Two terrific halves, four fantastic tries and five bonus points were the rewards for Redingensians Rams confident win away at Cinderford. A final score line of 12-25 extends the ample try records of Steven Bryant, Ben Henderson, Jak Rossiter and Greg Illingworth. But these names don’t stand alone in the stand-out performances put on by the remainder of the Rams’ lineup.

Although Cinderford looked aggressive from kick off, they quickly lost attacking rights to Jack Steadman’s jackal. With the weight of Rams’ pack behind their opening rally, the Reading visitors soon pushed against the hosts’ home line. Jacob Atkins soon pitched a high kick over Cinderford’s try line and found Steven Bryant for the score. Atkins also won the conversion for an opening 7-point salvo for Rams.

The Foresters’ made a few threats of their own, developing strong runs in the hands of Reuben Norville and Jack Shields. These were held back by Rams’ centurion centres with both Bryant and Jordan Souter stopping Cinderford attacks.

However for the first fifteen minutes Rams put the pressure in their preferred direction. The shunt of Rams’ pack put Cinderford’s Will Keenan in the sin bin after illegally ending a near-try chance from Robbie Stapley and instead Ben Henderson was next to score after a shove in the right-hand corner. This went unconverted for 0-12 at the twenty minute mark.

Cinderford started to pick up momentum towards the end of the first half. A concentrated team effort from the home side demanded a defensive demonstration from Rams, pushing them back to the end of the pitch on a couple of occasions. One of these ended with an easy penalty which, to the embarrassment of the home crowd, sailed slightly left of target. Instead Cinderford scored their first points at the end of an eleven-man maul, with hooker Henry Walker winning an unconverted try in the 38th minute.

The 5-12 advantage for Rams didn’t last long after the interval. Cinderford started out strong, directing all attacking plays throughout the first five minutes. The equaliser came from Aaron Ryan, who was surprised to stroll through a missing man in Rams’ defensive line and find a try under the posts. James Moffat added the extras for a square score at forty-four minutes.

Jordan Souter found Rams’ redemption a few moments later with a break through and offload to Conor Corrigan. Faced with three opposing men Corrigan chipped to the right-hand corner, guiding the ball directly to the outstretched arms of Jak Rossiter.

Rams’ pack were also making a big impact on the pitch: huge driving mauls were common and there were instances of runaway scrums making 10 metres of distance against Cinderford’s front 8. Robbie Stapley, Ross Crame and Phil Hoy made an oppressive force in centre-field attack while Tom Vooght and Ollie Taylor sent Cinderfield offenders flying. A penalty over the hosts’ posts was Rams’ reward for their pack’s punch and Atkins amazing talent on kicking duties.

Both teams continued to closely contest eachother’s try lines. Cinderford’s Moffat and Ryan flustered a near-certain try with a chip over the dead-ball line and Rams’ Vooght and Illingworth had a fantastic offload to try pulled back due to a forward pass.

Illingworth had to have another go to find his try, the last of the game. Coming off the back of a blue scrum, Stapley’s pick-up opened the opportunity for an offload to Craig Nightingale and then to Illingworth for the bonus point try. Unconverted, this was the last say in the final 12-25 final score.

Cinderford entertained Rams’ fans with a fantastic, hospitable atmosphere and a dangerous inhospitable, opposition. They retain their 6th place in the National League 2 South table, one that Rams will hope to threaten next week with their home fixture against Old Elthamians.

Report by Matt McCrory

Redingensians Rams:
15 – Ollie Foxley
14 – Jak Rossiter
13 – Steve Bryant
12 – Jordan Souter
11 – Conor Corrigan
10 – Jacob Atkins
9 – Greg Illingworth
1 – Jack Steadman
2 – Ben Henderson
3 – James Baker
4 – Phil Hoy
5 – Ollie Taylor
6 – Ross Crame
7 – Tom Vooght
8 – Robbie Stapley (c)
Replacements:
16 – Greg Drew
17 – Sean McDonnell-Roberts
18 – Justin Allen
19 – Craig Nightingale
20 – Sam Guttridge

Cinderford:
15 – Eamonn Rees
14 – Harrison Yorke
13 – Reuben Norville
12 – Rob Winchie
11 – Harry Robinson
10 – James Moffat
9 – Jimmy Williams
1 – George Porter (c)
2 – Henry Walker
3 – James Tideswell
4 – Jack Shields
5 – Dale Lemon
6 – Marcus Brown
7 – Will Keenan
8 – Aaron Ryan
Replacements:
16 – Will Haly
17 – Joe Smart
18 – Dan Brady
19 – George Evans
20 – Alex Frame

Redingensians Rams:
Tries: Bryant 6; Henderson 18; Rossiter 47; Illingworth 75
Conversions: Atkins 6
Penalties: Atkins 65

Cinderford:
Tries: Walker 38; Ryan 44
Conversions: Moffat 44