Graham maintains rich vein of form to wrap up Rams victory

DIRECTOR of rugby Seb Reynolds was pleased with how Rams kept their cool in a battling 21-14 National Division 1 victory at Clifton last Saturday, writes Richard Ashton.

An early Morgan MacRae try, converted by Mike Cooke, gave the visitors a 7-0 lead at half-time, the duo doubling the advantage after the break.

Clifton levelled matters as Tom Quinlan added to scores from Ollie Harris and Tom Hatch to set up a grandstand finish.

But it was Rams who took the spoils, Luke Graham’s fifth try in three games sealing the deal with four minutes remaining.

Reynolds said: “It was a very good game — we started well despite being against the wind, but it made us play and put the pressure on them.

“Morgan went through early on but then we had to manage a few things, we lost Max (Hayman, trapped nerve) for a bit which meant Morgan had to throw into the line-out, but the guys did well.

“Later on, it went 14-14 and a proper arm-wrestle, but our play after that was superb and we kept them in their own half with some good rugby.

“We got the job done, but fair play to Clifton, while results aren’t going their way right now, you can see the quality they have and no doubt they’ll get wins in the weeks to come.”

At times a tetchy encounter, Rams second row Harry Stone and opposite man Toby Hutchinson were sin-binned in the first half following a minor skirmish, with more discussions between the teams following in the second period.

Reynolds continued: “When you come to Bristol and the West Country you expect a few scuffles, rugby’s the big sport rather than football and it’s always going to happen. But our lads kept their cool and dealt with things well.” The visitors also had to regroup after a dominant first-half scrum was twice penalised in five-metre attacking set-pieces after the break, but Reynolds was more focussed on lauding match-winner Graham and his second row stalwarts Stone and man-of-the-match Connor Stapley.

He said: “The referees gave themselves an exit strategy at the scrum. More importantly, Luke’s a magnet for the ball and again he took his try so well.

“He showed good footwork throughout and was superb under the high ball — all the back three for both sides played well in blustery conditions. There weren’t many dropped balls. Harry has been so good. He wants to play in the back row, but he doesn’t moan and is a physical lad, young, learning the game and doing a fantastic job.

“I keep telling him he just has to do 20 seconds in the scrum and then go everywhere and that’s what he does, and he’s forming a great partnership with Connor, who is an experienced head in the back five and leading the group.”

Victory on a day of upsets — Rotherham Titans, Blackheath, Plymouth Albion and Sale losing at Dings Crusaders, Birmingham Moseley, Tonbridge Juddians and Leicester Lions respectively — saw Rams climb to third in the early-season standings.

And with skipper Hayman set for his 100th appearance at home to Blackheath tomorrow (Saturday), the final fixture in the first block promises to be an Old Bath Road belter.

Reynolds finished: “If Moseley was anything to go by we’ll have a fantastic crowd, hopefully Blackheath bring a good few supporters and we can’t wait for Max’s 100th.

“We’ve had brilliant travelling support again and the noise when we scored what was ultimately the winning try, and again at the final turnover, was phenomenal. You could hear it so clearly and we can’t thank them enough.”