The 21-year-old, who caught the eye in two decent performances against Rams while on loan at Dings Crusaders last term, admitted his first week of training was great as he explained his delight at moving to Old Bath Road.
He said: “It’s been good to meet the boys, training has been fun and it’s great to be getting into it.
“I love the style of play and it was something I said to (DoR) Seb (Reynolds) about. The way they want to keep the ball alive, go forward, I love attacking rugby and it fits in with me.
“I pride myself on my physicality and look to impose that in everything I do on the pitch, but I’m excited to have a new opportunity, learn from new coaches and play in a different environment – I’ve been in and around Bristol my whole life and there is incredible passion in the area.
“Whenever I’ve watched Bears at Ashton Gate, the fans love it, the community’s invested in it – you can’t get away from it – but not knowing anyone here it’s exciting to have a completely fresh slate.”
Big boots to fill
Indeed, with a passing of the torch in the back row with James McRae, Tom Vooght and record try-scorer Robbie Stapley all retiring, he added: “From what I’ve heard they did a hell of a job while they were here, so there are some big boots to fill. I’m excited for the challenge and will be pushing as hard as I can to get the shirt.”
Having first been exposed to football by his dad Simon, Aaron switched to the oval ball as an Under 7 at Thornbury, spending a short time at Cleve before he was called into the Bristol Pathway at Under 14.
Educated at Castle School, he was awarded a sixth-form scholarship to powerhouse Clifton College, although his first year did not go entirely to plan.
He explained: “It was weird because it was COVID, I think we only played two or three games, but to be able to learn off Danny Grewcock, Matt Salter – big names in the rugby world – was class.
“They were very nice people, always willing to answer any questions, and it worked nicely.”
Bristol Academy stint
In his final school year Aaron went onto captain an unbeaten Bears side to Premiership U18 glory, before spending the past three seasons in the Academy.
Grateful for his chances, he continued: “The U18s was a very enjoyable season – when I look back at it now, it was a special group and I’m still in touch with them all, including some of my best mates.
“We were so close and it made it easy to lead them, while the Academy was another great three years. I learnt a lot from the coaches and (Director of Rugby) Pat (Lam) is incredibly knowledgeable about the sport.”
And Aaron, who had a previous loan spell at Old Redcliffians, felt he learnt a lot while scoring three tries in 17 appearances for Dings last term
He ended: “I enjoyed it and got a decent amount of game time – what struck me about National One was how physical it was, but also how competitive. There were no easy games and no team could ever really go into one thinking ‘we’re going to win this week’.
“We had a good game down at Rams and I enjoyed it even though it was tough, but it was the atmosphere which stuck with me – I can’t wait to hopefully get the chance to play with the support behind me!”
*Welcome to Rams, Aaron – we can’t wait to see you in action!
