In-form Smiths head to table-topping Gordon League on Saturday looking to turn up the heat on their title rivals.

Second-placed Smiths trail the Counties 2 Gloucestershire North leaders by six points but have played a game fewer.

Like Gordon League, Smiths have lost just the one game – that was at home to third-placed Coney Hill in mid-September – so Saturday’s game could go a long way to shaping the final months of the league campaign.

And Smiths head to Gloucester in the knowledge that they have already put one over Gordon League this season, having beaten them 18-13 at the Prince of Wales Stadium at the start of October.

Gordon League have won their other 12 league games – one more than Smiths – and after Saturday’s game will have just eight games remaining in the 12-strong division.

It should be said that Coney Hill – 10 wins and one defeat from their 11 games – are still very much in the title hunt on 47 points, and their supporters will be confident of a bonus-point win when they host lowly Cheltenham Saracens on Saturday.

Smiths, meanwhile, will head to Gordon League on the back of nine straight wins, a run of form that has delighted former player and long-time club president Bob Ellis.

“I’m in awe of what this team has achieved,” said Ellis, who saw them clinch the old Gloucestershire One North title last season. “It’s definitely the best Smiths team I’ve ever seen by far, we’re a really good side.”

So what is the secret of their success?

“Their fitness,” said Ellis, before adding, “and their comradeship. Comradeship isn’t really the right word but they all play for each other.

“There’s a core of 15 or 20 players, we play a very attacking game. They train hard and they play hard but they’ve still got the Smiths legacy, after a game they have fun, fun, fun.”

Leading the way is skipper Ben Hawker, who has been a big part of their success in recent times.

Ellis is a big fan, saying: “He’s a great bloke, he’s our leader on the pitch and in the clubhouse.

“He’s a really good player. His best position is in the back row but he can play in so many positions, he’s so fit and fast and he’s fearless.”

Head coach Ben Parker also gets the Ellis seal of approval along with Parker’s right-hand man Rob Nock.

“It’s all come together at once,” Ellis continued. “We’ve got a wonderful ground, a very good young committee who work hard and some very good players.”