As we look back to finally returning to the field of play against our neighbours and National One rivals Chinnor, we will take a look back over some classic encounters before May 22.

2) Rams 27-21 Chinnor (September 2019)

The hosts continued their dream start to life in National One and Henry Bird made himself an instant fans’ favourite with a dramatic late score in front of the clubhouse which led to a famous win.

A disappointing opening 40 minutes left Rams trailing 14-3, Lawrence May converting tries from Jason Worrall and Chris Elder to overcome an Alex Seers’ penalty.

Yet Rams hit back supremely early in the second half as Seers added the extras to a Bird try and Conor Corrigan also touched down to make it 15-14.

A Chinnor side full of players with Premiership and Championship experience regrouped and re-took the lead when Elder cut a beautiful line to score and May knocked over a third conversion.

Yellow cards for visiting duo Shek Sherriff and Cameron Gray gave Rams a glimmer of hope, and captain Robbie Stapley blasted the door further open with a 75th-minute try.

And in front of a raucous home crowd, Bird scored in the final minute in front of the clubhouse before Seers landed a touchline conversion with the last play of the game.

Speaking at the time, Stapley said: “We realised at half-time that we were flat and playing at 60 per cent, we were giving them too much respect.

“In the second half we went at them with a bit of determination and a bit of grit.

“We want to do this for each other, we were over the moon about winning.”

He continued: “It’s great to be involved in a game like that and the enjoyment it gives us. The big thing was maybe last year or two years ago, we may not have pulled together and we might have slipped up, but today when we were slipping up, we never panicked, we were always together. It shows what we’ve built on in the last two years.”

Meanwhile, a delighted Director of Rugby, Seb Reynolds, added: “The players can be incredibly proud of themselves. We looked at their back row yesterday and somebody said they’ve got an ex-Premiership player, an ex-Championship player and another ex-Premiership player, and we’ve got Robbie Stapley, Tom Vooght and Jamie Guttridge from Reading and the Berkshire area, but they were just fantastic.

“They’re a brilliant back row, as hard as nails. They were colossal in taking on a quality side and putting us on the front foot.”

He continued: “Chinnor are a very strong side and they had patches in the game where we were under pressure, but the guys did a great job to come back and seal the victory.

“The players fight for each other. It showed at half-time – for the first time this year we were losing a match, but the players were very calm. I don’t need to say much, they sort it out for themselves. When you know your mate is next to you, there’s a look, a trust, and when you’ve done it for a period of time, it brings out performances like that.”

The List:

15) Chinnor 12-5 Rams (September, 2010)
14) Chinnor 22-10 Rams (September 2011)
13) Chinnor 16-10 Rams (January, 2017)
12) Rams 17-32 Chinnor (October, 2016)
11) Chinnor 36-14 Rams (September, 2017)
10) Rams 18-24 Chinnor (October, 2007)
9) Chinnor 8-6 (December, 2009)
8) Rams 22-22 Chinnor (April, 2012)
7) Rams 37-21 Chinnor (April, 2016)
6) Rams 23-20 Chinnor (September, 2009)
5) Rams 29-31 Chinnor (January, 2018)
4) Rams 17-16 Chinnor (January, 2011)
3) Chinnor 39-41 Rams (December, 2015)