Rams Take Round 20 Win

Second half tries from Charlie Smith and Sam Kyle-Clay had given Mowden hope of getting something from the game, but their comeback came too late as Rams saw out an impressive away win.

The oping quarter saw Mowden enjoy the lions share of both possession and territory, but they were unable to convert their pressure into points against a stubborn Rams defence. A deliberate knock on from Callum Mackenzie then saw DMP reduced to 14, with Rams driving over from the resulting penalty. Hooker Max Hayman was the one who dotted down, with Fraser Honey converting well from out wide. Mowden defended well to see out the remainder of the yellow card period, and Hayman's converted try proved to be the only score of a low scoring first half.

The start of the second half saw Rams take the game away from DMP as the strength of their scrum and lineout started to tell. First Hayman powered over from his second from another driving maul, before James McRae burrowed over from close range to extend Rams' lead to 21. It looked like the game might get away from DMP, but the hosts responded well and narrowed the gap when Charlie Smith latched on to a Garry Law chip ahead to score under the posts. However Rams continued to show their cutting edge in attack when Axel Kalling-Smith dived over for their bonus point try and all but put the game to bed after Smith had been shown yellow minutes earlier. Mowden still pressed on for a bonus point of their own late on, with Sam Kyle-Clay finishing well with 5 minutes to play. Ollie Monye was then sin-binned for the visitors for a high tackle on Yaree Fantini, but the resulting penalty was cancelled out for foul play from DMP which halted the home sides momentum. Rams saw out the final few minutes to deny Mowden anything from the game, and secure an important win which sees them keep pace with league leaders Chinnor heading into the final 6 games of the season.

Mowden now head into a rest weekend before they travel to Sedgley Park on Saturday 9th March in Round 21.