“WHEN I went and met Seb I took my nine-year-old son Henry to Old Bath Road and wasn’t sure how it was going to look, so I set him up in the car, but straight away Seb said ‘get him in the clubhouse’, next thing I know when I come back from the chat he’s got the WiFI password, lunch has been put on, he’s got a can of coke – that kind of stuff is just incredible and the perfect club for me.”

So says British Army captain Pete Austin, the Red Shirts ace who has played in front of more than 50,000 against the Navy at Twickenham, picked up more than 25 Forces caps and now comes to Rams aiming to fire the side to the next level.

A hooker with a storied history, Pete first got into rugby at Warblington School in Hampshire as a 12-year-old, a rapid rise following as he explained: “I picked the ball up, started running at people and found it good fun.

“From there, my coach Rob Andrews put me in his car and drove me to Havant rugby club, and then things moved quickly.

“After getting there aged 13 I was called into the London Irish programme, Hampshire, then London South East and then England Under 16s – it was a very fun time because I was playing with the likes of Owen Farrell, George Ford, Manu Tuilagi, the Vunipola brothers. It was brilliant.”

Having then attended St Paul’s Catholic School as one of Irish’s feeders – where he met current Rams Harry Stapleton and Ed Hoadley – Pete went onto play for England U18s before heading to New Zealand where he played for Hawkes Bay Under 20s.

Reflecting on a special time in his life he added: “The country and the rugby was brilliant. The stuff I learnt there I brought back to London Irish, and I remember them setting up drills off the back of what I’d been taught in New Zealand, which was cool.”

Things though took a turn of fortune as he was let go by Exiles, a new career swiftly found.
Pete continued: “I stayed with Irish for six months after I got back and then got the nod on the head to say ‘we’re not going to re-sign you’, so I moved back home and then joined the British Army.

“I had a few friends who were in there, Dom Bellman took me to the career’s office, and I went along with it – having been living in London for six months then back with mum it just felt a weird place to be! I needed something as a 21-year-old.”

Yet rugby remained a serious passion and having been picked for the Red Shirts in his first year within the military, further full-time contracts came at London Scottish, Birmingham Moseley – for whom he played against Rams in the first National One fixture at Old Bath Road back in 2019 – and then Chinnor.

The latter ended with Covid sweeping the globe, Pete back to a full working life yet still playing regularly for 12 Regiment RA, Royal Artillery and Army in the past few years.

Now 34, and having found in his words ‘the perfect club’, he is set determined to push Rams to the next level alongside plenty of friends and with a style he buys into.

He said: “Out of all the rugby I’ve played, National One has probably been my favourite – and I want to do it again. I thank the Army for letting me do this.”

“I’m very close to Solo(drau Radianirova), Harry, Ed, and Rams just seems such a family-orientated club.

“On the field I always want to bring leadership where it’s needed. When you join a new club, it takes time to know exactly when to give a couple of words of advice, but hopefully I can do that.

“I also know Rams have always been proud of the pack, and that’s something which excites me.

“Whoever I’ve played for I’ve always prided myself on doing the set-piece well, scrum, line-out – if they jump right, I’m not too worried about hitting them!”

And having played in front huge crowds, and ‘some not so big’, Pete cannot wait to get the chance to meet the Ramily, with average attendances more than 1,000 last term and continuing to grow.

He ended: “Fans of any club are so important, and it comes down to consistency. When they’re always rooting for the side, it makes such a difference to the players, and if selected I can’t wait to be out there in front of that kind of atmosphere.”

*Picture by Alligin Images