SEB Reynolds believes National One is the best advert for the sport after Rams sent the title race to the wire with a brilliant 38-28 home success against Cinderford.
The hosts built up a 19-0 lead in front of a record crowd of 1,284 at Old Bath Road, James McRae, Ollie Cole and Axel Kalling-Smith, with an extraordinary length-of-the-field effort.
Rams’ discipline was not the best, though, with Zach Clow and Dan Swain both sin-binned before Cinderford cut the gap to five points at half-time through converted Nathan Taylor and George Porter tries.
Max Hayman became the third home player to be yellow carded early in the second half, but another stunning counter-attack was finished by Kalling-Smith for 24-14.
Replacement Ollie Monye then darted over with his first touch and Connor Stapley grabbed his side’s sixth, Humberstone’s two conversions giving his side breathing space.
And while Cinderford grabbed two late converted scores through Taylor and Mike Wilcox, it was too little, too late for the Forest of Dean outfit who eased past Rams 37-17 earlier in the season.
Director of Rugby Reynolds said: “We owed it to ourselves to put in a performance because we weren’t at our best in December, and they did a fantastic job in getting a comfortable win.
“We hadn’t avenged any losses this year, so no matter what stage of the season we were at, league positions were irrelevant, we had to perform to move forward as a side, and we did that well.”
Things looked good for Rams early on with Kalling-Smith’s stunner the highlight, but the visitors gave themselves hope with a couple of comeback scores before the break.
Reynolds continued: “Cinderford are a real threat because their midfield players are excellent jackallers, so if you’re not on the money at the breakdown they’ll turn you over or slow your ball down.
“Then if you lose your discipline, they’re in the corner and scoring tries.
“They got a couple of maul tries, but for the most part we defended it well and held a couple up – if we hadn’t done that, we could have lost the game.
“One day I’ll work out how Axel does it and then make a lot of money, but at the moment I still can’t! It was great to have him back in, he looked a threat, beat multiple defenders and also off the ball, he’s skill-set, hard work, defensive duties, he’s tremendous.
“Ollie got a try on his 100th game and I can’t speak highly enough of what he’s done for the club, I hope he continues to do it for many years.”
Monye impressed after coming on for the centurion during the third quarter, and the DoR continued: “There’s a growing confidence with Ollie and his skill-set is getting better. We wanted to get him on early and with the sun shining and the pitch in good nick, he looked a real threat, showing some fine footwork to get the score.”
Another player to impress was debutant loose-head Paddy Harris, who showed up well in both the set-piece and open play during a baptism of fire against the much-vaunted Cinderford pack.
And Reynolds beamed: “I felt Paddy was superb and started to get on top when we began to have pressure coming on at the end of the first half.
“He was also good around the park, and he absorbs information – he’s an intelligent guy who’s improved during the season and it’s why he got his shot.
“It can go one of two ways, but I’m glad it was the positive one.”
The result keeps Rams a point clear of Sale and five from Cambridge with the top two finishing next Saturday, though the latter hold the whip hand with an extra game to play at home to Birmingham Moseley seven days after their rivals’ campaigns are wrapped up.
And the DoR said: “We don’t know how the season’s going to pan out – Cambridge should do it – but we just have to focus on our performance next week and see how the land lies after the Esher game.
“This level of rugby is the best advert you have for the sport.
“I question what the Premiership is where there’s no jeopardy, no relegation – if you look at what National One is producing, the fact is we’ve got to go to a quality side in Esher who are battling to stay up and we’re looking to stay in the hunt, that’s how it should be.
“There are meaningful matches all the way through, and for the Premiership to want to pull up the drawbridge and say ‘we’re happy, we’ll stay as we are’ is out of order.
“Hopefully people can see National One is where it’s at, it’s proper club rugby involving fantastic players and this was another example.”
And it seems the penny has dropped in Berkshire, with Reynolds ending by praising the record-breaking supporters as he said: “I hope this is just the beginning of something. The players have been fantastically supported by our fanbase all season, and they really came out in force. I can’t speak highly enough of them.”
Rams head to Esher on Saturday (3pm), needing a bonus-point win to guarantee second, and the title if Cambridge drop anything at Plymouth Albion.
By Richard Ashton
