The Rams bounced back from their narrow defeat at Newcastle with a dominant 35-0 shutout of the Chester Romans at Cheshire County Sports Club, keeping the Romans pointless for the fourth consecutive meeting.

The Rams received the opening kickoff and wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. Michael Rojas connected with Matt Snell for a touchdown on the opening drive, and the PAT was good to make it 7-0.

The defence set the tone early when Alexander Saunders brought down the Chester quarterback for a sack on third down, forcing a punt. The Rams could not capitalise immediately, with Rojas taken down for a sack of his own on third down to force a punt back. Jono Bell-Davis then sparked a drive with a series of big runs, and Rojas found Snell on a long pass as the first quarter came to a close with the Rams leading 7-0.

Bell-Davis finished off the drive early in the second quarter, running it in for a touchdown. The PAT was good to extend the lead to 14-0. The Romans responded with a big kickoff return, but Russ Polson ended any hopes of a Chester response with a sack on fourth down to force a turnover on downs.

The Rams offence kept rolling as Iby Sardar picked up yards on a screen pass before Rojas connected with Liam Calvert for a touchdown. The PAT was good to make it 21-0. The Romans were forced to punt again, and Tyler Broad fielded it and returned it all the way for another touchdown. The PAT was good to push the lead to 28-0. Chester drove well in the closing stages of the half but could not get any points on the board before halftime.

The second half began with both teams trading three-and-outs on their opening drives. Rojas then took matters into his own hands, sneaking it in for a quarterback touchdown. The PAT was good to make it 35-0 as the third quarter drew to a close.

The Romans drove well into the Rams’ half early in the fourth quarter but again came away empty-handed. Chester forced a fumble on the Rams’ next possession to get the ball back, but the Rams defence answered by forcing a fumble of their own to recover. A successful fourth-down conversion kept the drive alive, but the Rams could not convert on the next fourth down and the Romans took over to see out the remaining time.

The convincing shutout moves the Rams to 2-1 on the season and firmly back on track after the frustration at Druid Park. The Rams now face a trip north to Clydebank to take on the Glasgow Tigers next week.