Playing in this league is so sweet for top scorer Honey
Title contenders Rams' top scorer Fraser Honey believes National One is by far the best league in England thanks to its competitive nature.
Rams and Chinnor are fighting it out at the top of the table, but Honey says that because anyone can beat anyone, teams cannot afford to be complacent.
“From top to bottom the league is competitive. The bottom team in the league can easily beat the one at the top,” said Honey. “It's just a fantastic thing to be part of and you cannot beat playing in a league where you know every week will be a battle.”
The 26-year-old fly-half said the competitiveness of the league is partially due to the danger of relegation and the prospect of promotion.
Rams, along with Chinnor, have set the pace of the league at the top, but have lost to Darlington Mowden Park, Leicester Lions and Sale, with the latter two flirting with relegation.
Honey points to the Premiership and the Championship, without relegation and promotion respectively, as leagues without the same week in, week out battle it out.
As for Rams, who lost to Chinnor on Friday night, Honey said they are enjoying the ride and are not concentrating on promotion. He added: “We're just enjoying the challenge week to week, performing well, and celebrating the good performances.”
Honey himself has ambitions to play in the second tier but knows the job in hand is with Rams in the third tier. He said: “It's a personal goal of mine to reach the Championship. I'm a very ambitious individual and I want to get to the top of the game.
“It's just about ensuring that I'm doing everything I can week to week with Rams and pushing the team and contributing as much as I can.”
National One has players from all over, with some former Premiership players coming up against others who are looking to progress up the divisions.
Honey says Rams is set up to support all players, whether they are coming to the end of their career or looking to develop their careers further.
He adds: “The great thing at the club is that there is every single tool, so there's no excuses. There's no ceiling of where you can get to. I've got all the facilities here that I need to kick-on, and for any young players coming in it's fantastic.
“Even the older players that are coming to the end of their careers, they have all the facilities they need to get that extra year or two out of their careers as well, which I believe is really important.”
The team face a couple of tough fixtures when they return from the winter break, with games against Sedgley Park and Rosslyn Park in January.
