The Director of Rugby saw his side run in 11 tries in their first home game of the campaign – including a staggering spell of four in six minutes at the start of the second half – which blew the Bristolians out of the water.
Harry Rowson had given Dings an early lead before Morgan MacRae and Ben Atkins replied for Rams, the scores equal after Jeffrey Young went over for the visitors.
Rams race clear
Mike Cooke converted two Axel Kalling-Smith scores for 26-12 at the break, and the fly-half’s metronomic boot extend the advantage as Harry Stone, Charlie Robson, Zach Clow and captain Max Hayman all went over in an astonishing 360 seconds.
A Will Thompson effort cut the gap to 54-19 after Jamie Elswood added the extras, but MacRae doubled up and man-of-the-match Willo Bicknell got Rams back on track before Sol O’Brien-Taufa secured a bonus-point for Crusaders.
It was Rams, though, who had the final word, replacement scrum-half Louis Pereira collecting a debut try as the hosts thrilled a 973-strong crowd.
After the last-gasp win at Sedgley Park last week, Seb was pleased with another step forward yet hopes there is much more to come.
‘We want to excite people’
He said: “The result’s a surprise for two reasons – firstly Dings are a quality side who played some good rugby and have some seriously talented players, and then we’re in the initial stages with this group.
“It went our way, and we won some key collisions which let us put our game out there, so we’re pleased.
“It was in the balance early on – you score, we score – but the back row came into the game more and more as time went on.
“And then the start of the second half was good, we took the game away from them with two quick scores, then two more and it went from there.
“But I’m not worried about the score – last week when we were losing, I wasn’t fussed because I just want this group to work hard and try and develop.”
He continued: “We want to put something on the park which people are excited to watch – it comes with its moments where you have to be patient and it goes wrong!
“We’re making line breaks but sometimes forcing the off-load is something to work on – we’re two games in and there are parts of the game we clearly need to improve.
“But I hope everyone who came along enjoyed it. There’s been many times in recent years which have gone to the wire, this wasn’t one so the players can be very proud of what they did.”
‘The effort the group have made is outstanding’
The hosts looked power-packed throughout with the back row of Atkins, Mikey Duda and Bicknell all shining, summer signing Cooke also in top form and the back three of Robson, Kalling-Smith and Clow all on the scoresheet.
With Hayman’s stunning solo score – the hooker grounding his own grubber kick following MacRae’s 60-metre break – capping another top display, Seb paid tribute to the work the squad have put in during the summer.
The DoR explained: “It’s a combination of what (S&C coach) Phil (Hoy’s) brought in but also the effort the group have made – they’ve been outstanding.
“There was a great vibe here with the crowd and to see everyone mingling post-match was brilliant – there’s a lot of new players to meet so hopefully our supporters do it swiftly.”
Rams travel to Sale FC next Saturday (2.30pm), before hosting Tonbridge Juddians on September 27.
