ALAN Low described the re-signing of former captain Gary Williamson to Royal Wootton Bassett as “massive”.

Wiliamson left Bassett for Swindon RFC back in 2012 but has now returned to the club where he came through the ranks as a junior for the 2014/15 season.

Williamson joins a raft of new and returning players at the Ballards Ash club, including former Chippenham centre Gary Champion.

Low is delighted with how his squad is shaping up with the signings made in the off-season.

“We’ve made a lot of additions, some very good ones, one of the biggest is Gary Williamson who has come back to the club, he’s a current Dorset & Wilts prop from Swindon,” said Low. “For us that is a huge signing, he’s been a Bassett boy, from under sevens up. He chose to move to Swindon and now he’s decided to come back which is massive for us.”

On Champion, Low added: “He’s the sort of calibre of player that doesn’t walk through your door every day, he’s a vastly experienced national league player and will add a lot to that back line now he’s available.”

For Williamson, the return to Bassett makes sense on a number of levels.

“We’ve just had a baby as a family and it makes more sense to be closer to home, also I’ve worked with Alan before and he’s a good coach,” he said.

Asked whether he thought the club was going in the right direction on the field, Williamson responded: “Definitely, I believe so, they have the right sort of people in to concentrate on the rugby side of things, before it was off the field things they were concentrating on.

“It would be brilliant in to get promoted and I think that we should definitely be aiming for the top three.”

Champion, a strapping centre who recently moved to the town, thinks the club have the potential to push on to the level he had been playing with his former club.

He said: “They have the structure and the players on board to do that (climb up to Chippenham’s level), if they continue going the direction they are, the development squad and colts team show they are prepared for getting youngsters through.

“With the right personnel there amend the right players they can definitely push right on.”

Bassett have also added scrum-half Sam Knights from Bridgwater, and former colt Ed Lucas.