SEB Reynolds said Rams' 42-21 home win against Taunton Titans was 'a big victory' as they moved a step closer to winning National Two South.

With five games remaining, the Old Bath Road side remain 12 points clear of Canterbury, having recorded their 23rd victory of the season.

The six-try success against the fifth-placed team was built around another colossal effort from the pack, although the backline showed their incision with wing Andrew Denham scoring a particularly fine individual try.

And Reynolds told the Chronicle: "It's a big victory. We talked in the week about it being like coming into that final bend in a horse race.

"We can see the finish line and it's there for us now. These games become such big encounters, but the key is to focus on the task at hand. I thought we did a very good job."

Rams broke the deadlock in the eighth minute when Andrew Humberstone crossed following a period of concerted pressure in the Titans' 22, and Denham extended the lead when an Alex Seers long pass allowed the speedster to race down the left-hand touchline and cross.

Seers added the extras to make it 12-0, though scrum-half Lewis Webb went over for a converted score for the visitors when he spotted a gap with a quickly-taken penalty.

Rams responded, though, and it was their outstanding captain Tom Vooght who off-loaded to outside centre Ellis Jones to score the third try for the hosts.

Seers knocked over the conversion and slotted a penalty on the stroke of half-time to make it 22-5.

The home side came flying out of the blocks at the start of the second period, No. 8 Jamie Guttridge smashing his way over before Humberstone benefitted from a charge-down to grab another score. With the extras added, Rams led 34-5.

Taunton were resillient, however, and threatened a comeback when Matt Jess and Max Woodward crossed to reduce the deficit to 13 points with a little less than a quarter-of-an-hour remaining.

Rams hooker, Ben Henderson, was also sin-binned as the table-toppers came under pressure, but Seers kicked a penalty and wing Conor Corrigan scored with the final play of the game to ensure Reynolds' men roll on.

And the head coach commented: "It was a really big game, and there was a moment where it looked like Taunton were coming back, but we were dominant and the pack were outstanding.

"Taunton have some of the best weapons in the league – they're a dangerous side. They're not much different to the side who used to beat us comfortably when we first came to this level, and our boys aren't much different, so the improvement our guys have shown is very good.

"We spoke in the week about trying to shut down their weapons – Sam Prior, their big No. 8 and Nicholas Mason at 13 – are "outstanding players, some of the best in the league.

"Sam is so effective normally, but the guys did very well against him."

Leading the charge for Rams was their inspirational leader Vooght, and Reynolds paid tribute to the leader, stating: "Tom is a classic number seven, which is going out of the game but which shouldn't be.

"He's first to the breakdown, first to the contest, he's good in attack, he's very good at jackalling the ball and he's been here since "he was six years old.

"This is not Tom Vooght, coming down from the Premiership to play at this level, this is someone young, whose come through the ranks and is one of the best in the league."

With Rams moving another step closer to the title following the win, Reynolds said his side will stay focused and embrace their chance to make history.

He concluded: "We let other people think about it (the title). Within our squad, we think about what's in front of us. We always look at the areas to improve – we looked at them last week, we'll look at them this week.

"Opportunity is what we talk and about and embrace. We have the chance to do something no other Rams team has done before. "We're playing at the highest level this club has ever played, but we're really enjoying it.

"The main thing is to not get too high when you win, and you don't get too disappointed when you lose."

Rams have a week off before returning to action with a trip to Worthing Raiders on Saturday, March 23.