London Two South West
Old Reigatian 57 Effingham & Leatherhead 16
JONNY HYLTON admits Old Reigatian are disappointed to have a break for Christmas, insisting the team would rather play more games after turning a corner in recent weeks.
The Reigate side went on a terrible run of six straight defeats and slipped down the London Two South West table as a result.
But after beating Portsmouth 45-17 last weekend, Old Reigatian then made it two wins in a row against local rivals Effingham & Leatherhead on Saturday and Hylton believes the side have has "answered the critics".
"It's been a bit of a turnaround in the last couple of weeks," the head coach admitted.
"On Saturday I asked the guys for a performance because we needed to build on the victory from the weekend before, and that's what we did.
"I think it's a result that answered the critics and it sends out a little bit of a message to the rest of the league. We not only won on Saturday but in spectacular fashion.
"When we have a fit team, and understand what we need to do, we are a dangerous side.
"The league position doesn't reflect that at the moment but after Christmas we will be targeting a few more wins and hopefully we will begin to move up the table."
And Hylton believes the turnaround has been due to Old Reigatian "stripping back" the way they approach the game.
"It's a simple game but it can be made very complicated at times," he said. "We have been looking at the basics and stripping back the way we play.
"We have a particular way we like to play but also it's important to work hard for each other as a team.
"That's something that has been really pleasing in the last couple of weeks. I always said if we continue to work hard for each other, and the players really emptied their tanks on the pitch, that would be reflected in the results.
"The change in form has come as a shock to some people but I was always quietly confident it would come at some point."
Old Reigatian are now without a game until they host Farnham on January 10, but Hylton insists his players are already raring to go.
"It's actually a bit disappointing that we don't have a game this weekend," he said.
"I think ideally we would have wanted to get out there as soon as possible and keep the run going."
