Followers of Park’s promotion rivals Ealing may rest assured that Clifton did everything they could to prevent the visitors leaving with the full five points.

However, this was such a consummately professional performance from Rosslyn Park – based on a sound defence and dominant pack – that there really was little the Bristol team could do about it.

From the first whistle Park attacked with great intensity. There was a great move between Richard Davies and James Strong; Will Collier had a strong driving run stopped just short; Park camped on the Clifton line; Allen Chilten forced the home side to touch down behind their own line following their own defensive scrum. The home defence was strong and well-drilled, but after more than 6 minutes of constant pressure flanker Morgan Jones received the ball and was able to dive over the ruck to score, converted by Ross Laidlaw for 7-0.

Park were straight back with another superb move, but this time an interception would have seen the home side score but for some good defensive work. It was a blow when top try-scorer James Strong had to withdraw injured, though his replacement, Chris Simmons, played well. Clifton soon began to secure their fair share of possession, the main difference being that, on the ball, Park always looked dangerous whereas the home side’s efforts tended to be bottled up by a sound defence before they really threatened.

This was illustrated with Park’s second try, with nothing looking ‘on’ Paul Unseld used his pace to make a deep incursion up the left for Morgan Jones, in support, to gallop over after 23 minutes, converted by Laidlaw for 14-0.

Clifton had a rare chance with a penalty on half-way, which went close but not close enough, but Park still had the lion’s share of attacking. Steve Pape had a strong run that drew in defenders. Billy O’Driscoll’s strong incisive runs always looked dangerous, to the extent that it was possible to forget that skipper Rob Jewell wasn’t playing. But it was an inspired piece of play by Ross Laidlaw that brought the third try. There looked no real danger as the fly half received the ball well outside the 22, but he saw an angle that no one else saw and made a devastating run to score a great try, converting his own effort for 21-0 after 33 minutes.

Going flat out for the fourth try, a superb move up the left looked like unlocking the defence until a forward pass intervened and half-time came before they could make it.

With such wind as there was now mildly in Park’s favour, any feeling that the fourth try was inevitable was gradually dissipated. After 7 minutes Allen Chilten was shown a yellow card for some unnecessary tap dancing at the scrum. Park re-organised, drove at Clifton, but were stopped by their own poor final pass; O’Driscoll had another good run, and there was every reason to think a try would come when equality of numbers was restored. After further minor infringements the referee summoned skipper Chris Ritchie for one of those, “The next player on your side…” lectures.

Alas, just as Chilten was returning to the field, Will Collier committed another minor offence at the breakdown, in itself nothing like a ‘sin bin’ offence but Collier had to carry the previous indiscretions of his colleagues on his broad shoulders and off he went. To have to play half of the second period with only 14 players was a tall order against a side as good as Clifton, who were now enjoying more possession, and confidence in the inevitability of the fourth try was beginning to wane among Park’s supporters.

Come the hour (or in this case 65 minutes) cometh the man, in the form of Paul Unseld. He intercepted the ball well inside his own half, among a group of players and just flew clear and then past two defenders to score. Had he embellished his run with the odd swerve it would have looked the great try it probably was, but he doesn’t do “flashy”. A weight visibly shifted from his team’s shoulders well before Laidlaw’s kick bisected the posts for 28-0.

Relaxed and again playing attractive running rugby, Park dominated the rest of the match and never really looked like conceding a score. Laidlaw added a penalty to his tally, and a good run from Simmons led to a try by Marc Sweeney with the last move of the match. But for Park, the fourth try was what mattered, what came after was mere decoration. Now they need to repeat the trick at Canterbury.

Park: Davies; Strong (Simmons), Sweeney, O’Driscoll, Unseld; Laidlaw; Chilten (Barr); Huggett (Daw), Ritchie, Collier; Quigley (Underwood), Pape (A Jones); M Jones, Anayi, Lock.

Park scorers: M Jones (2T), Laidlaw (T, P, 4C), Unseld (T), Sweeney (T).