Match Report by Cameron Temple
Photos courtesy of Tim Pitfield Photography
Redingensians Rams strung together their sixth victory in a row, with the score at 21 - 12, owing to two tries late in the first half which put the game beyond Redruth.
This victory came against a Redruth side who, at the start of the day, had sat only 3 points and one place behind the Rams in the table resulting in what was to be an intense encounter.
Despite their impressive recent form the Reading men came into the game as underdogs to many. They came up against a Redruth side that had been a regular in the top five of the league over the past few years, and that had beaten the Rams at the last four times of asking.
However it was not to be for the men in Red on this day, much to the delight of Redingenisans' head coach Seb Reynolds, who shared his thoughts with us following the game saying, "I was really impressed by the way the boys built pressure in the first half. Redruth are a strong side and we knew they would look dangerous at some point but the players kept their composure for another good win."
The Reading men seemed especially focused as the started brightly as the pack resumed normal order with a formidable 25 yard drive in the early stages of the game. moments later the ball broke to the backs with Tom Humberstone, who had an excellent afternoon in the kicking department, showing quick hands as he popped the ball off to Jordan Souter who burst through the Redruth defence and over the try line, only to be pulled back by the Referee due to a forward pass.
The Rams dominated possession throughout the opening 30 minutes of the game but it seemed as if they would be left ruing their missed chances as they were unable to convert this possession into points on the board.
This was until, after 30 minutes, the Reading men greeted Redruth with a flurry of attacks, which was eventually rewarded as man of the match Conor Corrigan burst through, running an exquisite line, to take the ball over the try line directly under the posts, setting up Humberstone for an easy conversion.
The Rams followed this up moments later with their 9th penalty try of the season following a powerful drive from the Rams pack, which took them from outside the oppositions 22 all the way to the try line, as they went into half time with a commanding 14 - 0 lead.
The second half didn't start any better for Redruth as their captain Richard Brown received a yellow card.
The Rams took immediate advantage of their extra man with an efficacious drive, which resulted in their being awarded a 2nd penalty try of the afternoon, their 10th of the season, as penalty tries began to come into serious contention for the coveted position of Redingensians' top try scorer.
There was now real distance between the two sides on the scoreboard. However, Redruth replied quickly, determined to drag themselves back into the game, as Buzza stretched the ball over the line following a period of sustained attacking pressure for the Redruth men.
The game fell into a period of stalemate with neither side able to make any progress. This was after 60 minutes of the game had gone, as Redruth's Simmons found a gap in the Rams defence and he rushed through with explosive pace but he was tackled agonisingly close to the home teams try line.
This was followed by a multiple attacks from Redruth who eventually found a way through with the ball having been whipped out wide to Cant, he ran the ball over the line in the corner setting the game up for a tense finale
Despite this apparent sway of momentum in the favour of Redruth, the Reading men never looked like relinquishing their lead as they saw the game out in organised fashion.
The Rams even strove for what would've been their bonus point try in the last five minutes of the game, but ultimately it eluded them as the game ended 21 - 12.
There are no fixtures for the Rams 1st XV next Saturday 18th November, but come and see the Rams Titans in Zoo league action against Shelford at Old Bath Road KO 1pm. Our Titans currently lie in 2nd place in the Zoo league.
The Rams 1st XV will next play Taunton (Away) on Saturday 25th November.
# | Team | Pl | Pts |
1. | Cinderford | 30 | 143 |
2. | Chinnor | 30 | 131 |
3. | Redingensians Rams | 30 | 112 |
4. | Taunton Titans | 30 | 101 |
5. | Redruth | 30 | 89 |
6. | Tonbridge Juddians | 30 | 86 |
7. | Worthing Raiders | 30 | 81 |