History

History


The club was founded as Old Redingensians in 1924 by former pupils of Reading School. The first game was a 26-8 victory away to Newbury Grammar School on October 4.
Home games were played at Morgan Road and Liebenrood Road in Reading for a couple of seasons until a ground was rented at Gosbrook Road, Caversham.
Meanwhile plans were being made for a more permanent home at Emmer Green, where a new ground was opened on October 1 1927 by FH Stokes, the first England rugby captain.
The nineteen-and-a half acres provided two pitches, a cricket square plus grazing for cattle and by the following season ORs were fielding three sides on a regular basis.
Fixtures resumed after the war and the Reading Borough Council purchased the Emmer Green ground for development in 1948 for around £5000.
A switch was made to the present Old Bath Road, Sonning site - future RFU president Dennis Easby among others being instrumental in the purchase.
With a lack of former pupils joining from Reading School, it became difficult to field three XVs and the club became open in 1968. The following year "Old" was dropped from the title.
A milestone in the club's history came in October 1973 when a new £22,000 clubhouse was opened by RFU president Mickey Steele-Bodger.
Another big step forward was the formation of the junior section by Peter Evans. This continues to provide a steady stream of talent to the senior sides, home grown products Spike Chandler (932) and Jez Flynn (100) at present heading the all-time league points and try lists..
In 1987 the Gwyn Francis Room, a lounge area overlooking the first team pitch, was added to the clubhouse. Francis, a former Welsh international and master at Reading School, had been a great supporter of the club.
The same year the English League system was introduced and initially helped Redingensians. They won promotion from the Southern Counties League in their inaugural season but the spell in South West 2 was short-lived.
A slide down the leagues to Berks Dorset & Wilts 1 ensued, before a mini-revival with promotion to Southern Counties South (1997-8) and South West 2 East (2000-1) where the stay lasted just one season.
However a change of fortune came about thanks to players coming through from a flourishing junior section. A young side gained promotion from Southern Counties North and South West 2 East in successive seasons (2005-6) and (2006-7).
This meant the club reached South West 1 (now National 3 South West) - the highest level in their history. They have maintained this status with some degree of comfort, finishing a record-breaking 2011-2 season in a best ever third place.
A highest league score was amassed at Bridgwater (85-0) and Robbie Stapley crossed for a seasonal 27 touchdowns.
The same season the Colts reached the final of the English Colts Club Championship before losing to Bedford Blues.
The nickname “Rams” was adopted to reflect the club’s connection with Reading, the animal featuring in the town’s coat of arms.
The club name changed it's name to Rams RFC in May 2018 with the formally approval of the RFU.
New ground was also broken with the formation of the Rams Academy – a joint venture of the club and the University of Reading to recruit and develop promising young players from the local community.
At the helm is Rams director of coaching Mike Tewkesbury, who guided Berks under-20s to the County Championship at Twickenham last season.
Rams Rugby run five adult teams and the youth section is among the biggest in the area with approximately over 500 boys and girls playing on Sundays. The club fields sides at every age group from Under 6 to Colts.

With effect from 25th January 2023 - Rams Rugby Football Club Limited is a company registered in England & Wales with number 14613862 whose registered office is at Rams Rugby Football Club, Old Bath Road, Sonning, Reading, Berkshire, RG4 6TQ .