The Rams opened their 2026 playoff campaign with a commanding 31-3 victory over the Black Country Steelers in the NFC Division 1 Wildcard Round at West Leeds RUFC. A tense first half gave way to a devastating second-half performance, with Elliot Jackson running in three touchdowns and Dan Haywood — standing in at quarterback for Michael Rojas — delivering a composed display through the air and on the ground to book the Rams’ place in the semi-finals.

The opening quarter was a defensive affair. Haywood led the Rams downfield on the first possession, utilising Jackson’s inside runs to move the chains, but a sack and penalties stalled the drive. The Steelers showed early ambition of their own when quarterback Nathan Lester — son of former Ram Justin Lester — connected with Josh Hull on a long sweep, but the Rams’ front seven stood firm with Kelvin Newsome, Tyler Broad and Faith Arijoba all making key stops to shut the drive down. A Haywood scramble and strong interior running gave the Rams a chance to open the scoring late in the quarter, but Trishmpriyo Sarkar pushed a 40-yard field goal attempt wide left to keep the game scoreless.

The second quarter continued in a similar vein, with both defences on top. Nathaniel Derrick broke up passes from the cornerback position and Jonny Gritt disrupted from the defensive line as the Rams kept the Steelers’ offence in check. Black Country finally put together a threatening drive inside the two-minute warning, marching into the red zone, but Gritt rose to the occasion with a crucial blocked field goal on fourth down to deny Adam Smith and keep the Steelers off the scoreboard.

The Rams capitalised on the momentum shift. Off the back of the blocked kick, Haywood launched a 35-yard back-shoulder pass down the sideline to Iago Castro-Charlon, who hauled it in at the 11-yard line. A pass interference penalty moved the ball to the two, and Sarkar drilled a 20-yard field goal as time expired to send the Rams into halftime with a slender 3-0 lead.

The second half was a different story. The Rams came out with intent on the opening drive, powered by back-to-back chunk runs from Jackson and a 17-yard read-option keep from Haywood that moved the chains deep into Steelers territory. Nathaniel Wyse appeared to have broken a 20-yard touchdown run, but the score was called back for a block in the back. It mattered little — Jackson capped the drive with a three-yard touchdown run moments later, and the PAT was good to make it 10-0.

The Rams’ defence matched the intensity. Robbie Green and Gritt combined for tackles for loss as the Steelers went three-and-out, and Wyse and Jackson continued to wear down the Black Country defensive line through the back end of the third quarter, running behind the impressive blocking of guards Jamie Broome and Eoin Byrne. The Rams were firmly in control.

A mishandled mesh-point fumble early in the fourth quarter gave the Steelers their best field position of the afternoon, with possession inside the Rams’ 15-yard line. The defence held firm, conceding zero yards from the turnover and forcing a 27-yard field goal from Smith to cut the deficit to 10-3. It was the closest the Steelers would get.

Haywood responded immediately, breaking a 40-yard scramble down the sideline to flip field position. Two scores were then chalked off by penalties in a frustrating passage, but Haywood would not be denied, eventually finding Castro-Charlon on a two-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone. The PAT was good to push the lead to 17-3.

From there, the Rams pulled away decisively. Jackson broke loose on a 28-yard touchdown run to extend the lead to 24-3. Green then intercepted Lester off a tipped ball by Harry Anchor, and Jackson iced the game with an 18-yard touchdown run on the ensuing possession to make it 31-3. Anchor added a second interception in the closing minutes to cap a dominant defensive display that conceded no offensive touchdowns across the entire game.

The comprehensive victory advances the Rams to the NFC Division 1 Playoff Semi-Finals, where they travel to Leicester Forest RUFC on 9 August to face the Leicester Panthers.

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