THREE IN A ROW: RAMS CLAIM BONUS POINT VICTORY
SEB Reynolds said his Rams players should be really pleased with themselves after earning a third consecutive National One bonus-point win with a 26-19 success at Plymouth Albion.
The visitors led 12-0 through tries from Henry Bird and
Ollie Moffitt after an excellent opening 25 minutes, but were stunned by two quick-fire scores from Alex Ducker and Setareki Raumakita which levelled matters.
A converted Ellis Jones try made it 19-12 at the break, and Drew Humberstone then added the extras to a Connor Stapley score to extend the advantage to 14 points.
But Plymouth rallied late on and in front of an increasingly vociferous crowd, cut the gap to 26-19 as Tom Putt slotted a conversion after Frankie Nowell’s score in the righthand corner to set up a tense finish to the match as Rams had to claw on to their lead to maintain their perfect start to the season.
Yet despite being reduced to 14 men late on following an Ant Marris sin-binning, Rams held on for a superb victory.
Rams Director of Rugby, Reynolds, said: “It was a real rollercoaster of a game – both sides had periods of dominance.
“At times we invited their dominance onto us, but there were large parts of the game when we looked very good.
“I was really pleased with how we were playing, we were getting in the right areas and with some good tempo.
“We put pressure on them, especially early on, but then we dropped off a couple of tackles and made a couple of poor decisions on exit, which allowed a dangerous side back into the contest. But we then wrestled control back.”
He continued: “They fought hard in the second half, but I’m incredibly proud of our lads.
“Just three games into the season and we’ve had a tough trip down to Plymouth – a place we’ve never been before – and it was a really good performance.”
Rams gave first starts of the season to hooker Ollie Moffitt and second row Ollie Taylor, and along with captain Robbie Stapley, Reynolds praised the trio.
He said: “I thought Ollie Moffitt was brilliant – he’s not had much National One rugby this season, albeit he finished the last full season in good form.
“He deserved his chance to come into the side and did a fantastic job.
“Ollie Taylor was brilliant and really put their line-out under pressure, and there was a great shift from the skipper, who really found some form.
“He’s a class captain and was absolutely magnificent.”
And Reynolds lastly commented on the test Plymouth will pose throughout the season, despite Albion falling to a third defeat.
He said: “This is such a good league and our players love it. The crowd were enjoying it and you’ll have to be a good side to come down here and win.
“Plymouth are a historic club with a big following and coming here for the first time, you have to get used to the surroundings, but the guys should be really pleased with themselves.”
In their next national League One fixture, the Rams host
Leeds Tykes on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Leeds have had a mixed start to their campaign, with one victory and two defeats placing them in 10th position ahead of their trip to face Rams at Old Bath Road.
Meanwhile, the Rams have had a flawless start to their 2021/22 season which has seen them win all three of their opening matches, earning bonus point wins in all of their matches.
They are in second place, only behind current league leaders Rosslyn Park on points difference, as both sides have also picked up three bonus points each in a positive start to the season.