THE Rams are on top of the National Two South and their reputation for forward power had gone before them.
Tonbridge Juddians were expecting a hard match as they travelled up to Reading and that is exactly what they got.
Their second defeat in successive weeks has seen them slip down the table from fourth place to seventh, only narrowly ahead of a clutch of other sides.
TJs did enjoy an early spell of possession and after seven minutes they were six points up thanks to two penalty goals from Will Robinson.
Indeed penalties were to feature strongly throughout the match. A series of infringements took the Rams into an attacking line-out position and their well-drilled pack caught and drove the ball over the line for a converted try.
TJs were struggling to deal with the rolling maul and another sequence of penalties and relentless battering by the hosts brought a penalty try, together with a yellow card for TJs hooker Ryan Jackson.
The pressure continued and just two minutes later the hosts’ hooker Ben Henderson touched down for an unconverted try.
TJs did what they could with what possession came their way. A clearing kick was fielded by full-back Toby May and he made good progress up the side.
Winger Hugo Watson was on hand to take his timely pass and he made it over the line for a try which Robinson converted with a fine kick from the touchline.
Within five minutes, however, the Rams scored a fourth try and secured a bonus point just before half-time to stretch their lead to 26-13 at the interval.
TJs started the second half with a good spell of possession and came close to scoring at a lineout but they were penalised for an offence at the front of the line.
They kept up the momentum, the home side lost a player to the sinbin and after a series of attacks Rob White crashed over for Tonbridge.
The visitors were back in a game, which became fragmented with many scrums being reset.
But a yellow card for Mike O’Sullivan put his side under more pressure and the Rams scored again with 12 minutes remaining, which left Tonbridge with too much to do.
TJs will be looking to get back to winning ways when they play host to Guernsey on Saturday [October 27, kick-off 2.30pm].
