Redingensians Rams 22 Brixham 17

While their gutsy visitors made it difficult for Rams throughout, the home side overcame both their tenacity and the wet, muddy, conditions to post their 11th win of the season and move back into second place in the table.
The win puts them four points clear of county rivals Bracknell but who now have a game in hand on them as their match at Weston was one of four postponements due to last Saturdays poor weather conditions.
“It was a good start to the New Year and a great performance,” conceded Rams versatile skipper and No.8 on the day Andy Amor. “The conditions were wet, it was muddy, we had disruptions because of injuries and illness last night and this morning but, again, the guys that came in did a great job and we've got five points and that's a great start to 2014.”
But, Amor himself was a little unlucky to finish the game on the touchline following a very late yellow card from referee Simon Walker.
“He said that I was in at the side but I didn't think that a ruck had been formed so I disagree on that one,” said Amor in his own defence.
Thanks to the hard work of the Rams unpaid ground staff and supporters during the previous 48-hours the game kicked off as scheduled only for the visitors fly half to drop his kick short of the required 10 metres and hand Rams a scrum on the halfway line.
Nevertheless it was, despite the undignified start, in fact, the visitors who bossed the early proceedings with ball in hand and denied the home side possession.
But Rams first-up tackling, as it was for most of the game, saw them slowly turn the tide and on 21 minutes they took the lead after winning ball at a Brixham line-out and then a penalty that Brooks stroked into touch.
Good work from centre `AJ' Hopkins, from the resulting play, saw him find `Azza' Hopkins who split the visitors defence from 20 yards out and carved his way to the line.
Brooks converted and was back for a second attempt on 33 minutes after another Hopkins drive had won a penalty in the visitors 22 that the scrum-half took quickly and handed over to hooker Rory Paxton who's, long, looping pass found centre Steve Bryant to race over for the touchdown.
This time Brooks conversion sailed fractionally wide as did another 32 metre penalty attempt just before the interval to leave Rams 12-0 ahead at the start of the second half.
But their lead was reduced within four minutes of the restart when Rams debut making newcomer and flanker Gus Davies was done for holding on to the ball at a ruck and Brixhams right wing Johnny Brown slotted the place kick, 12-3.
Davies, who generally had a sound debut, was again unlucky a while later when he hobbled off with an ankle injury and with Rams now beginning to struggle in the tight the visitors were able to hit back yet again to further reduce the deficit.
This time it was galloping lock Luke Maggs who benefited having burst through some unusually weak Rams defence to touchdown and hand Brown a simple conversion that cut Rams lead to 12-10.
But, within four minutes Rams had replied at the other end following well one line-out ball from lock Ian Jeffreys that set up a charge from his fellow forwards and led by grafting prop James Baker. When Baker was stopped the ball came back once more to Jeffreys who's run set-up Hopkins to drive and power his way over wide out on the right for his second touchdown.
He quipped afterwards: “It must have been all of those Cornish pasties from my holiday in St. Ives! I was just there in the right place at the right time. It was hard and tiring in the mud but it was a good game for the forwards – rugby should be played in mud!
Although he did admit: “I think that we should have stuck it out in the backs a little bit more. We've got great backs and every time it went out they seemed to make a load of yards so I don't know why we didn't do it a little bit more.”
Again the try went unconverted as did Rams fourth to seal the bonus point on 80 minutes as Rams camped in the visitors 22 and a great drive from the big 6-foot replacement prop Luke Batten saw him power-over despite the desperate last ditched tackles to stop him by the Brixham defence.
But, as the final minutes ticked away and Amor was despatched to the sidelines, the visitors had one more chance at a score and it was Brown who finally found the hole in the home sides defence for a well-taken try that he also converted.
In all this was a good reply from Rams to their pre-Christmas loss away to Bracknell where their own lack of discipline had let them down.
Up front there was some strong performances from Baker, lock Sean Kenneally, Hopkins and the new-boy Davies while `AJ' Hopkins was the pick of the backs along with Bryans and lively wing Sean McDermottroe who had his best game to date in a Rams shirt.
As Bryans summed up: “It was a good win in pretty tough conditions and it was good to get the bonus point win and we would have certainly taken that before the game. I thought that the forwards put in a particularly good shift today especially whenever we got pinned down in our own half and, in the second half, they really reacted well.
“We trusted our skill set to play through them and use the hands when it was on and having scored four tries you can't really complain at that. It's all about percentages on a day like today and to trust in the forwards who scored three tries today. If you've got fire-power then use it!”
Rams travel to Chippenham next Saturday (11th) and that's followed by the visit of league leaders Lydney to the Old Bath Road ground (18th), 2pm.
Rams – Bryans; Duffelen, Bryant, `AJ' Hopkins, McDermottroe; Gumbleton, Brooks; Weller, Paxton, Baker; Jeffreys, Kenneally; Davies, Hopkins, Amor (c). Reps – Crame, Batten, Chandler (all used).

Report by Steve Williams