Roll on Sunday and the start of the new rugby season.

I may have retired, but I will be at the Memorial Stadium to watch Bristol Rugby play London Welsh – and I will be there for every game throughout the rest of the season.

I still enjoy rugby and Bristol is still a massive part of me. I am looking forward to getting up there and seeing the boys in action.

The noises coming out of the camp are positive: everyone is talking about a really good pre-season. But then every single club in the country will have had a good pre-season – and the test comes when you lose a league game or when something goes wrong.

I want to see the Bristol players prove their worth during the coming season. I want to see them cherish wearing that shirt and get the club back where it should be.

A lot of people have moved on since the end of last season, but rugby clubs are evolving all the time and I just hope Paul Hull cracks it this season.

The opening game is at home, which is a big plus, although London Welsh are certainly no mugs. I think Bristol will win the game but it will be tough.

And that goes for the Championship itself – it's relentless; a full-on slog. There's a lot more travelling than in the Premiership and every team will be out to beat Bristol as the relegated side.

It is typical, too, that they should change the rules regarding promotion the year Bristol go down. Stats show that the relegated team usually finishes top of the pile – but that will not be good enough this season. Even if Bristol do finish top, they will still have to go through the play-off system, and that makes life very tough indeed.

The pressure is massively on Paul Hull this season. We have to go back up and he is under immense pressure to deliver. If he doesn't, he will look at it as a massive failure.

It is too difficult to predict whether Bristol Rugby will go up. But I will be right behind the boys and I would like to wish everyone at the club every success for the 2009-10 season.