RAMS Under 23s launched a ferocious late fightback, but lost 43-42 in a Thursday night thriller at Oxford Harlequins.

The visitors made a dream start at Horspath Road, Theo Pett-Ridge cutting a nice line to dot down.

Matt Cox added the extras, but their more experienced opponents got on the board with a powerful maul.

And almost immediately they were in front, Rams failing to deal with a bouncing ball in midfield, Quins hacking forward before Henry Sayer grounded.

Ross McKay missed from in front of the posts but found his radar after Joel Hopkins-O’Neill went over from close range.

A slick score down the left extended Oxford’s lead to 22-7, yet Rams struck back as impressive second row Will Saunders wriggled over.

Cox made it two from two, but Quins took complete control before the interval.

Firstly, Rams shot themselves in the foot as a spilled ball in midfield was booted forward for Toby Haines under the uprights.

A cross-field kick was then switched inside for a nice score at the end of the opening 40 minutes.

With both conversions successful, the hosts led 36-14.

And despite having to repel some pressure early in the second half, they eventually grabbed what would ultimately be the match-winning score.

A scrum penalty in the Quins’ 22 went to the hosts, who blasted a long kick into Rams territory before they collected a seven-pointer following several phases.

But the visitors found something from out of nowhere to roar back into the contest.

Reading University flyer Ethan Bassett gave them a glimmer of hope after scything through for a try added to by Cox.

Saunders then doubled his tally before No. 8 Darren Bold powered over from close range.

Two more Cox kicks reduced the deficit to 43-35, while further drama arrived with a floodlight failure and scoreboard malfunction which stated it was 43-36.

However, the lights came back on soon after, with former Colt Luke Thorpe crossing for what both sets of players thought would be an equaliser.

And Cox made no mistake to retain his perfect record, only to later learn it was just a point shy of what was needed.

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