Match report by Cameron Temple
Photos courtesy of Paul Clark - S2S Photography

In front of a home crowd Rams gave their supporters a Christmas bonus with a win against London Irish Wild Geese. The first half reaped four tries for Rams allowing for a quieter second half, in which the away side put some points of their own on the scoreboard.

Rams head coach, Seb Reynolds, seemed content with his side’s performance as he spoke after the game saying, “These games are always very tricky, as the English rugby season is a very long season and fatigue can set in, but I thought the players were excellent today. London Irish play a very dangerous style of rugby and they had some players in from the full time side today giving them a bit of a boost. But to get a bonus point victory in the last game of 2018, I can’t complain.”

Reynolds also spoke about his delight at how the season had transpired thus far, as the Rams would soon be preparing to enter the crunch end of the season, as he said “Its been a positive half of the season, the side have shown great improvement from our performances last season, and we can see what we’ve been working on in training coming to fruition on the pitch. The lads have created a really nice atmosphere around the club and it’s an absolute pleasure to be around. We’ve put ourselves in a decent position, and although we don’t know how the second half of the season is going to go, we’re happy with where we are now.”

The Rams flew forward tenaciously from the off as they looked to add to their ten point safety net at the top of the table, and they did not have to wait long to take the lead as they drove to the line from a scrum five yards out and were awarded a penalty try with just 8 minutes played.
With the Wild Geese enjoying a prolonged period of possession, the Rams counter attacked with pace and precision, allowing McDonnell-Roberts to stretch the ball over the line and further the Rams lead.

The first half was rounded off nicely as the Rams secured a pair of tries, the pick of which came as Wolf broke immediately following kick off from the Rams third try, but having been brought down agonisingly close to the line, Lloyd was on hand to gather the ball and whip it wide to Rossiter who cut inside his opposite man to score and signal the half time whistle.

The second half was a much more even affair with both sides trading tries, although it did not seem as if it would be that way as the Rams found themselves with 40 points unanswered after 60 minutes, owing to Richardson scoring in the corner, following a yellow card for the away sides Prescott, and another penalty try.

However, The Wild Geese enjoyed a late revival in the game with Fadahunsi scoring two tries, helped on by the Rams being a man short following a yellow card for returning man Tom Humberstone, but it was only consolation as the Rams maintained their winning streak into the Christmas period.

Rams:
Tries: Penalty try 8, 60, Mcdonnell-Roberts 20, Stapley 38, Rossiter 40, Richardson 51,
Conversions: Seers 21, 38, 40

Wild Geese:
Tries: Fadahuns 68, 78
Conversions: Prescott 79

Half time: 28 - 0
Attendance: 450
Referee: Jonathon Cook

Teams
Rams: (15-9, then 1-8)
Richardson, Rossiter, Jones, Humberstone A, Corrigan, Seers, Lloyd, Steadman, Henderson, McDonnell-Roberts, Taylor, Guttridge, Wolf, Vooght, Stapley. Replacements: Drew, Baker, Crame, Humberstone T, Illingworth

Wild Geese: Owen, Fadahuns, Meeson, Henry, Amadi, Prescott, Brand, Ajuchi, Townsend, Baker, Haggett, Hobbins, Cooke, Donnegan, Mackay.
Replacements: Atkins, Bryne, Day, U’Chong, Turner