Improving Cheltenham North host second-placed Frampton Cotterell in Gloucestershire Two on Saturday, a game they will go into with plenty of confidence after their best performance of the season.

They overcame Smiths, another top four side, 38-34 at the weekend after trailing 24-5 at half time.

“It was our best result of the season, definitely,” said director of rugby Dan Thomas.

And it was a result and a performance that has been coming for a few weeks.

“We had a really good game against Old Patesians, that was a game we could have won, and we had a good win against Dursley,” added Thomas.

They’ve also beaten bottom-of-the-table Old Richians in a run of five games that has seen them claim three wins.

Simanu Tusiga was the hero against Smiths, scoring the winning try with the last play of the game.

That was his second try and North's other tries were scored by man of the match Junior Abring, Ben Crocker and Will Allenby (two). Jack Fowler slotted four conversions.

North’s recent run has lifted them up to 10^th in the 12-strong division, four points clear of Dursley.

Old Richians are already down and North chairman Mike Scourfield said after the win over Smiths: “I’m so pleased, that could be the difference between us staying up and going down.”

The North have a difficult run-in because their final game is at leaders Cinderford United on Saturday 25^th April – Dursley travel to Stroud on Friday evening before going to in-form Old Patesians for their final league game of the season eight days later – but there is a lot more optimism around the North at the moment.

They finished second behind Smiths in the old Gloucestershire Two North in 2024/25 but the win over Smiths was only their sixth in the newly formed Gloucestershire Two.

“We’ve had a bit of a rebuild this season but things are starting to pick up,” said Thomas. “This league is very competitive, it’s a high standard.

“But the new lads have started to come together really well. They have started to knit together and bond but it takes time.”