BEN Lewis has never been one to shirk a challenge, but even he thought Lydney would be up against it this season following a summer exodus of senior players.
Happily, he admits he was wrong.
He told The Forester: "I was a bit worried when a lot of the experienced boys left in pre-season, including Paul and Steve Price, Dean Jenkins and Paul Kiely, but the young lads who have come in have been tremendous.
"We're building and I'm really enjoying being one of the senior players. We're more competitive as a team than we've been for two or three years."
Lewis, still only 28, has seemingly been around forever.
He's now in his seventh season at Lydney and is arguably the cornerstone of their pack.
A real player's player, Lydney are definitely a weaker side when his name is not on the team sheet.
The man they call 'Nudge' learnt his rugby at Berry Hill and admits he still has a big soft spot for his former club.
His dad Richard played at fly-half in the great Berry Hill team of the early 1980s, but Ben was always destined for the front-row.
He said: "I played all my junior rugby at Berry Hill and we won most of the County Cups.
"Our side was really strong with people like Craig Jones, Duncan Murray, Jimmy Matthews and Ashley Stephens. A lot of people forget that I captained the Berry Hill first XV for one season, playing under Lee Osborne and Adey Powles.
"Adey was the biggest influence on my rugby. You've got to respect and learn from someone who played in the front-row for Gloucester.
"One day I think I will go back there to play.
"I still help run their under-16s team and referee some junior matches."
Ben joined Lydney in 2004 and soon made the number two shirt his own.
He'd already represented England under-18s and the full Gloucestershire team while playing at Lakers Road.
Ironically, his switch to Lydney forced another young hooker, Andy Wright, to go the other way in search of first-team rugby. Wright is now Berry Hill's club captain.
Ben missed most of the 2005/06 season with a severe Achilles injury that he sustained in pre-season.
Since his return, however, he's hardly missed a game because of injury.
He said: "Hopefully, next season I'll reach 200 games for Lydney. This league seems to be getting stronger every season but I really think we can improve if we keep this squad together. It's an exciting time.
"People like Nick Stoneman, Leigh Green, Nick Selway, Jim McMahon and Dave Bennett are still in their early 20s and only going to get better."