The two-try hooker who captained Berkshire to a runners-up finish in Division Three of the Bill Beaumont County Championship back in May – only beaten in the final by a late Ant Marris try – now has five in four games and has started the season in superb fashion.

And after making it four National One bonus-point victories from four games, Max said: “For the last four weeks we’ve just really been at it, putting in a huge effort.

“Throughout pre-season and the first month of the season, all the effort we’ve been putting in has been paying off, and credit to the coaches as well because they put us on the right path.”

It was Max who opened the scoring in Hertfordshire on the back of a typically strong Rams’ rolling maul, with the lead extended when Ollie Cole picked up a Jak Rossiter pass inside for the second try.

While Dan Cole kicked a penalty for the hosts to cut the gap to 12-3, Alex Seers added the extras to a second try from Max and one from Vince Everitt to give the away side a comfortable half-time advantage.

Things got even better after the break as Jak collected a seventh try in just three games, before Josh Collis wriggled over off the back of another maul from a forwards’ effort which was tremendous throughout the afternoon.

Alex converted both to make it 40-3 early in the fourth quarter, and while Josh Stannard went over for a Stortford try, Rams were well worthy of a victory built in part on the back of an outstanding job without the ball.

And Max revealed: “(Defence coach) Danny (Batty) has been working really hard with our defensive set and the boys just keep going – we counter-attacked when we needed to and got the job done.”

The victory also included a degree of flexibility from the away side, with Connor Stapley’s departure after 30 minutes leaving Ross Crame to play the rest of the game in the second row, while replacement hooker Ollie Moffitt slotted into the tight-head with both props Marris and James Baker taken off as a precaution at the start of the final quarter.

Reflecting on the overcoming of adversity, Max concluded: “You might have some players who say ‘I don’t want to do that’, but here everyone would do anything for the boys.

“It’s nice to be on the pitch with Moff and also Ross was also brilliant.”

Rams host Darlington Mowden Park as they look to continue their perfect start to the season on Saturday (3pm).

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