“IT wasn’t the prettiest fixture, but we came through it very well,” was Seb Reynolds’ verdict following the 24-21 bonus-point success at Birmingham Moseley.
Having fallen 14-0 down early on to a brace of converted Ryan Roach tries from the maul, Rams began to take control of possession and territory and crossed the whitewash twice before the break through Max Hayman and captain Robbie Stapley.
They continued to put pressure on their opponents throughout the third quarter, but after hitting the front through Hayman’s second – added to by Rowan Grundy – Moseley hit back with an excellent Jide Ajayi score.
A Dan Lewis conversion pushed the Midlanders 21-17 in front, but with four minutes remaining, Hayman smashed his way over for a hat-trick and despite another home rally, Rams were able to see the game out for a seventh straight bonus-point victory.
Reflecting on an intriguing afternoon, Director of Rugby Reynolds said: “I must credit Birmingham for their performance and the attritional nature of the game – they took their chances early on and it gave them a decent lead, and they also came back well towards the end when they scored a lovely multi-phase try which really got their crowd behind them.
“Any team which beats Cambridge and puts 40 points on Cinderford is a very good side, so we knew what was coming and they’d described it as a ‘nothing-to-lose’ game so it can go one of two ways – if we’d got a couple of tries, maybe their heads might have dropped, or, as happened, it frees them up.
“We gave them a head-start which led to a tense fixture – probably not the prettiest – but with all that being said, we came through it very well and it’s a sign we’ve got a good group of players.”
Having suffered the double early setback, Rams enjoyed the bulk of the play with the DoR continuing: “On a different afternoon we perhaps could have been 15-20 points up at one stage – we had territorial pressure at the end of the first half before we coughed up the ball on their line, and the same in the second where we gave away a free-kick, lost field position and then they scored.
“If you knew every week you were going to take your chances and it would be plain sailing there’d be no point playing the game because it would be boring, but (in National One) wherever you go you could lose.
“We’re just glad we pulled through and got the result.”
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Reynolds was also quick to praise the impact of his substitutes, with debutant scrum-half Charlie Edwards – the ex-Tonbridge Juddian and Old Elthamian – playing a key role at the death.
And he admitted: “Our bench really added to the game, Paul Englezos added energy, Connor Stapley did well, and the half-back change just triggered something.
“It’s always tricky doing that, but I thought Rowan (Grundy) was good bringing the ball to the line and getting runners into the game.
“And what can you say about Charlie – he was on a flight on Wednesday night, trained on Thursday, and what I hoped he’d be, he was.
“He’s an experienced National One player who came on, controlled the game very well and was instrumental in the two moments which won us the game.
“Firstly, when we tapped on the five-metre line – which is something we don’t normally do – and then the final play where he’s managing the clock and then gets the ball off the park.
“In the five minutes he’s been here, he’s been one of the additions of the season.”
The last of the substitutes, hooker Ollie Moffitt, celebrated his 50th cap off the bench and Reynolds ended by praising both him and starting No. 2, hat-trick hero Hayman.
He finished: “Max has kicked on again and it’s what we hoped he’d do when he came across from Newbury (in 2019), so in many ways he’s just doing what I thought he would.
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“The challenge for him is to keep improving because there are always things to work on, but that’s also very exciting.
“And I’d like to give the final word to Moff. What he’s done for the side in the past few years is fantastic and another landmark among a great group of players.”
Rams are back at Old Bath Road next Saturday as Leeds Tykes visit for the third-last home contest of the season (3pm).
By Richard Ashton
