in the summer, Matt Jenns is the new club captain and Sean Price is the 1st XV captain for 2017/18.

Two months into the season and Viggers’ impact is already being felt at the go-ahead Gloucester Two club.

“We’re getting big numbers at training,” said chairman Morgwn Atkins. “We’re getting 30 to 40 which is good for us. Last year we were getting 20-odd so we’re extremely happy.”

While one-time Stroud head coach Viggers will be hoping to steer the club higher up the league pyramid, that is not the be-all and end-all for Atkins.

“We haven’t set a promotion target,” said Atkins. “It would be nice but it’s not our main priority.

“Our main challenge is to increase the overall membership.”

And with the improved facilities at the club that is certainly something that they are well on the way to achieving.

“We run two senior sides and an occasional 3rd XV,” said Atkins. “We’ve also got a touch rugby section, summer 7s teams and we even enter the odd beach rugby tournament as well.”

Touch rugby takes place all year round and this summer Minchinhampton hosted a touch rugby tournament at their Hollybush home.

“Touch rugby is a good way of getting people started in rugby before moving into contact,” said Atkins. “There is a progression for people who want to play contact rugby and competitive sessions for those who don’t.

“Also many of the tournaments require mixed male/female teams so it’s a way of introducing women into rugby as well. We are in the embryonic stages of starting a women’s team at the club.”

While a full-blown women’s team is obviously something for the future, the club’s thriving junior section is very much part of the present.

“Our junior section is pretty successful,” said Atkins. “We’ve got approximately 280 junior members from under-6 all the way through to Colts before they move into the senior teams.”

And the club are always on the lookout for new youngsters.

“Minchinhampton village itself is pretty small,” said Atkins, “but we’ve got pretty good links with local schools and the Stroud Valley is a big area so there is plenty of potential.”

While Atkins enjoys an important figurehead role at the club, there are others who also play a big part in the successful running of the club.

“Will Garrard has done a lot of work on the facilities and was the driving force behind the new clubhouse build,” said Atkins. “Andy McLaughlan is also an excellent chairman of the junior section.”

Atkins, who these days lives in Wootton Bassett, returned to the club to play post-university when his brother was captain of the 1st XV.

Like Morgwn, his brother has a Welsh name – Owain – and like Morgwn he couldn’t be more English.

“We sound Welsh but we’re not,” laughed Morgwn, who at 42 still turns out occasionally in the second row for the Rams or Vets.

“I’m not sure where the names came from. We grew up very locally and my parents still live near Minchinhampton in Rodborough. I have another brother called Gareth, without any weird Welsh spelling though!”

So, what are his parents’ names?

“Bernard and Chris,” Morgwn chuckled. “No Welsh there!”

And what about the grandchildren, do they have any Welsh names?

“No, thankfully we’ve stopped all this Welsh nonsense,” Morgwn laughed.

Morgwn may sound like he’s from the other side of the Severn Bridge, but he’s Minchinhampton through and through.