A VALIANT Rams display proved in vain as Caldy made it a sweet 16 wins in a row with a hard-fought 32-21 triumph at Old Bath Road.
A cagey opening 10 minutes saw some big shots put in from both sides, but it was the hosts who had the first opportunity to open the scoring, Drew Humberstone’s attempted 40-metre penalty drifting just to the right of the posts.
And it was Caldy who then drew first blood, stripping the ball just outside the Rams’ 22 before man-of-the-match scrum-half Nye Thomas dived over from close range following a series of pick-and-goes.
The division’s top points scorer, Ben Jones, made no mistake with a straightforward conversion, and he then landed another after hooker Ollie Hearn touched down at the back of a rolling maul.
The hosts rallied, though, and hit back with a fabulous score from London Irish loanee full-back Michael Dykes, created by a brilliant break from fellow Exile Caolan Englefield.
There were no more scores before the interval as the visitors headed into half-time with a 14-7 advantage, and they moved further ahead seven minutes into the second period as Jones stroked home a penalty.
Yet Rams were well up for the challenge and closed the gap to just three points with a penalty try earned following a rolling maul, Caldy second row Tom Sanders yellow carded for his infringement.
However, the visitors again showed why they have enjoyed such a stunning winning streak, replying immediately with a maul try of their own which was finished by the excellent skipper JJ Dickinson.
The laser boot of Jones again bisected the uprights for 24-14, but Rams gave themselves hope with a stunning try at the start of the final quarter.
Henry Bird collected a hack forward inside his own 22, and after beating several men the ball flowed through the hands before a wonderful back-of-the-hand pass from replacement Ben Henderson set Jak Rossiter free to run in from some 35 metres out.
Humberstone was again on target with the conversion as Rams reduced the deficit to 24-21, but the Wirral men again showed their title capabilities by slowing the pace and ensuring their hosts were unable to establish any field position.
Caldy nudged themselves further in front when Jones landed a second penalty with four minutes remaining, and they wrapped up their try bonus-point with the final play of the game when a series of strong carries ended with the ball being swung wide to the right to the prolific Nick Royle to touchdown in the corner.
Jones’ perfect copybook was finally blotted as his touchline attempt narrowly failed to hit the target, but it did not detract from a job well done by the away side.
