DELIGHTED Seb Reynolds saluted his Rams players after a hugely impressive 40-10 National One triumph at Bishop’s Stortford.
A superb all-round performance saw the visitors leading 26-3 at the break on the back of a double from man-of-the-match Max Hayman and tries from Ollie Cole and Vince Everitt, Alex Seers with three conversions as the Hertfordshire men had only a Dan Cole penalty to show for their efforts.
Further converted tries from Jak Rossiter and Josh Collis fired Rams into a scarcely believable 37-point lead, and while Cole added the extras to a Josh Stannard score late on, Stortford were always held at arm’s length despite enjoying lengthy spells of possession.
Reflecting on the win, Director of Rugby Reynolds admitted: “It was a very good performance and I’m really pleased.
“Bishop’s Stortford is one of the toughest places to come in National One – they always pose a threat, they play outstanding rugby and so for us it’s a very impressive win.”
The result was built on a brilliant effort from the forwards, a scrum in which Rams had dominance and an outstanding defensive effort which restricted the normally high-scoring hosts.
And Reynolds continued: “Early on we had a couple of defensive sets where we put them on the back foot and they coughed up an error when under pressure, and then we got a penalty into the corner and the drive went well.
“But we also had some good attacking play – the continuity got going – but against Bishop’s Stortford you never feel completely comfortable because they can hit you at any moment.
“They have the ability to score a few tries quickly and get back into the game, so you always have to be focused and on the money, and we were.
“You can’t give them a sniff because they’re so skilful that as soon as you drop off your level, they’re back.”
And while the score-line and performance were both comfortable in the end, it was an afternoon not without disruption for Rams, who lost centre Drew Humberstone and second row Connor Stapley to injury in the first half.
This led to a reshuffled back line and Ross Crame playing some 50 minutes in the engine room, while both props – Ant Marris and James Baker – also had to go off in the second period which left replacement hooker Ollie Moffitt finishing the game on the tight-head.
Commenting on his side’s maturity, the DoR concluded: “We had to manage things throughout the game and I thought we did that excellently.
“We’re more used to this level now – if it had been our first year at National One I think it would have been too much – but I was impressed with how the players responded.”
Rams host Darlington Mowden Park this Saturday (3pm).
By Richard Ashton
