ROSSLYN PARK 27-26 RAMS
14/12/24
By RHYS STRATTON
The 1st XV held off a second half charge by Rams to claim a bonus-point victory at The Rock. It was as perfect a start to the match as anyone in attendance could have hoped for as the 1stXV shot out to an early lead thanks to three unanswered tries within the first quarter of an hour. First, Captain Arthur Ellis scooped up a loose ball and powered his way over following a brilliant line by Henry Spencer. Then, Joe Luca Smith crossed over in the corner to extend the lead just three minutes later after a linebreak by Ellis in midfield. Smith then completed a quick brace with one of the tries of the season when James Cordy-Redden reeled in a Josh Bragman crossfield kick and immediately dropped the ball onto his boot. The kick was a good one and Smith outstripped everyone to reach the ball first, hack it on, and dot it down. Rams finally got in on the scoring action through Morgan Macrae from the back of a maul, but the 1stXV answered back just 5-minutes to secure a first half bonus-point. The try came after some free-flowing rugby from phase play in the opposition half nearly resulted in Sam Kennaugh crashing over, however the powerful centre was held up over the line. Nonetheless, Park kept up the pressure following the goal-line dropout and it wasn’t long before Tom Stanton dove over in the corner. The visitors scored a crucial try from nowhere in the dying seconds of the half thanks to a break by Jake Murray and pass out wide to Zach Clow which served to rescue some momentum heading into the break.
Rams had the better of the chances in the second half, although these were few and far in between, and shrank the lead to 3-points with a try by Andrew Lamb after 15 minutes. Then, with 10 minutes left to play, Matt Woodward was shown a yellow for an accumulation of penalties and Rams took the lead for the first time in the match through Ben Atkins at the back of the subsequent maul. However, the 1st XV refused to accept defeat and won a penalty following the restart which allowed Bragman to step up and slot a penalty late on. With time running down, Rams continued to try and spoil the result but a penalty at a 79th minute scrum won by the Park pack brought the match to a close and secured what was a memorable bonus-point win.
ROSSLYN PARK
Tries: Ellis (6’), Smith (9’, 13’), Stanton (23’)
Conversions: Bragman (7’, 14’)
Penalties: Bragman (75’)
Yellow Cards: Woodward (70’)
Team: Cade, Miller, Woodward, Cleet, Spencer, Ledger, Ellis, Hosking, Fenley, Bragman, Cordy-Redden, Kennaugh, Stanton, Walker, Smith
Replacements: Cameron, Charalambous, Gillanders, Mulchrone, James
RAMS
Tries: Macrae (17’), Clow (39’), Lamb (55’), Atkins (72’)
Conversions: Honey (18’, 40’, 56’)
Penalties: N/A
Yellow Cards: N/A
Team: Marris, Macrae, Lomas, Stapley (c), Swain, Stone, Vooght, McRae, Murray, Honey, Pozniak, Grundy, Kalling-Smith, Clow, Lamb
Replacements: Harris, Baker, Atkins, Radianirova, Cole
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Blackheath 22 – 19 Leicester Lions
Darlington Mowden Park 37 – 37 Sedgley Park
Dings Crusaders 39 – 31 Bishop’s Stortford
Esher 31 – 34 Plymouth Albion
Richmond 31 – 29 Rotherham Titans
Sale FC 30 – 25 Birmingham Moseley
This week in National One saw Richmond tighten their grip on 1st with a narrow win over Rotherham at The RAG. DMP and Sedgley Park played out a thriller in the Northeast as the home side avoided defeat for just the second time this season. Elsewhere, Blackheath, Dings, and Sale all picked up wins at home whilst Plymouth Albion won away at Esher.
Up Next for Park is a derby day clash at The RAG as we take on an unbeaten Richmond side in the final fixture of 2024.