Reynolds looks to Ram home a final advantage
WITH just six games remaining, Rams trail league leaders Chinnor by only points difference, but director of rugby Seb Reynolds has reiterated that his side won’t be focused on chasing bonus points in order to topple their title rivals.
Rams are unbeaten in the New Year, last tasting defeat to Chinnor on December 15, but despite being neck and neck with Chinnor since the start of the season, with both sides winning 16 and losing four, Reynolds says he hasn’t checked the standings much this term.
He told The Rugby Paper: “I haven’t focused on the table at all, really. It’s been a brilliant league. Chinnor have had a very strong season and have played some superb rugby with massive wins, most notably last weekend against Taunton. They are in a strong position with their points difference, but we’re just enjoying ourselves, it’s been fantastic so far and looking forward to the final six games of the season.”
Rams beat seventh-place Darlington Mowden Park last weekend in a 28-14 bonus-point victory thanks to fly-half Fraser Honey’s eight-point contribution, and Reynolds is full of admiration for his new 10 who has come on board from Redruth this season and has made no complaints about his lengthy commute from Cornwall each week.
“Any win at Darlington is pleasing,” said Reynolds. “They beat us this season by playing with some really lovely width in their counterattacking and caught us out.
“To have lost at home to them and having to go on the road to face a side that has been performing well there was a tough task.
“We took the game away from them and made them chase it by laying down the foundations during the first half. It’s a great place to go with a fantastic stadium and always good to get the win.
“Fraser straddles the youth and experience balance in that he’s one of the most impressive rugby players I’ve seen in terms of his passion. He commutes from Cornwall, he never moans about it and does that three times a week. We feed off his love for rugby, and our squad enjoy being around him. He’s added professionalism which the younger players have learned from and he just loves the game of rugby which bleeds into the club.”
Rams have picked up 16 try bonus points this term, but Reynolds makes it clear his team will not be chasing four tries in any of their remaining fixtures.
He added: “If you chase bonus points you end up not performing. I’ve only been involved in one game as a player when I was in my early 20s where the aim was to go out and score as many points as you can.
“Guess what, we lost the game. You can’t focus on that, we’re focusing on what our development is week after week and have got some things from the DMP game that we’ll look to get right for the Sale FC fixture next week. We’ve only got a few home games remaining, so we’ll look forward to those.”