Old Patesians 17 Redingensians Rams 67
League leaders Rams went on a 10 try rampage at hilly Everest Road to open up a nine point gap over rivals Brixham and to strengthen their National Div. 3 South West championship promotion hopes with five games to play.
Rams were never behind and crucially, playing up the pronounced slope in the first half, led 17-24 going into the second half before running in a further six tries to no reply with the slope in their favour.
With scrum half James Brooks and fly half Luke Flower kicking 17 points between them it was a classic Rams performance with Pats unable to cope with their slick handling and support play and underlined by the fact that Pats medical staff were constantly coming on to the pitch to treat their injured players.
Brooks kicking performance, to take him to 218 for the season, saw him break the clubs individual points scoring record, previously held by Spike Chandler, 216, and there was also a great double try-scoring debut for Rams latest recruit and 19 year-old Berkshire U20 captain Dan Barnes.
A delighted Rams skipper Andy Amor summed up afterwards: “Fantastic! That's our highest win of the season and the first half-an-hour really set the scene. They came back towards the end of the first half but we blew them away in the second half with half-a-dozen tries which was fantastic and nice to spread them around between backs and forwards
And, he added: “Well done to James Brooks and two tries for Dan on his debut in the centre was tremendous and we want to carry on that way for the rest of the season.”
In fact wing Olly Poole and full back Joe Duffelen also touched down twice along with one each for lock James Hughes, flanker Azza Hopkins, wing Olly Foxley and the outstanding centre David Massey.
“It was a great game,” said a delighted Barnes. “Massey and the captain Andy Amor helped me out the whole time and it was a brilliant game! It was good to score twice as well in my first game. It was a boggy pitch but it was good and it's a great club to be at and I can't wait to push on.”
Rams dominated the opening quarter and went ahead after 13 minutes following Olly Foxley's great touch find into the Pats 22 from which good work from Brooks, Duffelen and Hughes finally sent Hopkins storming up the right wing to score wide out.
It went unconverted but Brooks made no mistake with his second attempt, just three minutes later, as hooker Ross Crame, Brooks and Flower led the charge into the Pats 22 with Foxley's pass sending Duffelen steaming over.
But the home side hit back almost immediately when scrum half Takuya Osaki caught Rams napping and scampered through a gap in midfield to go in under the posts and for full back George Hughes to convert, 7-12.
Rams themselves, however, responded within minutes as a long ball out from a scrum found Barnes who, in turn, sent Duffelen on his way to evade several tackles and eventually beat the Pats full back and go over for an unconverted score.
And Duffelen had a hand in Rams bonus point fourth as, from turnover ball, Massey's beautifully weighted pass to the full back allowed him to bust several tackles before sending in wing Poole and for Brooks to add the extras and put his side 24-7 ahead.
Back came the home side, however, with two tries up to half time. The first from lock Josh Stevens crashing over and, on the stroke of half-time, another from right-wing Duncan Spurrier neither of which were converted.
Leading, 17-24, at the start of the 2nd half Rams, with the slope now in their favour, then dominated the second half extending their lead with a 45 metre Brooks penalty within four minutes before running in a steady stream of tries.
Massey grabbed the first after good work from the Rams pack had won a ruck under the Pats post and the ball swept out for him to go over in the corner and converted by Brooks.
The scrum half also added the extras to Rams sixth following Flowers well placed kick into space for wing Foxley to win the foot race to the line and extend the lead to 7-41.
Rams had brought on all three replacements by the time they scored their next after a great Bryson line-out take was capitalised on by Flower to send Poole over for his second and, this time, with Brooks on the bench, embellished by Flower.
Minutes later they had grabbed their eighth with replacement scrum half Will Clark finding Bryant who in turn sent Barnes over wide out for his debut try and the centre was at it again minutes later when he latched on to Flowers beautifully weighted chip ahead and who then added his third conversion.
And Rams wrapped it all up into injury time when Hughes finished off a strong forwards drive for the final unconverted try.
As Rams in-form centre Massey said afterwards: “It's great to come down to a place like this and put that many points on them and there was a lot of hype about the hill. In the first half the home side defended well and attacked well but we managed to put some points on them and that's what won us the game really. Our attack was spotless today but there's work to be done in defence.”
Rams return home this Saturday (Mar 7) to take on Old Redcliffians, 2pm.

Rams – Duffelen; Poole, Barnes, Massey, Foxley; Flower, Brooks; Weller, Crame, Baker; Hughes, Bryson; Amor (c), Hopkins, Davies. Reps all used: Steadman, Root, Clark.

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