TRY-SCORER James McRae was relieved and delighted in equal measure as Rams snatched a 22-20 home win against Plymouth Albion in a pulsating National One battle.

Despite spending much of the opening 40 minutes defending, the visitors led 10-0 thanks to a Sam Daly score and Tom Putt’s conversion and penalty before McRae wriggled over from close range on the stroke of half-time.

Fraser Honey added the extras and repeated the trick after Ellis Jones touched down, but Albion responded swiftly with Daly doubling his tally and Putt knocking over the kick.

Rams replied with Axel Kalling-Smith’s try in clubhouse corner, only for another error from the restart gifting Putt the chance to restore Plymouth’s lead.

But it was Cornishman Honey who landed the fatal blow on the Devon side, his 79th-minute penalty the final points of an electric clash.

James started: “We tried our best to impose our game, but sometimes we couldn’t get the foothold we wanted because we didn’t put the multi-phase together as much as we’d have liked.

“However, what we did do was stick at it and sometimes rugby is just like that – you’ve got to keep your foot on the throat as much as you can, hope the pressure will tell, and ultimately we just had enough.”

He continued: “They’re an outstanding defensive unit and while we were confident coming in that we’d test them, it was a real arm wrestle which could have gone either way.

“At times it was like attack versus defence, but in the end, we just got there.”

Despite dominating possession and territory for large swathes of a game watched by almost 1,000 fans, Rams at times shot themselves in the foot and also had to overcome adversity with the No. 8 admitting: “It was a shame we dropped so many kick-offs – I’ve never played in a game where we’ve dropped four, so I guess Seb might put a few high balls on us during the week!

“They were weird conditions, it was very, very misty, the ball coming up and down through the dark, but it didn’t help.

“We were also without our skipper, we had two late changes from Thursday’s training (Colin Thomson and Mike Hoyt out), then Ross (Crame) going off early, but we’re a team which knows our structures well enough that people step in.

“Calum Scott and Vince Everitt – on about two hours’ notice – were outstanding and a credit to the way we train as a group, and our belief.”

Saving his final words for what was an electric atmosphere, the man-of-the-match ended: “I was knackered, but I could see some of the other guys geeing the crowd up and their support really, really helped.

“It’s unbelievable backing we’re getting and on a day when it was -2 degrees, for some many people to come out and watch, we’re so, so thankful.”