By John Gilding, a former pupil of Wellesley Park Primary School and Court Fields School in Wellington

Last Saturday, along with a handful of Wellington’s other rugby fans, I made the 150-odd mile journey to Twickenham. To watch the final of the Rugby Premiership, between Saracens, and the mighty Exeter Chiefs. With a bit of light chanting – oooh-way-oooh etc – on the side. Going into the game, Chiefs deserved to win, having finished eight points clear at the top of the table, after a blinding season.

Unfortunately, it was not to be.

Saracens outplayed the Chiefs in every area, and the final finished 27-10 to the London side. Ah well. As they say, you win some, you lose some. There’s always next year, easy come, easy go, and all that. You wouldn’t have known that Exeter had lost from the post-match chanting, though.

Despite the result, it was a brilliant display of how the South-West is remarkable in its sporting ability, particularly in rugby and cricket. Down here, there’s a more limited talent pool than in the north-west, and there aren’t the same facilities as in London, but we still give any big city club a run for their money.

And the same is true for our little town, nestled in the heart of Somerset. Promoted to the Devon and Cornwall league after a dominant rugby season. You never know, give it a few years – possibly decades, let’s be reasonable here – and it might be the red and black of Wellington, filling the pitch of Twickenham.