BERRY Hill first team manager Rob Lane believes his side’s 47-0 thrashing of Forest rivals Bream is the first step on a long road to promotion.

Lane says it’s early days to be talking about challenging for the Gloucestershire Premier title but hopes ‘to be in the mix’ come April.

Hill and Bream played out three tight fixtures last season, with Bream coming out on top in the County Cup 17-5.

But Saturday’s blow-out was down to Hill’s growth as a team, according to their head coach.

“What I thought made the difference was our experience,” Lane said.

“They had a lot of young lads out there and they lost Dean Andrews early.

“They struggled in the pack all day and had nothing in the set play.

“We had that bit of experience, the older heads, which we were missing last year.

“We were a bit more organised too. We had a lot of youngsters last year and we looked around the changing rooms and could see the potential in the squad.

“This year it’s starting to come together. There’s a long way to go but it’s looking promising.”

Bream will face a test of character looking to bounce back from the defeat.

Their campaign will be made harder going into the new year with Andrews out injured with a broken rib, and will be out of action for at least six to eight weeks, according to first team coach Dave Emery.

“We had a young side out and we always know it was going to be difficult against a good, experienced pack,” Emery said.

“We lost Dean, our captain, after the first scrum and our set piece play was a struggle. Our backs were against the wall all afternoon.