By Ben Jaycock, The Rugby Paper
Blackheath flanker Noah Sloot believes the Clubs’ new recruits have injected the hunger required to sustain a Nation One promotion charge.
Sloot, now in his second campaign after joining from Cambridge, has been an ever-present in a side the came into this week in third: nine points off top and eight points off second — the final promotion play-off spot.
He was player of the match in Blackheath’s 21-5 victory over Rams last weekend with Sloot scoring a try in the triumph, despite being reduced to 13 men for large periods.
He told The Rugby Paper: “We have a good season last year and that was my first full year at the club. We lost a couple of games towards the end that dropped us further down than we deserved. Coming in to this year we had a lot of boys retire, os it was always going to be got be a bit of a rebuild.
“To be down to 13 men and still win says everything about the boys. For us it was all about the defensive effort across the whole game. We really push defensive work rate, in terms of how quickly you get off the floor and reload. I don’t like missing tackles. I want to get up, affect the game, hit breakdowns, make turnovers. That’s what I base y game on — work rate, defence and breakdown.
“We track something called ‘back in the game’ which is basically the percentage of phases where you’ve got all 15 players back on their feet in the line. We’re hitting 90%, which makes it so tough for teams to break you down.”
With a new head coach in recently retired Tom Stradwick, who took over from now Bury St Edmunds’ boss James Shanahan, Blackheath’s turnover of players appears to have energised the squad.
“With the signings Strads made, those boys that retired have been replaced by young lads that are really, really keen” said Sloot. “You could see it straight away in pre-season: the effort levels every time we trained were massive.
“We’re a part-time side so sometimes lads come in after work tired, which is natural. But this season has been completely different — the hunger and determination from he younger lads has driven standards up.
“I’m coming in to my stride now and feel really comfortable in this team. I’ve played every game so far and only got subbed the last couple of weeks, so I’m really grateful for the minutes because that helps you develop.”
Even if automatic promotion proves elusive, the newly introduced National One play-off system, where the 13th placed team plays a match agains the second team in the their tier to determine who gets promoted/relegated, provides and additional route and one Sloot believes added intrigue across the division.
“It’s great for the league,” he said. “It keeps more teams competitive right until the end ,rather than one side running away with it.”
Written by Ben Jacock, and published in The Rugby Paper, Sunday 01 March 2026
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