Tries from wing Charlie Robson and fit-again skipper Ben Henderson put the away side 10-0 up at the interval, and despite a converted James Newey try cutting the deficit to three points midway through the second period, Rams pulled away with further scores from the excellent Spencer Hayhow and debutant Lailand Gordon.

Reflecting on victory, Paddy said: “There was some lovely rugby on show and to go out and do what we know we can is the most pleasing thing.

“The decision-making was better – there were still some which were wrong – but not as many so they didn’t hurt us as much.

“I said to the boys in the huddle at the end, winning is great, but the performance is far more important, and we did perform in everything.

“Our line-out functioned, our scrum was dominant, we won the collisions and when we produced quick ball we showed the running rugby we used to do.”

A strong Titans side featured three debutants in the shape of wing Gordon, centre Axel Kanning-Smith and England Under 20s prop Tarek Haffar, along with the likes of Henderson, Max Hayman, Josh Collis and Ollie Monye who have been heavily involved with the 1st XV at various stages of the season.

And Paddy continued: “It’s nice to have a victory and some new players, along with a couple of others coming back.

“Hendo looked good – he’s a class act. He leads from the front and he plays like that all the time, but Max then came on and played just as well, so good luck picking the hooker for the next game!”

He added: “Tarek is a strong lad and he scrummaged really well, and in the loose you could see he knows what he’s doing – he could be an asset going forward.

“Lailand on the wing was so vocal in defence and that really helps out everyone around him, and Axel is another good player who showed some good feet and off-loads.”

Paddy was also taken by the performance of Hayhow, who came off the bench with a strong display.

And the coach commented: “He’s an 18-year-old coming on and dominating against these big men. He’s a physical specimen, but he also knows what he’s doing – we’re lucky to have him and we’re looking to try and develop into the player we believe he can be.”

And lastly looking ahead, he concluded: “We’ve got the ability to back up the performance in the weeks to come, but we need to go out and do so.”