Ampthill have enjoyed a remarkable rise but chairman Alex Radley is under no illusions that the real work starts now.

Last season the Dillingham Park club secured their fifth promotion in 12 years to reach the Greene King IPA Championship, scoring almost 1000 points in their National league 1 title win.

But, now in the second tier with the likes of Newcastle Falcons and Ealing Trailfinders, Radley is cautious when predicting how the season will pan out given the strengths of the respective sides they will come up against.

“We had an exceptional season last year but we have no illusions about the task in front of us this year,” said Radley, speaking from the Greene King IPA Championship launch event at Twickenham Stadium ahead of the 2019/20 season.

“Seeing the professionalism of the other squads, we hope that we’ll just be able to compete and do our best.”

With this in mind, the summer has seen a raft of changes with experience brought into the side in the form of Harlequins hooker Dave Ward as player/coach and scrum-half Darryl Veenendaal from Nottingham.

Fly-half Louis Grimoldby and lock Shay Kerry have also joined as Paul Turner’s side have looked to add extra quality to the core group who took them up.

Radley added: “We’ve got a couple of good new additions with Darryl Veenendaal and Dave Ward coming in who are leading the training this year.

“We are trying to still build our squad. We’ve still got some opportunities for more people to come in and we’ve kept the core from last year.

“We have a very strong group of boys who took us up to the Championship and they’ve been here for a while and we believe they can perform at that level.”

While there is caution though, an overriding sense of excitement exists among a squad who cannot wait to get going at such a high level.

Long-serving forward Maama Molitika commented: “We’re so glad to be here, it’s been a long journey for Ampthill. It’s my seventh season and we’ve come a long way.

“Just to be here in this environment is a massive achievement for the club. To play against a club like Newcastle Falcons for all the boys at the club will just be a great experience for us to play one of the most historic clubs in the league.

“It’s so exciting not just for myself but for Ampthill Rugby and the whole team. I can’t wait to get out there, prepare well and make sure I’m ready to go.”

The Greene King IPA Championship is the second tier of professional rugby in England. To keep up to date with the latest news and features follow @ChampRugby on Twitter