Four tries, two from zippy wing Gaving Dampies, in the final quarter of this hard-earned and, at times, tetchy home win over Weston-super-Mare saw Rams maintain their two point lead at the top of the National League 3 South West table.
But, it was a nervy time for all at the Old Bath Road ground last Saturday as the 10th placed visitors punched above their league weight and made Rams dig deep into their reserves before finally grabbing yet another bonus point win.
It set up a huge encounter this coming weekend as Rams travel down to Devon to face second placed Exmouth - 17-30 winners at Oxford Harlequins - who trail them in the table by a mere two points.
Relieved try scoring Rams skipper Andy Amor admitted after the match:- “Weston were a real challenge today and it did take us until the final 15 minutes until we actually got some space and the opportunity to go over the line, but that first hour was a real challenge!
“We knew they were going to be physical and we were matched up front but we showed them that we were patient and when we did give our backs some ball we scored some great tries including two for Gavin in only his fourth game for the club.”
On a bright sunny afternoon and in great conditions the game got off to roaring start with both sides showing their attacking prowess and, in particular, the visitors demonstrating, early doors, that their recent form in winning three of their last four games was no fluke.
But, it was Rams, with lock Sam Black making his debut, who struck first following well taken line-out ball from in-form No. 8 Jamie Guttridge and a drive from hooker Ben Henderson.
Back came the ball from the ensuing ruck for fly half Luke Flower to find his centre and man of the match David Massey who's powerful drive to the post earned a five meter scrum to Rams.
Although the visitors were penalised for dropping, Rams opted for another scrum and, this time, made no mistake driving Weston back over their own line for Guttridge to touch down and scrum half James Brooks to convert.
But, Weston again showed their mettle and hit back putting Rams under a lot of pressure in their own half that was eventually rewarded when Rams were penalised for not rolling away at a ruck and Weston fly half Iain Chisholm converted comfortably to cut the early deficit, 7-3.
And that was how the scoreline remained until the fourth quarter when Rams patience was rewarded as the visitors tired and their powers of concentration dropped and they were able to run in four more tries.
The first came from a line-out steal by flanker Tom Bryson and a good charge from wing Olly Poole. From the resultant ruck the ball was swung back along the line for prop James Baker to eventually send Dampies in under the posts, only for Brooks to have his conversion attempt charged down.
But it was the score that Rams had been looking for and with their visitors tiring they added a further three tries in a nine minute blitz on the visitors line.
The first came off a line-out and was worked out to centre Massey who shredded the Weston defence to go over in the right-hand corner but just too severe an angle for Brooks to convert, 17-3.
Four minutes later they were 24-3 ahead as replacement wing Olly Foxley and full back Joe Duffelen combined to send Dampies flying over in the corner for his second and the try bonus point which, this time, brought out a stunning touchline conversion from Brooks.
And, as the game went into time added on, their was just enough time for one more following good work from Flower and Duffelen that had hooker Bern Henderson smashing his way through the cover defence and to set up his skipper Amor for the final touchdown and for Brooks conversion to end the match.
Afterwards a glowing wing Gavin Dampies said: “It was pretty good to get on the score sheet but they made it hard work for us but the guys dug deep. We know that we can score tries from everywhere so we knew we just had to be patient.
“This is my third in three games so not so bad eh!
“Recently we've worked hard on counter attacking from the back three and so what we've done in training we put on the field today!”
So table-toppers Rams head for Exmouth unbeaten in their last seven outings but knowing they have a steep hill to climb in front of them.

Rams: Duffelen; Poole, Bryant, Masey, Dampies; Flower, Brooks; Steadman, Henderson, Baker; Black, Hughes; Bryson, Amor (c), Guttridge. Reps – Crame, Hopkins, Foxley.

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