DIRECTOR of Rugby Seb Reynolds can’t wait to see how ‘a summer of change’ pans out when Rams welcome old rivals Sale FC to Old Bath Road for their National One opener tomorrow (3pm).

The Berkshire boys hand out nine debuts against The Dogs, seven of them in the starting line-up.

In the pack, tight-head prop Sam Stirling, second row Shay Sainsbury and open-side flanker Johnny Ireland are given the nod.

Fly-half Ross McKay, outside centre Matt Blee and wings Connor Burns and Henry Kirwan also go from the off.

And the youthful duo of prop JJ Wozniak and back row Ollie Stirling are ready to go from the bench.

More experience is sprinkled around the debutants, with centurion Ant Marris and Army captain Pete Austin in the front row.

Lock Paddy Jackson, blind-side Aaron Tull plus captain and No. 8 Willo Bicknell complete the pack.

The latter was Players’ Player of the Year in his maiden campaign. And he scored a hat-trick versus Sedgley Park in the last league game at OBR.

Ed Hoadley is at scrum-half, with another ton-plus stalwart, Ellis Jones, at 12.

Zach Clow, replete with 48 tries in 75 appearances, rounds out the starters.

And James Baker, with 461, is joined by Harry Bicknell and last year’s top points-scorer, Mike Cooke, on the bench.

Rams beat Clifton 40-14 before going down 52-29 at Welsh Super Rygbi outfit Aberavon in their warm-up games.

The Under 23s also lost a thriller 43-42 at Oxford Harlequins.

‘A summer of change’

And Seb revealed: “After a long pre-season, it’s always nice to get out there for the first league game.

“We’ve got high expectations and are looking forward to seeing what we’ve been working on put into action.

“Pre-season is always tricky because rugby is a brutal sport with loads of collisions and knocks, but when you’ve got it done, sometimes it becomes easier to manage.”

He continued: “It’s been a summer of change and creates lots of opportunities.

“It’s an amazing group who’ve come in, they’ve worked incredibly hard and every side gets injuries.

“We’ll never complain at this end.”

Rams won their first game against The Dogs in October 2019, but have lost nine of their past 10 against Jonathan Keep’s men.

But they did enjoy a sensational 33-0 home victory against their visitors two years ago.

The DoR added: “Sale are always a strong side and we’ve had fantastic games with them over the years, so we’re looking forward to seeing them again tomorrow.”

With strong pre-match lunch numbers and tickets selling well, Seb ended: “It will be fantastic to see all the supporters back.

“We had great numbers for the pre-season game with Clifton and then onto Aberavon and the Under 23s at Oxford Harlequins last Thursday.

“They’ve had a taster of the new faces and lots of people I’ve spoken to are very interested to see how the new guys go in a competitive fixture.

“I’ve no doubt they’ll create a great atmosphere.”

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