Blues make an Abbey start

Royal Wootton Bassett the first visitors in new rugby season

NEWBURY BLUES will kick off their forthcoming season in South West One East with a Berkshire derby at Reading Abbey.

Blues, who narrowly missed out on a promotion spot last term, will face their old county rivals - newly promoted from Southern Counties South - at Rosehill on Saturday, September 3.

The first visitors to Monks Lane will be another batch of league newcomers when Royal Wootton Bassett make the trip a week later.

Blues’ full draft fixture list is as follows.

September: 3 Reading Abbey (A); 10 Royal Wootton Bassett (H); 17 Swindon (A); 24 Windsor (H).

October: 1 Banbury (A); 8 Chippenham (H); 22 Grove (A); 29 Maidenhead (H).

November: 5 Witney (A); 19 Old Centralians (A); 26 Old Patesians (H).

December: 3 Oxford Harlequins (A); 10 Reading (H); 17 Royal Wootton Bassett (A).

January 2017: 7 Swindon (H); 14 Windsor (A); 21 Banbury (H); 28 Chippenham (A).

February: 11 Grove (H); 19 Maidenhead (A).

March: 4 Witney (H); 11 Old Centralians (H); 25 Old Patesians (A).

April: 1 Oxford Harlequins (H); 8 Reading (A); 22 Reading Abbey (H).