MATCH REPORT: CENTAURS CROWNED CHAMPIONS

RAMS Centaurs were crowned Counties Two Tribute Berks, Bucks & Oxon South champions with two games to spare as they continued their incredible season with a 36-3 victory at fourth-placed Hungerford.

Having won their opening two games, the Mighty Cents suffered a setback at Slough in Round Three, but have since gone onto claim a remarkable 15 consecutive five-pointers, playing some sparkling rugby along the way.

The table-toppers actually fell behind to a Hungerford penalty on Saturday, but with powerful prop Ethan Pawadyira beginning to influence the contest they were in front before the break as he touched down for captain Jack Gaylor to add a conversion.

Jack Williams has been a stand-out performer throughout the season and he grabbed the second try, Gaylor adding the extras and then a penalty to give his side a 14-point cushion.

From there the visitors didn’t really look back, another player to have enjoyed an excellent campaign, full-back Dan Bennett, crossing the whitewash for 22-3.

And another young gun who joined the club last summer, flanker Mikey Duda, collected the final two tries to get the visitors over the line, Gaylor on target twice more to complete the scoring.

Delighted coach Joe Whatmore – who took over the reins in pre-season – paid tribute to his squad as he said: “It has been a massive effort and everyone should be very proud of themselves.”

The Centaurs are back at home this Saturday as they host Maidenhead 3rd XV.

*THE Dragon’s Teeth have the opportunity to bring further silverware to Old Bath Road when they host Phoenix on Saturday.

The DTs were awarded a five-point win after Marlow 2nd XV were unable to raise a side last weekend, and with Bracknell 3rd XV losing at Tadley 2nd XV, Rams are now back on top of the pile with one game to play.

It is a very congested summit, though, with the Dragon’s (59 points, +119 points difference) most likely requiring a bonus-point win to seal the deal, with Crowthorne (58, +187, hosting Tadley) and Bracknell (58, +201, visiting Windsor 2nd XV) both hot on their heels and boasting significantly better points differences due to the number of games conceded against the DTs this term.