THE whole town of Newent is behind the rugby club for one of the biggest matches in their history this Saturday.
That is the view of The Green Army's head coach Andy Addis whose side welcome Devon visitors New Cross in the South West Counties Senior Cup, just three wins from Twickenham.
With the Gloucester One leaders currently enjoying life in the highest level in their 42-year history, Addis says it will be an occasion to remember.
"This is an opportunity for a small town like Newent who have never had such a sporting event like this that I can remember," he said.
"It's not just the 15 people on the pitch that are playing; it's the whole community.
"It's the couple of thousand people that live in the town and I want them all to feel proud of what the players are doing who are wearing the badge on their chests.
"If we can go on and get to the next level then for many of these boys it will probably be a once in a lifetime opportunity.
"It has got to be the biggest game in our history.
"Every game is big because we're in a position in the league that the club has never been in before so everyone is trying to give their all against us which is great.
"Getting into this cup and getting to the level we have, we have never had anything like this as a club before."
It is not just inside the town of Newent who will be rooting for the Green Army, with many relatives and friends of people connected with the club travelling to offer their support.
New Cross will bring up a couple of coach loads of supporters and with no game scheduled for many of the other local clubs, a number of teams will cheer on their county neighbours from the sidelines too.
Devon One's third placed side New Cross have been filming Newent's recent matches apparently and arrive with five wins from nine games.
Newent will prepare for the game by moving training from Thursday night to Friday, the eve of the game, so everything is still fresh in the players' minds.
But win, lose or draw, Addis just wants to see everyone enjoy the great day.
"We can only do what we can do on the day, which is try your hardest, and you can't ask any more than that," he added.
"I want to keep the boys grounded because they have a job to do and until the final whistle they can just let fly.
"I don't want to put pressure on the boys but it's a very special occasion and it's one they should remember for the rest of their lives because they won't have many chances to play in games like this.
"We just have to try and enjoy the day and do our best but don't panic.
"The sun will still come up the next day whatever happens."
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