His long-term objective is to forge a successful career with Bath Rugby in the Premiership but for the time being Will Britton has his eyes firmly focussed on dominating a new-look competition called BUCS Super Rugby.

The 20-year-old second-rower has been handed the honour of leading the University of Bath in a new national league, which will see the eight strongest university teams go head-to-head.

The aim is to recreate the buzz, excitement and interest reserved for the annual Oxford versus Cambridge fixture at Twickenham in December on a weekly basis throughout the BUCS programme.

Joining Bath in the competition are Exeter, Leeds Beckett Carnegie, Hartpury, Loughborough, Durham, Northumbria and Cardiff Met, with the new league set to launch in October.

BUCS Super Rugby will be the pinnacle of higher education sport, showcasing the highest quality student rugby in the world, with the action also possibly being broadcast on TV.

“I know everyone is very excited, just talking to the other captains today, about the investment and the energy that is around university rugby at the moment,” said Britton, who featured for Bath Rugby in the West Country derby against Gloucester last season.

“I think it is very special, I haven’t really got to grips with it entirely yet but I’m sure that when we get some games under our belt then we will see how things go.

“I’m just excited about getting the first game through and giving the boys the best I can.

“With the new format that we have in BUCS Super Rugby, I think there is a higher level of exposure for the players, bigger crowds and more people watching, potentially it going on the internet as well.

“The players themselves will have so many more eyes on them, if they do well, if they do badly – so let’s hope they play well.

“There are more people to watch, so that can only raise your game.

“We’re definitely excited by TV, starting from an early age you always want to play on TV, whether that is playing for your favourite club, or playing for your university, it’s just exciting times all round with the amount of exposure we’ll have.

“I don’t think you can really put a price on playing at Twickenham.

“Playing with your mates, week in, week out, is good, but coming to a place like Twickenham, after all the work of a long season, would be something really special.”

Britton attended the Twickenham launch of the new competition last week, where he rubbed shoulders with the coaches and captains of the seven other competing teams.

The university representatives took part in a pitch side press conference, walked the hallowed turf at Twickenham and also experienced the changing rooms and tunnel.

For Britton it was a special experience but the second row, who admits he knows little about some of the other sides in the competition, is desperate to now make his mark on the pitch for the University of Bath.

The talking has now been completed and it’s about the performances on the field; that’s according to Britton.

He added: “I don’t really know too much about Northumbria, while Leeds Beckett has done well in the competition previously, so they’re a team we have to look out for.

“But at this stage, with the quality of teams you have in the league, there are no easy games and every week is quarter-final rugby for us.

“The University of Bath has been great, the increased investment, we’ve got new facilities on the way. The coaching staffs have always been great and we’ve just bolstered that this year.

“You get a sense, just walking around at pre-season, that the university is really behind us this year, pushing rugby forwards, as they should be.

“With this new league everyone seems to be buying into it, really well.

“I think the RFU are behind this more so than ever before. Which I think is right.

“We have such quality players in the university system at the moment, it seems only fair that they get as much support as possible from the RFU.”

BUCS Super Rugby is a new national league, bringing together the eight best men’s university rugby teams in the country. The league is run by British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) and powered by Rugby Vertical. For more info visit www.bucs.org.uk/superrugby