FLYING wing Conor Corrigan is chomping at the bit to return to action when Rams take their place in a fascinating National Cup pool.

With the draw being done geographically due to the coronavirus pandemic, Rams have been placed in a thrilling six-team group which also includes Rosslyn Park and Chinnor – the other sides aside from champions Richmond at the top of the National One table at the end of the shortened last season.

Conor’s former club Henley Hawks are also in the mix along with Barnes and Esher, making Pool Two one of the ones to follow in the initial stages of a competition which could end with a Twickenham final in May.

And the Aussie speedster revealed: “I’m very excited – there are a good few good derbies and I’m sure everyone will be up for it.

“It’s been a while since we’ve played so I’m expecting a lot of energy from all the teams involved.”

It has been a long nine months since Conor’s two-try effort helped Rams to a 40-38 win in a thriller at Cinderford back in March, and he remains the most recent NCA Player of the Week!

And looking back on a remarkable time, he said: “The last nine months have been very interesting mentally and physically for me.

“Mentally I’ve been very healthy and physically I think my body has been able to rest and recover, have some time off from the aches and pains, but now I’m ready to hit the field and get back playing.”

Reflecting on his most successful season at Rams in terms of tries to date – 13 in the 2017/18 campaign when the boys finished third behind Cinderford and Chinnor, Conor admitted his memories aren’t crystal clear.

He said: “I can’t remember much about that season, although I have glimpses of games here and there.

“I remember the Henley games (a 28-24 defeat and a 51-0 win) and the Chinnor, Taunton and Redruth away games – those ones are always memorable win or lose.”

In the middle of the season, Conor also enjoyed a real hot streak when he scored five weeks in a row, against Barnstaple, Wimbledon, Redruth, Taunton and Bury St Edmunds, and he revealed: “Scoring a try always feels great and I was on cloud nine after five in a row.”

Director of Rugby, Seb Reynolds, and a number of others have suggested the 2017/18 campaign, when Rams suffered heart-breaking home losses to Cinderford and Chinnor, have helped the club develop, and Conor is in absolute agreement.

He reminisced: “I think we’ve grown and matured as a team – those narrow losses leave a very bitter taste in our mouths because we know we could have done better in those last moments.

“(Since then) We’ve improved by playing 80 minutes of rugby and only taking our foot off the gas at the final whistle.”

Having switched to the club in January 2016, Conor has crossed the whitewash 47 times to put himself just outside the top five in Rams’ history (Craig Clements has 55), but he admits he doesn’t have a final goal in total.

He concluded: “I’ve never set myself a target for total amount of tries, but as long as I keep playing I’d hope to aim for 10 a season at least.”

Rest of the calendar

1 - Jez Flynn
2 - Andy Lynch
3 - Josh Collis
4 - Joe Bell
5 - Rodney Hutson
6 - Seb Reynolds
7 - Jamie Guttridge
8 - Robbie Stapley
9 - Gary Reynolds
10 - Alex Seers
11 - Owen Root
12 - Nick Flynn