H.W. Rudge formed Dings Crusaders in 1897.
It was inspired by The Shaftesbury Crusade, a Christian mission which encouraged sport in the Dings area.
Based in Bristol between Temple Meads and Barton Hill, it was created as part of the Dings Boys Club.
They became one of the founder members of the Bristol Combination in 1901, and have won the competition’s cup on seven occasions, most recently in 2015.
Later the club moved from their original base to Lockleaze in 1948.
And they then switched to their impressive current home of Shaftesbury Park in Frenchay, south Gloucestershire, in 2018.
Climb through the leagues
After leagues were introduced by the RFU, Dings enjoyed initial success with triumphs in Gloucestershire One (1989/90) and Gloucestershire/Somerset (1993/94).
Three more title-winning promotions from Western Counties (1995/96), South West Division Two West (2001/02) and South West Premier (2002/03) then took them into the National Leagues for the first time.
Their first campaign in National Three South ended in the relegation places, but they were saved by the demise of Wakefield higher up the divisions.
Dings won South West Premier in 2017/18 and played Rams twice during the Berkshire side’s National Two South title success the following year.
Tries from Jamie Guttridge, Ben Henderson, Ollie Taylor, Conor Corrigan and Drew Humberstone, added to by four Alex Seers conversions, gave Rams a 33-15 home win in November, 2018.
And Seb Reynolds’ side triumphed 48-19 on the road the following March.
Ben Henderson’s iconic chip-and-collect try, one of two for the hooker, was the stand-out moment.
Corrigan also doubled up and Andrew Denham claimed a brilliant hat-trick.
A penalty try and three Seers conversions completed the scoring, but the Bristolians escaped relegation with a 13th-placed finish.
They backed it up in 11th and seventh before a restructure saw them moved to the newly-formed National Two West for 2022/23.
Runners-up to Leicester Lions, they then secured promotion to Level Three for the first time with 22 wins and a draw from 26 games in the 2023/24 season.
Their three defeats came in the opening five fixtures before a 12-match winning run at the end of the campaign saw them take the title.
Robbie breaks the record
Rams won a thriller at Crusaders in September 2024 as Robbie Stapley broke the record for first-team league tries. His double took him to 102.
The visitors’ other points came via tries from Dan Swain, Tom Vooght, Zach Clow and Axel Kalling-Smith, Fraser Honey slotting four conversions and two penalties.
And Rams won the home fixture 26-17 post-Christmas.
An early Tomek Pozniak brace and a Honey conversion put Rams 12-0 up before Jamie Elswood kicked a penalty.
Clow and Nick English exchanged converted scores after the break, Kalling-Smith and Matt Lane doing the same as the hosts took a bonus-point victory.
Last September Rams turned on the style to record their biggest National One victory with a 73-24 home success.
Dings took a fifth-minute lead through Harry Rowson’s try, yet the hosts responded with Morgan MacRae and Ben Atkins over, Mike Cooke converting the former.
Crusaders levelled through Jeffrey Young and the boot of Sam Worsley. But it was 24-12 at the break as Kalling-Smith bagged a brace and Cooke added to the latter.
The game was effectively over thanks to a stunning four converted tries in just six staggering minutes.
Harry Stone, Charlie Robson, Clow and Max Hayman were the try-scorers.
MacRae then doubled his tally before Willo Bicknell and Louis Pereira both collected their maiden Rams tries.
Cooke ended with 18 points from the tee.
Crusaders secure first success
But Dings gained revenge and a maiden success against Rams with a 31-25 victory in the Christmas fixture.
Hayman mauled over for an early lead, but the hosts then ran riot with Evan Morris, Sam Cantwell, Harry Tarling and Jimmy Tarling all crossing.
Three Raff Weston conversions had Dings 26-5 up, but Rams cut the deficit through Ryan Lomas and Ellis Jones.
Hayman doubled up in the second half before Cantwell did the same, and despite Henry Bartlett dotting down late on, the visitors could not complete the comeback.
