Reading 1s 57 – 10 Oxford, Saturday 3 October 2026

What a way to open the home season. The 1s came out to play attacking rugby on Saturday and ran in 57 points against Oxford at Holme Park.

Captain Will Proctor-Searle was beaming afterwards. "Over the moon. First home game of the season. The boys knew we had a fortress here last season and we kept it that way. A lot of tries, a lot of free-flowing running rugby. When we set a platform we're a dangerous team, and we're going to be a force for the rest of the season, home and away."

It was just what head coach Jay Henderson had asked for. "We were determined to play the right type of game today," said Jay. "The game plan was an attacking one, and you could see that from the back line we picked, with all that quickness. We saw some unbelievable tries."

One of them went to George Coker, who captained the 2s the week before and came in on the wing. "He got himself a try and didn't put a foot wrong," said Jay.

Oxford were kept to two tries, and Will put that down to the week's work. "We decided as a squad to play out of our 22, set our wall and put their attack on the back foot. We worked on it all week, and our kick chase relieved the pressure. It worked well."

Then there was Ryan Smith, winning his 150th cap from the second row. "He's a workhorse, and an unbelievable presence in the changing room," said Jay. "He's brilliant around the young lads. I'm so pleased for him."

And they are young. Harry Staples is 18 and in his first taste of men's rugby. "It's such a young group, and a group that is desperate to learn," said Jay.

A word for the Minis too, who were out with their flags as the team ran on. "How good was that?" said Jay. "I got to high five them before the lads came out, and they were so excited."