RAMS ended their title-winning National Two South season with a 31-14 victory at runners-up Canterbury.

It was the home side who started well, though, as they opened in lively fashion with a salvo of carries which tested Rams’ resolute defence.

However, it was Rams who struck first in the 4th minute when a break was finished by Joe Duffelen, crossing the whitewash but dislocating his shoulder in the process. Alex Seers converted to give his side a 7-0 lead.

Canterbury hit back on 21 minutes when wing Ricky Mackintosh dotted-down, only for Rams to regain the lead a few minutes later when Andy Humberstone broke through the opposition defence before feeding the ball to his centre partner, Ellis Jones, to score. Seers converted again and Rams took a 14-7 lead.

One feature of the encounter was Canterbury’s determination to play from virtually anywhere on the pitch, and it paid off in the 54th minute when scrum-half stalwart Dan Smart, having just replaced Kyan Braithwaite, took off down the blindside from a scrum deep in his own half.

After swapping passes with the lively Mackintosh he slipped the ball back to his wing to complete the try of the afternoon. Harvey Young converted again to make the score 14-14.

The home crowd sensed there was a chance to take the scalp of the league leaders and in so doing maintain their 100 per cent home record, but it was not to be.

With the hill in their favour and the wind on their backs, Rams’ fly-half and full-back, Seers and Tom Humberstone, made sure most of the final quarter was played deep into Canterbury’s half, and they were rewarded with a try by Craig Nightingale in the 58th minute as the ex-mini and Reading schoolboy finished a trademark Rams’ driving mall from a line-out.

Scrum-half Miles Lloyd then made a cheeky chip at full speed for Tom Humberstone himself to chase down and score.

Seers converted both tries and added a final penalty in the 80th minute to give the Rams fly-half a 100 per cent kicking record for the afternoon.

Rams defensive guru, Danny Batty, was full of praise for his side’s afternoon’s work and said: “I thought the boys were very good, especially as Canterbury kept the ball for long periods.

"We made one small error which they (Canterbury) capitalised on in the second half, but to come down here and only concede two tries against a team which finished second in the table is a credit to the players”.

Meanwhile, Rams head coach Seb Reynolds added: “This is a really difficult place to come and get a result, so I was very pleased with the performance and especially from the back row, which was completely different to the back row we took to Clifton.

"I think Louis Wolf did a terrific job replacing Tom (Vooght) at open-side and taking on the captaincy for the first time.

"It just shows how much talent we have at the club at the moment and that provides a good base for the future.

"I really hope Canterbury can finish their season with a play-off win next week. They are a strong club and it would be great to renew our battle with them in National One next season.”