IN THE eight years I've been at Cinderford, firstly as player/coach and then in the last three years as director of rugby, the standard has never been as good as it is now.
In the last few years our standard has increased remarkably and we have made great strides in how we achieve the results, how we play and our game plan.
I know the standard in National One has gone up and this could also be the case for any of the other divisions.
Perhaps the measure is that the players coming up from the other leagues into our division have generally done pretty well.
The likes of Ealing are relatively new to National One but are now topping the table, as are Old Albanians who have acquitted themselves well and only came up this year.
There are sides that have done well and overtaken the traditional sides such as Tynedale, Wharfedale and Cambridge.
People who come down from the Championship, if their budget lasts, are going to be strong, if only because they've played at that higher level.
If a Plymouth or Moseley come down then you know it's going to be difficult and with the teams coming up as well, it creates a bottle neck in the division.
Clubs are driven by finances and it comes down to whether you have the financial clout and motivation to get out and maintain your position in a very competitive and potentially expensive league, if spent wisely..
National One is a very difficult league to finance because you don't get any backing from the RFU and you need good sponsors and good benefactors.
If you look at Cambridge they haven't got any money so it's no surprise they're bottom of the table, but that said sometimes money doesn't get you everything.
You need a strong coaching team, a good game plan, solid structure and talented players around you and to attract and recruit the right calibre of player matched with a visionary committee.
If you can do that then you are on the road to success which is where Ealing are at this moment because they're grinding out wins even away from home.
WHY I DON'T BEGRUDGE RORY ANY OF HIS MILLIONS
RORY McIlroy has signed a $150million deal with Nike which makes me think has sport gone mad.
For an individual sportsman to command that amount is staggering and that's potentially before he has even swung a golf club.
In team sports, especially in rugby, that sort of cash is just not around but it goes to show how powerful a 'brand' can be worth, commercially.
The Nike brand is the ultimate and is such a powerful entity and is all over the media today.
In our sport, it's all about playing a brand of rugby that creates a spectacle that fans want to watch and that's what we're trying to do at Cinderford.
We are continually strengthening our brand in different ways with good organisation, good coaching and good facilities, that attracts players and more fans.
Sadly we can't all be a Rory McIlroy and earn that kind of money.
People talk about recession and the economy but in professional sport, as in rugby and football, if you are good enough then you can pick up a decent amount of money.
Fair play to Rory, because it's a short lifespan, well not that short for golfers.
I never realised the true value of sporting individuals until I became a director of rugby.
When you buy someone and they're class straight away, you can see how they affect the result and the team.
My views have obviously changed and all I would say is I don't begrudge Rory McIlroy a penny of it.
He's a humble and polite man and respects his sport and that's what people like to see.
If you put in the hard work on that global platform then you reap the rewards.
It's only when they become slightly petulant and removed from the real work, as some sportsmen can do because of money, then it muddies the water.
If they stay humble and hardworking and put a bit back in when they have finished, charity work as well, then everyone is a winner really.
ITS A FREE-FOR-ALL IN ALL OF THE TOP THREE DIVISIONS OF ENGLISH RUGBY
IN THE top three tiers of English rugby – the Premiership, the Championship and National One – anyone can beat anyone.
Every team is competing for five points each week.
In our division, National One, Macclesfield beat Blackheath recently and then us on Saturday but they sit in the bottom three.
They've won five times compared to our seven victories and yet we sit in mid-table just three points off sixth place, so you can see the margins are very slim.
When you go lower down the leagues into Hartpury and Lydney's division, National Two South, then it is further split into two regional leagues.
Sometimes you get a league within a league, where the top half is very competitive against a bottom half who simply can't compete.
