Tom Humberstone opened the scoring with a magical sidestep to dot down before Rowan Grundy added the extras, Ryan Lomas then cutting a beautiful line to double the try tally before Grundy made it 14-0.

Bracknell hit back with a super score to cut the gap to 14, flanker Ken Hodgson taking an inside ball off a cross-kick before Jake Findlay added the extras for 14-7 at the break.

Karl then made his mark after the interval, though, first taking a beautifully timed pass from replacement fly-half Cameron George to stroll over before doubling his tally to make it 26-7, the creator adding a conversion to put his side in control.

The Lily Hill men kept going though, and gave themselves a lifeline as Will Field went over on the left, a hard-fought battle ultimately going Rams way and receiving a cherry on top as Mikey Annells intercepted a pass at the death to run in from 80 metres.

After his eye-catching first game, Karl said: “It was good, there are a couple of things I’ve got to get used to but overall, very nice – to score two tries on debut, I can’t be much happier than that.

“As a team we did some good stuff, there are still things to work on but as a whole we came together nicely.

“Pre-season has been excellent and when you see the guys still sprinting in the second half, in the dying minutes, it shows we’ve done well and it was great.”

And having waited six weeks to have the chance to play, Karl was effusive in his praise of the atmosphere at the club and the warm welcome he’s received as he ended: “I’m loving it. It’s professional but friendly at the same time, the boys are great and we’re having lots of fun, I can’t wait for the season to get underway.”