Rams promotion celebrations took a dive at Pottington Lane last Saturday in the final league game of the season where the lively Barum side simply blew the newly crowned National Div.3 South West champions away.
It also saw injuries to two of Rams top forwards, flanker Azza Hopkins and lock Tom Bryson, that required hospital treatment.
Hopkins was sidelined with an ACL injury during a tackle in the first half that will need surgery and could take some four months to repair while lock Tom Bryson also ended up in hospital suffering from concussion but was released after examination.
Kicking off with seven changes to their regular league line-up, including omitting skipper Andy Amor, Rams, despite opening the scoring, could never match the home sides enthusiasm, drive and power and crashed to their biggest defeat of the season!
With seven changes in all including four to the very axis of the Rams team, two in the back-row plus the half-backs, it was, probably, a step too far against a big, powerful and well-drilled Barum side eighth in the table and looking to close out their league campaign by claiming their biggest scalp of the season.
As full back Joe Duffelen, Rams skipper for the day, remarked afterwards: “At the end of the day we came out and we just weren't there! We thought that we could come down and throw it about a bit and, to be honest, our tackling wasn't there, we weren't there at the base of the ruck making it easy for our nine to get the ball out and, in the end, we were forced to defend for most of the game! “They got the momentum in front of their big crowd of supporters and it's a great shame to wrap-up the season this way! But, we'll take the positives and not put too much emphasis on this result because, at the end of the day, we are still the league champions!”
Duffellen's own game got off to a flying start when, after the opening three minutes of Barum pressure, the skipper intercepted home fly half Steve Terry's pass out on his own 22 and scorched through the remaining home defence and to touch down his long-range effort under the posts.
Fly half Harry Stapleton, making his only appearance of the season, added the conversion with ease and, for 23 minutes, the visitors clung to their slender, 0-7, lead.
But, during that time, Rams attacking capabilities had already suffered a mortal blow when top flanker Hopkins damaged his ACL and had to leave the field and to be replaced by lock Owen Root.
And, the home side quickly added to their visitors woes with a try within three minutes of Hopkins departure as left-wing Sam Conway steamed off up the touchline to open up the visitors defence and touchdown in the right-hand corner although too acute for Barums's ace points kicker and scrum half Jordan Petherbridge to convert, 5-7.
However, within four minutes, he had put the home side in front, 8-7, when Rams gave away a penalty under pressure and his kick cannoned over off the upright.
Worse followed for the visitors when wing Olly Poole was yellow-carded soon after although Petherbridge spared his blushes by missing the ensuing penalty and Rams were able to reach half-time trailing only by the one point.
But, Rams made a terrible start to the second half conceding two scores in the opening five minutes from which they never recovered!
A mistake in the visitors midfield gifted full back Will Tops a try, well converted by Petherbridge who, minutes later, kicked his second penalty to put his side, 18-7, ahead.
And, six minutes later, he was at it again when right-wing Luke Berry took full advantage of a floundering Rams defence to touchdown in the corner and his fly-halfs unerring boot struck the perfect conversion from wide out to lead, 25-7.
And, in the final quarter, they piled in two more tries when, following huge pressure on the visitors line, No. 8 Matt Ghol smashed over, Petherbridge adding the extras and then flanker Winston James completed Rams nightmare with a try, this time converted by left-wing Conway.
It was a disappointing end to such a successful season but at least it gave Rams a chance look at a couple of their 2nd team regulars including fly half Stapleton.
And as he feely admitted afterwards it wasn't the greatest of games on which to make a return.
He said: “Yes, very disappointed! We travelled a long way to get down here and we got turned over. There's no excuses, we just didn't front-up! We missed tackles and they capitalised on that and, fair play to them, I think, from the start, they were more up for it than we were.”
Debut making flanker Nick Crandon also summed-up afterwards saying: “We've had a great season with the Titans (2nd team) mirroring the success of the Rams so this was my first game for the Rams so it was a tough game for me to come down here. The intensity and the physicality of the game was certainly a step-up but everyone's now trying to knock us down as champions and we needed this experience to take into next season and really get rolling!”

Rams – Duffelen; Sunley, Barnes, Massey, Pool; Stapleton, Clark; Weller, Crame, Baker; Hughes, Bryson; Crandon, Hopkins, Jeffreys. Reps all used – Steadman, Root, Flower.

- end -