Tomorrow is a banner day for Ivybridge Rugby Club as they play their first league game in National League Three South West, the rarefied heights of step five on the rugby pyramid writes Tim Leigh.

Their opponents will be Old Patesians, who can expect a highly charged atmosphere as Ivybridge hope to make the most of home advantage at Cross-in-Hand.

This is the highest level Ivybridge have ever played at after securing back-to-back promotions, and three in four years, but all at the club are determined to en­joy the experience their hard work and dedication has given them.

Senior manager Neil Thomson said: ‘It’s a big moment for the club, we’re making history. Every match is going to be tough, we’re looking to stay up, survive and go again, but mind you, that’s what I said last season…’

Last season saw Ivybridge get off to a flying start, with seven wins in a row, six of them with an attacking bonus point, catapulting them to a a promotion play-off which they won with a try 90 seconds before the death.

If this season proves anything like as exciting as that one, then Ivybridge supporters are in for a treat, although Thomson is aware that some aspects of their play have to tighten up.

He said: ‘We appreciate we have to change our approach a little. We can’t give away as many penalties as we did last season, in this league teams will punish us.

‘We gave away a lot of offside penalties last season so that will be something we can’t afford to do, but coaches Gareth Elliott and Pats (Lewis Paterson) have been drilling that into the boys.

‘We’ve had a good 10 weeks of pre-season, we’ve worked hard quietly, learned a lot and we can’t wait to get going.’

‘Tom Scoles and George Wilson are both out injured at the moment, but Jordan Anderton is back from Newton Abbot, which is a bonus, and George De Mendonca back too.

‘We’ve got a new scrum-half, Connor Banks, who’s settled in quickly and looks fast and sharp. Charlie Briant, who can play wing and full-back, is back with us after captaining Worces­ter University team, and we have Dan James, a back five player who’s looking very fast and fit.

‘We know our squad, we’ve been through a lot as a club and the new players are really buying into the family atmosphere here. The forwards are looking tidy and sharp, the backs have been enjoying themselves and everyone’s keen to get started.’

A win in the first game would certainly give the crowd plenty to cheer about, although given Ivy­bridge have been one of the most exciting teams in any of the leagues been in in the past four years, you suspect that whatever happens there will be plenty of entertainment.