National One standard is rising all the time - Rossiter

JAK Rossiter believes the standard of National One is increasing so much that any of the current top four would compete in the Championship.

The 29-year-old Rams winger, who first played in National One for Richmond when he was 18, said: “National One was already a good level at that point but the level now is so much higher than it has been.

“Last year Caldy were runaway winners but by no means did Caldy have easy games, they were pushed by almost every team in the league. They’ve gone into the Championship and are competing well in mid-table.

“Of the top four, I don’t think any of them would struggle in the Championship next year. National One has really closed the gap on that level of the game.”

Rossiter has scored 15 tries this season and is playing a key role in Rams’ title charge, with the Reading-based side going into this weekend three points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand.

He said: “I’m chuffed with my tally but I can’t claim any credit. The team around me have allowed me opportunities and have put us in the right areas. If I get to catch the ball and fall over the line, it reflects the effort they’ve put in. Whilst I may be top try scorer, the amount of tries we’ve scored across the board this year is great with a try from almost every position which speaks wonders about the way we’ve been playing and the layers of attack and different options we’ve had.

“We went into this season without mentioning the idea of promotion to the Championship and were just taking it one game at a time but it’s starting to get real now and it’s getting harder and harder to hear the whispers and people predicting what’s going to happen.”

As well as promotion, Rossiter has his sights set on passing Rams head of rugby Seb Reynolds’ club try scoring record of 78, with Rossiter trailing his coach by just five tries.