TONBRIDGE JUDDIANS reached 100 points for the season to keep up their hopes of achieving a playoff berth in National Two South.
The runner-up in the division enters a knockout tie against the equivalent team in the northern section, and this win saw TJs climb to third place.
Rams are almost guaranteed the title but with four games to go second-placed Canterbury are seven points ahead of TJs.
The first time TJs visited Taunton they tore them to shreds in a first half that yielded 50 points but this time the home side kept the ball better.
TJs started brightly and from open field Will Colderick made ground down the left to draw the Taunton defenders to him.
He then offloaded to Hugo Watson, who ran in from 30 metres unopposed to score, with Will Robinson converting.
Taunton had most of the possession for the next 20 minutes but they could not break through, even after TJs were reduced to 13 men with Murray Galbraith-Lowe and Truman Sullivan sent to the sin-bin.
The score remained 7-0 to the visitors until half-time, but they stretched their lead straight after the break.
Ben Ashmore found space, Robinson took the ball on and his delayed pass flummoxed the Taunton defence, allowing Galbraith-Lowe to crash through and score. But Robinson was unable to convert.
Taunton had a better spell in attack and finally got round the TJ edge on the right to score an unconverted try.
Jimmy Stanford made ground into the Taunton 22 and after a drive by the pack the ball was spread wide right for the winger Galbraith-Lowe to stoll over and score his second try. Again the conversion was unsuccessful.
Taunton managed to hit back again to close the scores to 17-12 but as TJs went in search of a bonus point the hosts offended.
Robinson’s crosskick found Hugo Watson wide on the left and he managed to get over in the corner to close the game out.
TJs now welcome Worthing Raiders to The Slade on Saturday [March 30, kick-off 3pm].
