Colchester captain Cam Kerr:
It’s been a great season and a pretty good way to finish it. Maintaining the home record was a big focus and fair play to the boys, they dug deep and got it done.
This season we flew out of the blocks. There were some great results at the start of the season, and I think maybe we were then guilty of getting a bit complacent. But we found ways to win.

At times it hasn’t been pretty and it certainly hasn’t been easy. We’ve had some really tough games, some great opposition; this is a great league to play in. But all credit to the boys. Hopefully we’ll take that into Nat 2 next year.

When we come back for pre-season that’ll be a real good indicator of where we are. We’re pretty settled now and we’re looking to recruit and bring some players in for next year. And hopefully we can put what we’ve done this season on to the pitch next year.

Colchester’s most-capped senior player Danny Whiteman:
To go 22 games and have to dig as deep as we had to do all season is an unbelievable effort from everyone, not just the people playing here today but every player who was needed this season have put a shift in and that’s what’s got us to promotion. It’s a big day for the club and now staying in Nat 2 next season – that’s the goal.

Are we better prepared to go up than we were last time? Oh 100 per cent. I think we’ve got the fundamentals in place to really challenge next year, and I don’t want people to think we’re going up next year just to survive. We’re there to push teams. We know what we’re going into this time and there’s nothing to be afraid of.

I need to stop people asking me if I’m retiring. It’s the most boring question in the world! I will keep going, don’t worry. I keep enjoying it so there’s no reason to stop.

Colchester head coach Mike Haywood:
Credit to the guys. There’ve been games along the road this season when they could have just rolled over but they didn’t and that’s put us in this position. They’ve just worked so hard on and off the pitch.

We’ve talked about being relegated last season, and to come back up within a year is a huge achievement and we’re just excited to see what National League Rugby is like next season. It’s been a fantastic season.

We’ve got loads of guys who can slot in to play in different positions, that’s been a real positive this season. I put that down to the way they train and how hard they work.

We know our game is going to have to change a little bit, but we’ve got a really good core group and that’s the exciting thing about Colchester. We’ve got a young, talented group who want to play rugby, and we’ve got a couple of old wise heads in there to steer the herd.

We know what National Rugby looks like next season and the guys are really excited and looking forward to the challenge. We’ve got some recruitment to do; we’ve got some things to sort out behind the scenes. I’m just excited to see what National Rugby looks like next season.

The supporters have been fantastic all season. There’s been games when we’ve just scraped it, and they’ve been supporting us through thick and thin.

Colchester club chairman Karl O’Brien:
Just very, very pleased with the season overall. I think Mike Haywood has done a great job with the squad, considering the injuries we’ve had. But yes, a very strong season and very pleased to get back to the National Leagues.

It’s been a fantastic achievement for the boys, the whole squad.

The crowd have been fantastic here all season.

We’re in a much better position going up than last season. We made mistakes last time. The hard work has already started. Once we knew we were promoted we’ve already made some player signings.

Standby for some news in the coming weeks.