Cheltenham Saracens head into the new rugby season in upbeat mood.

New chairman Joe White has taken over from Eddie Walsh and he is looking for the club to move forwards both on and off the pitch.

It’s been tough for Saracens over the past few seasons – like a number of teams they struggled post-Covid – but White is confident that the foundations are in place for the club to mount a fightback.

On the pitch the main aim is to win promotion from Counties 3 Gloucestershire North following last season’s relegation.

And there are certainly grounds for optimism because it’s not so long ago that their signature tune, ‘Walking in a Sarries wonderland’, could be heard all around Cheltenham as they climbed the divisions and enjoyed great success in the Cheltenham Combination’s end-of-season cup competitions.

White, who has been involved with the club for the past 15 years, is desperate for the good times to return under head coach Phil Watters, the one-time Cheltenham full-back.

“I think we’re in the ascendancy,” said the 61-year-old. “The aim is to get straight back up. Hopefully, if we can win a few games at the start of the season we’ll attract a few more players.”

The club’s 2^nd XV will play social rugby this season – “We want to get more players just playing,” explained White – but it is their up-and-coming youngsters who are really exciting everyone at the club.

“The Colts were outstanding last season, they had some unbelievable results,” said White. “They’ve been with us since they were under-12s.

“And we’ve just picked up an experienced under-16 age group, they’re full of potential. We had a welcome party for them and they are really well together, these two age groups are the future of the club.”

And White is determined to provide the best possible facilities for them at their King George V home, facilities that he believes will allow them to flourish.

“I want to do some modernisation of the club,” said White, who was on the committee for six or seven years before taking over as chairman. “We have planning permission for an extension on the clubhouse. We’ve had it for four years but Covid left it dead in the water.

“One of my goals is to get the extension built. It will give us so much more space and give us the opportunity to bring in another age group.”

White knows all about the importance of forward-planning.

When he first joined the club he was coach of their under-12s, a squad that included his twin boys Ryan and Kierran, now 27.

Both play in the pack and both are now regulars in the club’s 1^st XV with White Snr, a hooker back in the day, saying: “Kierran is a tighthead and Ryan is a utility forward, he’ll play anywhere in the forwards.

“There are three or four of them from that team who are still playing for Saracens. I coached them from under-6s, initially at Cheltenham Tigers, before moving to Cheltenham Saracens.”

White, whose tenure as chairman is for four years, will work closely with ex-chairman Jimmy O’Shea, who has been elected vice-chairman.

O’Shea will have more involvement with the playing side of the club and White, who moved to this part of the world from London in the early 90s, said: “I put myself forward because I thought I’d be able to bring a slightly different outlook, new blood if you like.

“Last season was very difficult. We never put the same side out twice and we didn’t have the numbers at training. Fair play to those who did play, they carried on even though we were getting well beaten.

“The numbers at pre-season have been good, I’m really excited about the new season, especially with the age groups we’ve got coming through.”

Saracens’ first league game of the new campaign is at home to Minchinhampton on Saturday 2^nd September.