The “youthful gang” at Stroud Rugby Club have helped put a spring in the step of their long-serving president Russ Hillier this season.

The 77-year-old, who first played for the club in 1956 and has been their president for the past 20 years, admitted he was not sure how the 2016/17 campaign would pan out when they lost their first four Western Counties North games – and seven of their first eight in all competitions.

But they have turned things around, helped by a five-game winning run before Christmas, to move comfortably into mid-table.

“I’ve been very pleasantly surprised with everything,” said Hillier, who has been a hardworking member of the Gloucestershire RFU for 40 years. “We’ve got a very youthful gang that’s come in and they are clearly enjoying their rugby. They’ve got a great team spirit.

“That enjoyment has rubbed off on everyone else and it’s been an exciting time for everybody. We’ve been getting 30 to 40 players at training and that is a compliment to the coaching staff.”

Hillier is full of praise for Rupert Foote, who has taken on the role of director of rugby. Hillier said of the former club captain: “He’s been with us for a long time and he’s brought back the old-fashioned ethos of enjoyment.

“He works well with our player-coach Sam Viggers and first-team captain Harry Foote. Sam was in in the Twickenham cup final side in 1999 and still turns out when we need him today.

“Harry plays in the centre and has been captain for three years. He is a great leader and a good footballer at this level. He’s very pro-Stroud and he just enjoys playing rugby.

“We’ve had youthful input from front row Phil Fruin who has had a good season and a couple of our more experienced players have also done well with Dan Gordon at fly-half being outstanding throughout.

“Second row James Bashford can still play some good football and still wins a lot of lineout ball, while Rob Higgins, who can play anywhere in the back row, has proved very good at the back of the lineout and is another good footballer.”

Hillier has enjoyed locking horns with fellow Gloucestershire sides Chosen Hill Former Pupils, Cheltenham, Cirencester and Coney Hill in the league this season but admits he would like Stroud to be playing at a higher level.

“Maybe a couple of promotions,” he said, “although I think we’re at our right level now. When the leagues were first introduced 30-odd years ago we were in one of the higher divisions.

“We found it too big for us. We didn’t have the money of some of the other clubs and came tumbling down the leagues.

“Now we’ve got a number of homegrown players who have come through the junior ranks and it’s made for a much happier club.

“We can all go cup hunting but we’ve got a nice ground and a nice clubhouse and when it’s buzzing it’s a great place to be.”

Hillier, primarily a full-back who could also play fly-half and in the centre, played in the days when league rugby was but a distant dream.

Stroud had an impressive fixture list in those days, playing home and away against Gloucester, Bath and Bristol, while Worcester played the club’s second team.

“We had some great opposition in the pre-professional era,” said Hillier, “but it’s very easy to say ‘in our day’.”

Hillier has lived for the moment this season and after an uncertain start has enjoyed every minute of it.