DIRECTOR of Rugby Seb Reynolds hailed ‘an exceptionally positive tour’ despite Rams’ narrow 19-17 reverse at Terenure College in Dublin.
Having defeated Lansdowne 33-10 on Thursday night, the Berkshire side were edged out despite Ben Henderson and Finn Matthews scores and a penalty try, the hosts going over through Mike Murphy and two penalty tries of their own.
Looking back at the four-day trip, Reynolds revealed: “The Irish can play some rugby!
“Terenure lost in the final of the All-Ireland League last year to a strong Clontarf side, so we knew it was going to be a tough game.
“It was a hot day, the sun was beating down and both teams put in a very physical performance – in terms of pre-season preparations, they should be very proud of what they produced.”
He continued: “Normally pre-season builds up, but both games have felt almost like league encounters because of the competitive nature.
“Both teams perhaps got lured in by the sunshine and there wasn’t much kicking for territory, but there’s nothing wrong with that – it’s good conditioning and the players were very tired at the end.
“Defensively it’s been a positive start – but it is just a start, there’s still lots to work on although there are lots of encouraging things we’ve seen.”
A number of new recruits were involved for the first time and the DoR was quick to pay tribute to both their efforts, and the squad as a whole.
He said: “Coming on tour I knew most of our lads and they’d put all the effort in, they’d be professional in their approach and they’d let their hair down when given the chance.
“But you do wonder what the new lads would be like, and to a man they were exceptional.
“The likes of Dan Swain, Mana Cakau, Terrel Harry, it’s the first time with the club on tour and they’re just great blokes who’ve really integrated well.”
He added: “Playing-wise I don’t think there was anyone who had a bad game. On Thursday I thought Axel (Kalling-Smith) really carried the ball well, he reads the game well and he was impressive.
“It was really nice to see Alex Seers back doing what he does best and also Ellis Jones coming back from injury.
“Against Terenure it was nice to have the skipper Robbie (Stapley) out there, James Baker coming on and doing what he does at the scrum, and a couple of youngsters in Spencer Hayhow and Roan Noone were impressive in what was a physical encounter. It’s good to see them playing top-level rugby.
“This has been an exceptionally positive tour for us and exactly what we hoped it would be, with some good rugby and team bonding.”
Rams welcome London Welsh (2pm) and Barnes (4pm) to Old Bath Road for their final pre-season games on Saturday. Entry is free for all supporters.
By Richard Ashton
