Hayman’s heroics help youthful Rams get back to winning ways

SEB Reynolds lauded an “exceptional” effort after Rams defeated Leicester Lions in National Division 1 last Saturday at a wet Westleigh Park, writes Richard Ashton.

With standing water on the main pitch, a late change saw the contest take place a fair trek away from the clubhouse, but the visitors knuckled down and took a sixth-minute lead when Mike Cooke converted an Oli Rhoads try.

Lions equalised through Bronson Mellowes and Luke Bouchier, but a Max Hayman brace and another Cooke kick made it 19-10 at the break, Leicester slotting a penalty in between the two scores.

Skipper Hayman completed his hat-trick before a penalty try extended the lead further, the captain then grabbing a fourth before the hosts claimed a couple of converted consolation tries from Jake Sterland and Joe Plunkett.

The win halted a three-game losing run for Rams, and director of rugby Reynolds admitted: “I thought the lads were exceptional. To turn up and see a waterlogged pitch and the news we weren’t going to be able to play on the first-team pitch wasn’t ideal, then moving to a smaller one out the back.

“But when we told the guys the game was on there was an absolute buzz of excitement, they were desperate to play and I’m incredibly proud of what this young squad produced. It was a very good performance.”

He continued: “Sometimes you have to reconnect with why you started playing the game in the first place — which is basically to be with your mates on a piece of grass.

“Once you start progressing you get the chance to play in front of bigger crowds at better facilities, so being on a back pitch was a bit different.

“But everyone rolled their sleeves up, mucked in to get all the equipment out there and it took me back to when I was playing for the club. I’ve got to credit Max as captain for the way he set the tone, but also the guys who’ve been around for a couple of years — Ben (Atkins), Axel (Kalling-Smith), Ellis (Jones), they just had a fantastic attitude which meant everyone was full of motivation.”

With the disjointed build-up and recent disappointing results in inclement conditions, Reynolds believes his youthful squad — with an average age of under 24 — took a step forward with their display.

He explained: “The main thing for this group is to keep learning —
I remember when we had it in National 2 — and sometimes you get it from losing. There’s no doubt we managed this better than we did at Sale.

“One of the main contributors was Ollie Hodgson. His exit was superb, he had physicality around the breakdown, he kept the tempo up — you can still do that in the wet, but you’ve got to be able to move the ball down the field efficiently and I thought he did it very well.

“Leicester have been superb in recent weeks and when we reviewed them, they looked a very good young side who play some fantastic rugby.

“We had to stay on top of them, and I felt we did that in a physical contest — we were winning the collision battles early on and got some scrum dominance.

“There were lots of positives to take from the game.”

Among those were teenage debutants Harry Bicknell and Paddy Jackson, with the head coach adding: “They were brilliant. After what they did on Wednesday (against Cambridge University) we felt they had to play, and they settled in so well. Paddy’s first action was to take a line-out ball right at the top of its apex and we score from it, and Harry’s had a tremendous
18-month development.”

The head coach finished by praising Hayman, who became just the second Rams player after Jak Rossiter to score four in a National 1 game despite being substituted 15 minutes from time.

Reynolds ended: “Any side would want to keep Max out there for
80 minutes, but it’s also important to keep him fresh. He took on the captaincy last year when he had the likes of Robbie (Stapley), James McRae, Vooghty, Nile Dacres around him – lots of experience — but it’s starting to become his team and he’s now the absolute leader.”

Rams have a weekend off before hosting leaders Rotherham Titans on Saturday, December 6.