CRAIG Nightingale admits Rams and the sport in general has played a huge impact on his life as he retires – but is relishing his new role as club doctor.

Having joined the club back as a junior, the flanker made his first-team debut as a teenager before returning in 2015/16 to eventually help Rams win National Two South.

But a couple of injuries have now forced his hand on his playing future, albeit he admits he has been blessed to spend some 25 years building up a stack of brilliant memories.

He explained: “The biggest thing rugby has given me is the life in general, and I wouldn’t be the person I am now if it wasn’t for the sport.

“That sounds a little over-dramatic but it’s completely true, it’s been such an influence on my life and a massive shaping force – I owe a lot to the game and to Rams as a club.

“With medicine you can become very one-dimensional and if you’re not careful you can become quite monotonous and not having much to talk about with your friends.

“Coming down to a club where you’ve got road workers, teachers, lawyers, PTs, absolutely everything under the sun, no-one cares what you were doing at work that day, they’re just chatting with their mates.

“It’s kept me happy, and especially at times in the NHS environment it can be easy to become demoralised, but rugby’s kept me going and one of the reasons I’ve never wanted to quit is my teammates.

“The promotion season, having the chance to play against the Barbarians for Richmond, they’re the kind of experiences I don’t think you get in other sports.

“I’ve always said ‘sleep when you’re dead’ and I’d rather work myself to the bone but then share moments with those guys than sack it off for a slightly easier life.”

Craig’s journey at Rams began at the back end of the last century, when as an 11-year-old Reading Schoolboy he was advised to head up to Old Bath Road by former Welsh international and Old Redingensian, John Vaughan.

From there he made his way through the ranks, and on an infamous afternoon where Rams lost 29-0 at Sherborne, he debuted alongside fellow 17-year-old James Baker.

Due to an injury crisis, 45-year-old Andy Lynch also played, but it was a day to forget for the current chairman, who was firstly sent off and then also fined £25 by the groundsman for allowing his dog to run across the recreation ground.

Looking back to 2005 and how things have changed, he admitted: “I don’t remember the dogs, but I do have a funny feeling about the red card!

“It does show how much the club has come forward to the semi-professional set-up it is now, but also the continuity in terms of having the older guys help the younger ones mature.

“They’d been through the mill, and so there was no easy route, you had to prove yourself and it was a baptism of fire.”

Moving away after University to play for the likes of Rosslyn Park and Richmond Craig – who would go onto score 13 tries in more than 60 first-team appearances – came home as Rams began their first season in National Two South.

He joked: “Tewkes somehow got my number and collared me – I was at Richmond but couldn’t fully commit because work was difficult – and he was like a pest who wouldn’t go away.

“So eventually I said yes, and I never looked back from there – it was the same club as when I left, the same family values, and the level we were now playing was perfect for me.

“I’ve always tried to play above where I probably should be – I’d rather be a smaller fish in a bigger pond to try and push myself as much as I can do.

“It meant I was never out-and-out first choice which was fine – there were periods I was, periods I wasn’t – but it meant I was always able to challenge myself.”

Craig’s return did not start perfectly, Rams losing seven of their opening eight games before rallying superbly to secure an eighth-place finish.

A highlight – and one of Ash Rowden’s favourite tries – came in the 42-18 triumph at Old Elthamians, with Craig saying: “It was Robbie with a little basketball pass out the back and I cantered away about 60 but let’s say 85 metres!

“After two or three games where we got some winning momentum, it showed how important belief was, because then we knew we were good enough.

“We had the players, the coaches, the set-up, and just having that bit of extra confidence and self-belief – along with settling into the pace of things – was key.

“A few of us had come in and once we gelled, there was no stopping us and despite the start, we ended up finishing mid-table and from there we thought ‘let’s go and win this league.’ Within three years, we had.”

Indeed, promotion to National One was secured with a 45-21 win at Clifton on April 6, 2019, and Craig had an extra memory than most from a famous day.

He revealed: “I was on the bench, all set and ready to go, and then Niall (Kidd) split his head open just after half-time, so next thing I know I’m stitching him up to get back on.
“Almost immediately I was on and packing down with the guy I’d just sewn up!

“It was a brilliant day, we had so many people down there, friends and family, and it was just such a great season, winning it with two games in hand.”

From there, Craig went onto tick another bucket list goal by spending a season playing in Queensland, Australia, coming up against the likes of Quade Cooper.

However, his return led to a frustrating run with injury and Covid, and he said: “Out in Australia I felt I was playing some of my best rugby and I was really looking forward to getting back into it, then we had the Covid year.

“The thing which kept me there or thereabouts was I was always quite quick – I was never the biggest, never the best, but I was quick.

“Losing that after the injury, I was happy to play last year – walk off the pitch in my last game rather than getting carried off – but now’s the time.

“I’m very lucky in I’d never had a serious injury until I was 33, many of my mates had to stop in their 20s, and because of that luck and longevity I’ve had some special moments.”

And as he makes his exit, the retiring ace was quick to point out beyond the players what a special job the coaching team have done, while also looking to the future as he continued: “I could say an awful lot about each of them, but Seb’s obviously got a huge passion for it having played through the juniors and years at the club, and he’s so good as a Director of Rugby.

“Everyone knows Rooty and how he puts his heart into it, he’s put so much into it from playing and then coming through the ranks.

“It’s testament to the club then when they stopped playing, they wanted to stay on.

“Robbie as skipper has been a talisman and I’m slightly jealous he’s able to keep going on beyond me, but even there what’s great is we’ve got the likes of James McRae coming through – the club’s in a great position to move forward, where we’re not reliant on the older guys as we’ve been blooding some great younger players.”

And there was one final group Craig wished to pay tribute to, as he added: “You know you’ve got the supporters with you because they all know your name, sometimes even in the street, and they are what makes it such a great community club.

“You’ve got the kids down there getting involved with the players, the old boys shouting good-natured abuse and stick, but it just shows the camaraderie.

“I think it’s starting to dwindle a little in modern rugby, and we’re very lucky we still have the community spirit.”

With his playing days now behind him, it is the family feel around the club which means he was desperate to stay involved, and the new club doctor ended: “I’ve just had my knee operated on about a month ago, so I’m rehabbing that– I won’t be running round the pitch as team doctor just yet, but I’ll certainly be on the sidelines patching the boys up and during the week as well.

“As time goes by, I’d like to push on and develop the medical side of the club, which has been great, but which has things we can improve on as well, so I’m looking forward to getting my teeth stuck into that and helping in a new way.”

*Thank you for all your efforts Craig and we’re delighted you’re staying involved!