Seb Reynolds believes Rams RFC have never been in a better position as he reflected on their startling debut season in National One.
The Old Bath Road side sat third in the table with five games remaining when the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic brought the 2019-20 season to an abrupt halt back in March, but they were elevated to second after the RFU implemented its best playing record formula to all leagues outside the Gallagher Premiership.
Rams – playing in the third tier of English rugby for the first time in their history – ended the season with 19 wins and six defeats from their 25 games, although they were only beaten by four clubs; champions Richmond, Blackheath, Bishop’s Stortford and Old Elthamians.
And reflecting on the runners-up finish, a proud Reynolds said: “It was a pleasant surprise to be moved up to second because there were so many good teams in the division, and to do so is a huge achievement. Richmond were deserving champions and we wish them well back in the Championship.
“Lots of people will say we exceeded expectations and I think that’s right, but on the other hand, I always knew we had a hugely committed group of players who had come through as a collective – you can’t underestimate the importance of that and I don’t think we’d have achieved what we did without it.”
He added: “One of the things we looked at when moving into National One was to try and have an enjoyable season – everyone was very excited. Together as a collective we wanted to step up, and as it went on it was great to see the players with smiles on their faces.
“One thing we learned was if you dropped off at any point you would be punished, and that was shown by the likes of Blackheath, Bishop’s Stortford and Birmingham Moseley, who, even though they were down the bottom, almost beat us away.”
Rams made a flying start to the campaign with four wins on the spin – an opening 36-32 triumph at Cambridge in the first of what became a season of classics, followed by a 25-21 win at home to Birmingham, an 11-7 win at the 25,000-seater home of Darlington Mowden Park, and an unbelievable 27-21 home success against local rivals Chinnor, when Henry Bird became an instant fan favourite with his last-gasp score in front of the clubhouse.
The first setback came at Richmond, but Rams responded superbly with a clinical 36-8 win against fellow promoted side Hull Ionians.
Back-to-back defeats at Blackheath and Bishop’s Stortford followed as the danger of the early-season momentum becoming affected was raised, before a superb 29-7 victory against Cinderford and a 28-16 triumph at former Premiership side Rotherham Titans got Rams back on track.
However, they turned in probably their worst performance of the season in a 23-10 reverse in a stop-start game against Old Elthamians at Old Bath Road, only to enjoy a magnificent run which saw Canterbury, Rosslyn Park – in a heart-stopping 27-20 win which featured two penalty tries in the final seven minutes – Sale, Plymouth Albion and Birmingham – when Andrew Humberstone kicked a penalty with the last play of the game – all overcome.
At the turn of the year, Rams were in the thick of a title challenge alongside Richmond and Rosslyn Park, with Chinnor lurking in the wings.
Looking back on the first half of the season, Reynolds could not under-emphasise the importance of his side’s good start.
He commented: “One of the most important points of the season was beating Cambridge away on the first day of the season – they were an excellent side and we did enough to hold on, which gave us confidence we would be competitive.
“Rosslyn Park and Chinnor at home were also memorable scoring late on at the clubhouse end.”
The New Year brought a 27-17 triumph against Mowden Park, before what Reynolds proclaimed his highlight of the season, the 21-17 under the Friday night lights at Chinnor*.
Having led 21-3 early in the second half, Rams were forced to repel a blistering home reply – at the time Reynolds said ‘they were a side whose season was on the line’ – and hung on in front of a massive crowd.
The Director of Rugby stated: “I think the stand-out moment for me was the win at Chinnor. I give huge credit to them for organising the Friday night and it was a great atmosphere. But when Ollie Taylor stole the line-out in the last play, that to me was really special.”
A ground record crowd of 1,131 attended the following week’s top-of-the-table clash with Richmond – when Rams introduced their new shuttle bus service to partially allay parking problems caused by ever-increasing attendances – but the majority were left disappointed as the visitors used their experience to eke out a 22-17 success which proved crucial in the end.
Whether it was pivotal to the result or not, it is worth noting Rams had gone into the game off the back of the emotional high of the Chinnor clash, while the champions had been able to send a virtual 2nd XV to Hull the week before.
Rams responded with a comfortable success at Ionians, but then saw their outside title hopes suffer another setback with a 31-18 home loss to Blackheath – the first time they had lost back-to-back home games since 2016 – in a fixture where visiting fly-half Mark Cooke put in one of the individual performances of the season.
Another absolute cracker followed as Rams edged past Bishop’s Stortford 35-31 in a 10-try thriller, the win again coming courtesy of a late penalty try and the triumph the first in six attempts against the Hertfordshire visitors.
However, Rams subsequently suffered a fatal blow to their hopes of coming out on top – a five-point punishment harshly imposed by the RFU for an administrative error relating to the new Regulation 7 regarding player payment. Support came in for the club from around the country, with the consensus that a slap on the wrists would have been a sufficient punishment. However, as the first club to fall foul of the new rules, the RFU has set a precedent.
In a fashion which typified the season, Rams responded with a memorable 25-20 victory at home to Rotherham. What was more significant than the on-field triumph was the efforts made by volunteers just to get the game on. Chairman Andy Lynch was among 20-plus people helping to pump water off the surface from 8.30am, and in what turned out to be the last 1st XV game at Old Bath Road this season, they signed off with a thrilling success.
A bonus-point win followed at a much-changed and youthful Old Elthamians side, before, rather appropriately, Rams ended with a stunning 40-38 triumph in a re-arranged fixture at Cinderford. Once again the never-say-die attitude and remarkable ‘will to win’, ensured victory by the smallest of margins.
Post-season, Tom Vooght claimed the club’s Supporters’ Player of the Year trophy after beating off competition from Niall Kidd (front row), Ollie Cole (half backs) and Connor Hayhow (outside backs), but Reynolds admitted: “I couldn’t have voted for Player of the Year as it would have had to be null and voided – I’d have voted for every single one of them!
“The front row were outstanding throughout, as were Ollie Taylor and Connor (Stapley) in the second row.
“The back row were amazing and led by Robbie (Stapley) they really stood up to everything that was thrown at them throughout the season.
“We had two great scrum-halves in Ollie Cole and Jack Moates, Alex Seers at fly-half, Drew Humberstone, Ellis Jones, Stevie Bryant, Connor Hayhow and Kieran Leicester in the centres and then in the back three to have the likes of Henry Bird, Conor Corrigan and Jak Rossiter, we were very lucky.”
Reynolds himself was named as the NCA Rugby National One DOR of the Season, while three Rams were included in The Rugby Paper’s Team of the Season.
Typically modest, Reynolds commented: “It’s nice to achieve some national recognition but it’s not an individual thing – it’s a reward for everyone. I’m lucky to have the likes of Owen Root, Danny Batty, Joe Southwell and the rest of the back room staff, Rob Dyer and Paddy Conlon who run the Titans, and the off-field commitment and support from the likes of Janette Tichband and Matt Maxwell and everyone else.
“But in the end, it’s really about the players. They must take the credit for a remarkable season in National One. It was great to see Ollie, Tom and Robbie named in the Team of the Season, and to see the likes of Connor Stapley, James Baker, Ollie Cole, Andrew Humberstone and Ben Henderson mentioned, but I’m sure they would all say the same – it’s very much a collective effort.”
With sport across the country still currently on hold, the Director of Rugby gave an insight into what is currently going on and his hopes for the future.
He said: “It’s definitely a strange time and in the middle of a global pandemic, it is a bit strange to talk about sport.
“But as you move forward, you realise sport is a big part of people’s lives – the camaraderie of being part of a club whether it be playing, supporting or whatever.
“At the moment we are following Government guidelines in terms of what we can do – you can train one-on-one outside as long as you maintain social distance and you can’t touch rugby balls – but we’re working all the time on plans to make sure we’re ready to move on when we get the chance.”
He concluded: “I’ve been involved with the club for a long time now and it’s never been so positive. The support we have had home and away has been phenomenal, and everyone throughout the club is so united.
“From the 1st XV down to the Minis, the coaches, the off-field guys, everyone is part of the Ramily. At some clubs you can have a dis-connect between certain sections, but we are so lucky that we have the Minis lead the Guard of Honour for home games, senior players put time back into coaching and supporting the juniors on Sunday - the future really is bright.
“We want to continue to push forward and really give the Reading rugby community something to be proud of.”

* Author’s Note – I was lucky enough to spend much of the second half of the Chinnor game next to the away dug-out, which was filled with a number of injured or non-selected players as well as the coaching staff and substitutes. At the time I mentioned I had never seen such a unified team in 25+ years of playing/watching sport, and it was an amazing finish.
However, for me, Rosslyn Park at home, and the decision to go for the penalty try with the final play, was truly special. To say to one of the most historic clubs in the world, which had started with two international props, ‘we are going to push you back and claim a bonus-point’, was a phenomenal show of confidence and belief. It was the moment Rams really showed they belonged.