WINGER Charlie Vine can remember the days when he was left shivering on the touchline, hardly getting a glimpse of the ball.

It's little wonder that the 30-year-old stand-in skipper is relishing being part of 'a good attacking team'.

Vine made his first-team debut 12 years ago away at Wharfedale.

He recently notched up his 300th appearance for the club against Newbury.

He said: "I don't want to go back to the old days!

"I did lots of tackling and chasing shadows, seeing very little of the ball.

"Lydney have always had good packs and prided themselves on it, but I'm definitely seeing more of the ball now.

"I think there's been a definite shift towards more attacking rugby at all levels because of the bonus points available."

Vine says the current Lydney pack is formidable, despite not being the biggest.

He added: "Westcombe Park had a massive set of forwards on Saturday, but somehow we managed to push them off the ball.

"I thought we were comfortable, we started well but let them back in it, just like last week.

"We're good at that. We know what we're capable of and we woke up when they came back at us.

"The good thing is, we've got a decent squad, not just a team.

Vine went on: "We've been relatively lucky with injuries, but we've got people who can come in and do a job.

"Hopefully, we'll be strong for the next few years, but keeping people might be the problem."

Vine is one of just a handful of Lydney regulars over the age of 30.

He was rightly proud of reaching the 300 appearance landmark, but says the days when the likes of Winston Morris and Nick Nelmes could rattle up more than 400 appearances have long gone.

"People just don't play as much rugby nowadays," he said.

"If you play every game in a season you will only play 25-30 matches."