RAMS’ spirited comeback came up just short as Plymouth Albion ended their eight-match National One winning streak with a hard-fought 27-24 home victory.

The away side had the better of the early exchanges and took a deserved lead when skipper Robbie Stapley went over at the back of a maul, Rowan Grundy’s conversion attempt missing to the right.

However, Albion hit back immediately as Rams failed to exit from the restart, giving away a penalty which was kicked to the corner.

And the hosts’ notorious maul got to work, hooker Harry Wilkinson touching down on the right-hand side.

Tom Putt’s kick struck the left upright, but Plymouth hit the front shortly afterwards as the visitors again conceded a penalty which went to the five-metre line, Wilkinson again riding over at the back of the set-piece.

Rams responded as a stunning 40-metre James McRae break took them into the 22, Putt then sin-binned for failing to roll away having made a try-saving tackle.

But it was the away side who were beginning to cough up too many penalties, and after ceding field position again, a series of pick-and-goes near the try-line ended with a long pass to left wing Kyle Speare to touchdown on the left despite the best efforts of Jak Rossiter.

Connor Eastgate knocked over a brilliant touch-line conversion, and a disastrous passage of play for Rams saw the hosts then seal a bonus-point, some slick handling along the backline ending with Jon Dawe dotting down on the right.

Another successful Eastgate conversion made it 24-5, but the visitors gave themselves a lifeline with the final play of the opening half, a glorious Henry Bird break setting-up Max Hayman to smash his way over for his 17th of the season.

Plymouth claimed the first points of the second period as Eastgate landed a penalty, but Rams again turned on the style as Bird’s half-break and a perfectly-timed McRae pass allowed Jak Rossiter to restore his two-try lead at the top of the Rams’ standings with a fine finish.

Replacement Ollie Cole was yellow carded for a breakdown infringement, but the visitors continued to battle, and dreams of another sterling comeback increased as Niall Kidd snuck over from a metre out with five minutes remaining.

Grundy’s kick cut the deficit to just three points, and Rams gave themselves one last chance as they earned a penalty which they sent to the corner.

However, Plymouth held up the maul before the full-time whistle was blown in front of a fervent home crowd.