CHINNOR Director of Rugby Matt Williams said he felt for his players after their late 27-21 defeat at Rams on Saturday.

Henry Bird’s try in the last play saw the hosts earn victory in a thrilling National League One contest.

Tries from Chris Elder (2) and Jason Worrall had helped Chinnor lead 21-15 with five minutes to go.

But, down to 13 men after Shek Sheriff and Cameron Gray were sin-binned for separate offences, the visitors were unable to keep Rams at bay.

Williams said: “It was a tough one. I feel for the boys, it was a really good game of rugby.

“Every time we play Rams it swings either way. It was a good, clean, physical game, well played by both teams.

“I really saw a team spirit, camaraderie, and we controlled Rams up front which allowed us to push on.

“But, for reasons that we will have to delve into with the video, we got pinged off the park in the second-half lineouts, it’s as simple as that, and when you’re down to 13 men you can’t win a game of rugby.”

Chinnor have taken 10 points from the opening four games of the season and welcome Bishops Stortford to Kingsey Road this Saturday (3pm).

Due to the nature of the Rams defeat, Williams is expecting a reaction.

He said: “The guys, for the first time this season, are deflated. We lost against Richmond and that wasn’t the same feeling.

“The boys are hurting and they’ve got to use that to bounce back against Bishops Stortford.

“We’ve now got to brush ourselves down, understand why we conceded the penalties in the second half, correct them, and put in a performance on Saturday.”