THORNBURY head coach Gareth Llewellyn says he would have taken their current position at the start of the season.

The former Wales captain arrived at Rockhampton Road last summer and has led the club to second place in the Western Counties North table.

Llewellyn believes Thornbury are still on course to achieve their ambition of winning the league and earning promotion this season but is frustrated they are not in an even better position.

They are only two points behind league leaders Old Redcliffians after 14 games and are due to get back into action this Saturday with a trip to Gordon League after a winter break.

Llewellyn said: “When I came to the club, results in the league last year weren’t great but a lot of people were saying it was a better team than the league position, so on the face of it I would have taken it.

“Having gone through what we have gone through it is frustrating to lose the games that we have done. We’ve lost three games that we shouldn’t have lost.

“But on the whole, relative to what the club did last season, it has gone very well.

“At the moment the league is still in our hands but we’ve given ourselves more of a hill to climb so it’s frustrating to be in that position. The players have worked hard, taken a lot on board and injuries have played a part.”

Llewellyn certainly will not be complacent though as Thornbury try to catch Old Reds at the top of the table.

He said: “We won at their place but they are top and have got the better points difference which gives us a bit of a mountain to climb.

“I know their coach well- Graeme Beveridge - and he said it would come down to us two, but there is a lot of rugby to play and there will be slip ups on the way.”

Former Bristol, Ospreys and Harlequins second row Llewellyn is relishing his first job as a head coach since his shock appointment at Thornbury, and he has been pleased with the way the players have responded to him.

He said: “I’d like to think we’ve improved our structure and how we attack.

“When I came to the club it was clearly obvious that we had a decent set of backs but we needed to make sure the forwards were up to speed.

“They have probably improved more than the backs but they had more to improve on, and they have done a fantastic job in improving their game.

He added: “They are a bunch of Thornbury lads, there are no ex-internationals like there are in other teams. They’re just a bunch of lads from the Town doing very well.”