A back-and-forth first half was opened by Atkins, who completed a penalty made possible by the ruck-raiding prowess of Stapley and an excellent run by Bryant.

It didn’t take long for Bryant to find a few points of his own. With the assistance of Sander’s sidestep and offload, he completed a great run with Atkins delivering the extras.

Canterbury were quick to get back on the board, scoring their first points only moments after the reset. Hilton, working on the right wing, found his space and managed to meander through the entirety of Rams’ half. This was converted for a 10-7 score line at the 20-minute mark.

Rams continued to put on the pressure, even after a contentious try from Corrigan was disallowed. Stapley, Sanders and Atkins led attacking salvos, putting Canterbury’s cast-iron defence to the test and opening space for Lloyd Owen to overlap on the left-hand side. This was converted by Atkins.

The closing moments of the half saw both teams pick up 3 points from penalties.

Immediately before the whistle Canterbury suffered a concession; losing their Number 8 to the sin bin, and a victory; setting up a maul-over try from which Scrum-half Dan Smart emerged victorious. Half time gave the two teams time to mull over the 20-17 score.

The second half was slower-going, hampered by injuries and substitutions. This was especially evident for the home side, who conceded two tries to breakout Canterbury runs. Murray scored the first, Smart scored the second and Tom Best converted both to give the visitors their first moments leading the score board.

Although the home side maintained their excellent defensive standard throughout, Rams lacked the intensity that had put them in charge of the first half.

Henderson, Hoy and Vooght played an excellent offensive game and ensured that Rams’ possession was always imminently threatening. Scrums on Canterbury’s try line give way to long attacking rallies. In the 62nd minute Rams succeeded in pushing past the visitor’s try line only to have their scoring efforts held up.

Stapley set up Rams’ final points of the game. Picking up from the back of the scrum, he offloaded to U’Chong which, after Atkins delivered the extras, provided the final score line of 27-31.

It’s a disappointing result for Rams who, unable to find their forth try, win only a single bonus point for their home demonstration. Next week the Reading Men head over to Bristol for their first meeting with Clifton this season.

Report by Matt McCrory
Photo by Tim Pitfield

Redingensians Rams (15-9,1-8);

15 - Guttridge
14 - Corrigan
13 - Bryant
12 - Sanders
11 - Owen
10 - Atkins
9 - U'Chong
1 - Weller
2 - Henderson
3 - McDonnell-Roberts
4 - Hoy
5 - Taylor
6 - Bryson
7 - Vooght
8 - Stapley (c)

Replacements:
16 - Crame
17 - Marris
18 - Nightingale
19 - Kharbouch
20 - Lloyd