Wild Geese chase to no avail.

The Rams continued their strong start to the season with victory in overcast conditions away at London Irish Wild Geese.

Report by Cameron Temple
Photos Courtesy of Tim Pitfield

The game ended 10 - 41 to the Reading men, but the Rams head coach Seb Reynolds remained level headed in terms of his expectations despite the Rams flying start to the season, scoring over 40 points in both of the opening games, saying, “the only expectation I have is for this team to be the best team they can be and I want to help them realise their potential whatever that may be.”
Reynolds was willing to admit that, “in patches we played some quality rugby today, but it wasn’t quite the complete performance I would’ve liked. Although, I was really pleased with Andrew Denham getting his first try in league rugby today, as he’s been brilliant so far.”
The Rams began the game as they had left the last, in ruthless fashion, scoring two tries in the first ten minutes, the first coming in typical Rams fashion, driving to the line from a penalty line out, with Henderson placing the ball down.
This was followed in less conventional fashion as Rossiter gathered the ball from the kick off and ran the length of the pitch to continue his 100 percent scoring start to the season.
After 23 minutes, the Wild Geese responded, capitalising on a moment of good fortune as they blocked a clearing kick from the Rams to put themselves on the front foot, and followed this up by going through the phases with Moore taking the ball over the line amidst a cluster of Rams tacklers.
Rams were unfazed by this and quickly responded with a try of their own, as Crame ploughed through the Wild Geese defence to score just right of the posts.
The Rams followed this up with a move started by captain Robbie Stapley, who evaded numerous opposition tackle attempts, creating space for Richardson who burst onto a popped pass from Stapley and calmly ran the ball over the line in acres of space, taking the Rams into half time with a commanding 24 – 7 lead.
It was a quiet start to the second half with the only moment of note coming as the home side secured a penalty within kicking distance and Knight cleared the posts comfortably for the Wild Geese’s only points of the half.
With 25 minutes left in the half, the Rams kicked into gear with Henderson earning his second try of the game following patient build up from the away side.
Wild Geese seemed as if they might be finding their way back into the game as Kirby weaved his way through the Rams defence, eventually popping the ball to Amadi who dashed to the line with electric pace only to be called back by the referee for a forward pass earlier in the move.
The home side were not disheartened by this disallowed try as they put relentless pressure on the Rams defence camping them in their own 22, only for Denham to intercept and run the length of the pitch to score under the posts, sinking any hopes of a Wild Geese comeback.

In spite of the now unassailable lead, the Rams were not done yet, as, with the game coming to a close, captain Robbie Stapley seemed to find a second wind, charging his way through the opposition defence, not for the first time in the afternoon, as he passed the ball to Duffelen, who sped to the line to score on his first start of the season and secure a 10 – 41 victory for the Reading men.
The Rams will now ready themselves for the big local derby against Henley Hawks on Saturday 15th September KO 2.30pm.
Stats:
London Irish Wild Geese:
Tries: Moore 23
Conversions: Knight 10
Penalties: Knight 47

Rams:
Tries: Henderson 8, 54, Rossiter 10, Crame 32, Richardson 36, Denham 67, Duffelen 80
Conversions: Seers 33, 37, Lloyd 68
Penalties:
Wild
Referee: Steven Compton
Half time: 7-24
Star man: Denham - (Rams)

Rams: (15-9, then 1-8)
Richardson, Rossiter, Bryant, Jones, Denham, Seers, Cole, Kidd, Henderson, Mcdonnell-Roberts, Taylor, Thomson, Crame, Vooght, Stapley R
Replacements: Drew, Baker, Collis, Duffelen, Lloyd