RAMS equalled a club record by racking up their 15th straight victory to close in on promotion.
Seb Reynolds’ side had to battle at Bury St Edmunds but they emerged victorious 19-3 thanks to Greg Illingworth, Jak Rossiter and Tom Humberstone tries to move 16 points clear with 11 games to play.
“I am delighted because this was a first class performance from our boys,” said Reynolds.
“You can see how dangerous the Bury St Edmunds backs can be by the way they moved the ball around in the last quarter in an effort to get back into the game.
“The only difference between us and a loss was our brilliant defence and it is a great tribute to (defensive coach) Danny Batty that we have got the best defensive record in the national leagues.”
Rams could never fully get into their stride in Suffolk, but did move 5-0 ahead when scrum-half Illingworth found space to score.
Despite a lot of pressure in the Wolf Pack’s 22, Rams could not add to their tally before the hosts cut the gap to 5-3 at half-time when Jack Johnson kicked over a penalty.
Reynolds’ charges came out fired up after the restart, orchestrated by stand-in fly-half Humberstone, who created a try for Rossiter before scoring himself in the 19-3 success.
“I was really pleased with the boys as they kept their shape and filled the space really well,” said Batty.
“Even when Bury made breaks, as we knew they would, our energy to close down their runners was fantastic.”
Rams host Barnes on Saturday (2pm) was fans urged to leave their cars at home with a big crowd expected.
RAMS: Richardson, Rossiter, Jones, A. Humberstone, Corrigan, T. Humberstone, Illingworth, McDonnell-Roberts, Henderson, Baker, Taylor, Guttridge, Wolf, Vooght, Crame.
Reps: Drew, Marris, Nightingale, Denham, Lloyd.
Elsewhere, BRACKNELL picked up their first victory of 2019 to pick up four vital points in their battle to avoid relegation.
Visitors Weston-super-Mare sat nine points ahead of Daniel ap Dafydd’s men ahead of kick-off and they moved 6-0 up when James Mackay kicked two penalties between the posts.
A Vic Hardwicke three-pointer reduced the gap before the game swung as Weston prop Charlie Brabbham was sent to the sin bin, with Mike Hocking quickly following.
Scrums went uncontested as the visiting side had no front row and Bracknell made their pressure pay with a Hardwicke try giving them an 8-6 half-time lead.
The hosts continued to push forwards with the men advantage with Ian Burch and Gabe Hills both scoring.
Another yellow card, this time for full-back Robbie Mackay, saw Weston reduced again and despite a Marcus Nel try it was just consolation with Bracknell running out victorious by 22 points to 13.
They now go to Brixham on Saturday.
A second-half comeback saw Reading clinch their first victory of 2019 to ease their relegation fears.
Slough, who sit one place below Reading in the table, led 15-3 only to collapse to a 28-20 defeat.
Nick Burch put Reading ahead early on with a penalty before the home side pulled clear.
A Fraser Koefman try sparked the comeback as the flanker crossed for the 11th time this season.
Youngster Lewis Bowers then reduced the arrears further with a try on debut with Burch’s conversion levelling the game at 15-15.
Slough responded to retake the lead, but Reading had another try in them as Alex Dorliac crossed while Burch’s kicks secured the win.
Reading welcome Stow-on-the-Wold to Sonning Lane on Saturday.
