JACK Gaylor thanked his near 40-man Horde (5th XV) squad as they signed off in style with a 46-36 Thames Valley Invitation League home triumph against Egham Hollowegians 2nd XV.

An early JJ Bell double added to by Andy Amor and an Andy Saunders had Rams 17-0 up, only for Dave Poole to convert tries from Dylan Brignall and Ben Jones before the break.

The hosts, however, surged clear as Shane Hancock, Alex Morgans, Gareth Rea and Matt Rose all touching down, Theo Pett-Ridge slotting a kick.

Egham refused to roll over, though, and tries from Matt Scaysbrook, Leo Arati and Jack Cambridge helped reduce the deficit to 39-31.

But Flynn fittingly grabbed the final Rams’ score, Gaylor with the extras, meaning Bill Pulling’s last-play reply was merely a consolation.

With his team completing the campaign with five wins from five, delighted player-coach Gaylor beamed: “It was a cracker from first to last, but the strength of the starting line-up probably proved decisive.

“It was a day to bring back memories, but nice to finish on a high. Having the likes of Jez, Amor, Scuba, Andy Saunders, JJ, Bobby Castell playing, it epitomises what I’ve seen from the club in the past 25 years, and it was special to see Jez get one more at the end.

“Some of them were saying they’d only be able to do 10 minutes, but after five they said ‘I’ll be fine, I can play for longer’ – they clearly still have the buzz.

“I nicked the last kick, but the whole point of the game was to give the guys one last chance to pull the shirt back on – getting the win was the cherry on top and you could see how much the club means to them all.”

Other storylines included the Rushtons again playing together, while Jack was keen to emphasise the camaraderie which has grown among the group.

He explained: “For Phil to play with his sons Seb and Jack, they won’t get the chance again, but they’ve done it a few times this season and always done well together.

“There were some other guys playing their first or second games, long-time legends, others who’ve become incredible clubmen in the past few years and the way they’ve come together this year is brilliant.”

Next up for Gaylor is Saturday’s Counties Two Tribute Berks, Bucks & Oxon South finale at home to Maidenhead 2nd XV, with the stalwart encouraging as many people as possible to give them an equally special send-off.

He ended: “We want to go out on a high again, make a day of it on the pitch and then enjoy the team social afterwards.

“Some of the team like Rosey, Griff and Kessell have been together for 16 or 17 years, so we want to send them off in style along with everyone whose pulled on the Cents’ shirt.”