James Baker admitted Rams’ 50-31 National One derby victory against Chinnor was up there with his career highlights following a stunning floodlit Friday night at Old Bath Road.
The tight-head prop – who has played more than 350 first-team games for the club – grabbed a first-half try before producing an astonishing 40-metre burst which set-up Ollie Cole for his second.
Club legend Baker said: “It’s one of the best games I’ve ever played in – the atmosphere, the fact it was on YouTube, getting a try and the massive break, you can’t ask for anything more.
“With the break, I saw a gap and an opportunity. When you’re going forwards you’re just thinking ‘keep going’, and then with the full-back I didn’t want to go into him so I just did the step, a little short-arm and kept on.
“I’ve got bad knees, but when you’ve got the momentum, you seem to keep going faster and with the pass to Ollie, I’ve been playing rugby for a long time and fortunately my hands have always been quite good – I could be a back really, but my strength perhaps forced me to be a front row!”
On a dramatic evening it was Chinnor who struck first via a converted Willie Ryan try, only for Rams to hit back with four scores from Ellis Jones, Axel Kalling-Smith, Cole and debutant Zach Clow, Will Partington with two kicks for 24-7.
Nick Smith added the extras to a Charley Robinson score before Baker and Clow dotted down for a 36-14 half-time lead.
Ryan’s second cut the gap to 15 before Baker’s moment of magic and a Max Hayman converted try brought up the half-century.
Chinnor kept battling and had the final word as Josh Hodson and Robinson went over.
Outside of his impact in open-field, Baker was his usual dominant self at the scrum, commenting: “I was really pleased. It took a while to get going, the guy I was up against was weird to scrum against, but once I figured it out we managed to get some momentum and some penalties, so that was good.”
And while it was Baker’s night, it was also a memorable one for two-try Clow, the London Scottish loanee diving into the crowd after his second, leading the veteran man-of-the-match to conclude: “I’ve seen it on the TV and in the Premiership, but it was the first time I’ve seen that at Old Bath Road – he’s a good lad.”
By Richard Ashton
