Rams smash club-record winning streak with eight-try Barnes victory

It was a sweet 16th consecutive triumph for the runaway league leaders, consigning the previous record – set in Southern Counties and South West Two East more than 12 years ago – to the history books.

And Reynolds told the Chronicle: "It's a great achievement for the club and the players, because the last time we did this was back in 2006-07, when I was still playing – that's how long ago it was and it was a different level.

"We looked at the mileage travelled for these games and it's almost double, so to get 16 games in a row, for this group of local players at National Two level, is exceptional. I'm chuffed with that."

He continued: "It shows how far we've come. A lot has changed, but we've kept our ethos. The players are the same – they've come through the club, they've come from local areas, so there's no difference from what there was.

"We back our own, believe in players from the local area and that's why we've had a bit of success."

Rams were not at their fluent best in the opening 40 minutes against a Barnes side who performed above their lower mid-table standing, although they opened the scoring when second row Ollie Taylor crashed over from close range, fit-again fly-half Alex Seers converting.

A stunning move which saw Conor Corrigan take an inside ball from Seers just outside the visitors' 22 led to a try for the wing, but his opposite man Robbie Martey they showed his pace to go over for a converted try which reduced the deficit to 14-7.

However, Rams again showed their quality with a three-score burst in 10 minutes around half-time.

Ben Henderson went over at the back of a trademark rolling maul with the final play of the first half, before a beautiful chip from Seers allowed Andrew Humberstone to collect the ball and dot down five minutes into the second period.

When Jak Rossiter showed superb pace to set up centre Ellis Jones for his side's fifth try shortly after, the game was effectively over.

And Reynolds commented: "We call 21 points the 'gateway score', where if we allow them to score they have a sniff and are back in the game, but we started the second half quickly and pulled away."

Rams extended their lead through skipper Tom Vooght, although the gutsy Barnes side hit back with a Johan Van del Poel score.

Rams regrouped, though, and after replacement scrum-half Greg Illingworth went over from close range, Rossiter scored the best individual try of the game by showcasing his quick feet and searing pace to add gloss to the final scoreline.

A contented Reynolds was pleased with the display, stating: "We beat a good side. Barnes have had some great results this year – they put 50 points on Taunton, they had a good result against Bury St Edmunds recently – and we knew how dangerous they could be.

"We switched off for one moment in the first half and they scored, so I'm very pleased with our performance to beat a dangerous side.

"The performance was good and an all-round one. The pack laid the platform, the centres were getting us over the gain line and the wings were dangerous. I thought they were exceptional and it was great to see."

While it was another excellent performance from the champions elect, the depth of their squad was shown two pitches away as the Titans eased past Barnes 2nds 44-13, with the likes of Anthony Marris, Michael Etete, Connor Stapley, Josh Collis, Andy Amor and Andrew Denham all looking to put themselves back in first-team contention.

Reflecting on his options, Reynolds admitted: "The players have created the atmosphere as a group, we haven't necessarily done anything to promote the depth.

"They get on really well with each other and understand what we're trying to do, and that competition breeds the performance. They're a really great bunch.

"To have the calibre of players playing in our Titans team and pushing these boys in the Rams – if you don't perform in the shirt, you don't keep the shirt, it's as simple as that."

With Rams remaining 16 points clear at the top of the table with 10 games remaining, Reynolds said he will maintain his focus despite the other sides still in the title hunt – Canterbury, Taunton and Henley Hawks – all having slipped up since the New Year.

He said: "I don't look at results. People always say to me 'have you seen this result, have you seen that result,' but we only focus on ourselves.

"The funny thing is we've won because we put no emphasis on winning.

"We don't discuss necessarily how we're going to win a game, we discuss how we can perform and improve. By doing that, the players focus on just the next thing in front of them, and that's bred some part-time success and hopefully that can continue."

Next up for Rams is a trip to struggling Guernsey – who climbed off the bottom with a narrow 16-14 win at Clifton last weekend – on Saturday, but Reynolds warned: "They have a really strong set-piece, they have a fantastic club, and we're excited about going over to play, but make no bones about it, this is a tough challenge for us.