Rams RFC got their National One title hopes back on track as they scored six tries in a convincing away victory at Cinderford.
Having slipped five points behind table-toppers Chinnor after last week’s home loss to Sale FC, the visitors showed they will not give their title dreams up without a fight as they returned to form in stunning fashion.
Two early Max Hayman maul tries – his 21st and 22nd of a productive campaign – helped set the base for a power-packed display which also saw Zach Clow and Ben Atkins touch down before the break.
Two Fraser Honey conversions made it 24-0 at the interval, and another Charlie Robson wonder-try all but put the game to bed early in the second half.
Calum Scott was again dynamic off the bench and grabbed Rams’ final score, and while Tom Knight crossed before a last-play penalty try for the Foresters, the away side were well worth their win.
And Reynolds – who admitted there was no tub-thumping pre-match speech from the coaching staff despite the obvious intensity from the outset – said: “They probably prefer it that way. It wasn’t needed and as coaches, it’s not about us trying to gee them up, if you need to do that you’re probably missing something elsewhere.
“Our job is to prepare them and they’re a self-motivating bunch, which you need to be for a tough encounter like this.
“The guys were superb with the way they reacted. We wanted to step back a little and see what they produced, and they rose to the challenge brilliantly because it’s one of the toughest places to go in National One.
“A lot of the senior players drove things during the week, and you could sense a real focus in them before the game.
“We started so well and from minute one to minute 80, we were good. Cinderford are in a relegation battle and if we’d given them an inch, they’d have taken it and we could have lost the game, so I’m very pleased.”
The power of the Rams’ pack was evident early on with the two set-piece tries and a scrum won against the head, and it was a feather in their cap when the hosts chose to throw into a line-out rather than take a scrum with their opponents temporarily down to 14 men with Connor Stapley in the sin bin.
Reynolds continued: “In a lot of other games that would be a minimal moment, but at Cinderford, it’s big.
“It was great, and credit to the work Owen (Root, forwards coach) does and the platform Paddy Harris and James Baker laid at the scrum.
It was also good to see Ryan Lomas, who I felt again kicked on during the game, and Niall (Kidd) do what they did when they came on.”
The back row trio of James McRae, man-of-the-match Ben Atkins and captain Robbie Stapley also drew praise from Reynolds, who felt ‘they took things upon themselves to really drive things from the off’, while he also hailed the excellent performances of his two scrum-halves.
He said: “Ollie Monye was superb and it was a very good game for him – a heavy pitch, he needed to manage the game well along with adding his natural skills, and Ed (Hoadley) then brought some calm and control later on.”
Rams host Blackheath with a big crowd expected next Saturday (3pm).
By Richard Ashton
