REDINGENSIANS Rams were beaten 16-10 in controversial circumstances at Chinnor, writes Matt McCrory.

In a National Two South game which ebbed and flowed throughout, Rams were still in contention with three minutes remaining on the scoreboard, only for the referee to end proceedings abruptly.

The visitors began far better than in their two previous outings against Henley and Redruth, but they still fell behind when Basil Strang knocked over an early penalty.

He added another to make the score 6-0, and while Rams struggled to get their offensive game going, they were resolute in defence with Ross Crame – playing out of position in the back row – particularly outstanding.

A Sam Guttridge penalty cut the gap to three points, but Strang then found a gap in the visitors’ defence to go over for a converted score.

Luke Hibberd nearly scored a second on the hosts’ left wing, but had the home crowd left disappointed when it was called back for a forward pass.

Strang added another penalty for Chinnor just before the half-time whistle, giving his side a 16-3 advantage at the break.

However, Rams picked up some momentum in the second half. Steve Bryant and substitute Antony Marris hounded their opposing numbers, Phil Hoy took charge of impressive line-outs and rolling mauls and Tom Vooght put in a solid performance as skipper.

A yellow card for Jay Tyack disrupted Chinnor’s front row, and during his time in the sin-bin, Ollie Foxley performed a chip to the right wing on which Jak Rossiter collected before showing blistering pace to score under the posts. Spike Chandler picked up the conversion for a 16-10 scoreline with 20 minutes still on the clock.

An attempt at a long-distance penalty was Chinnor’s last threat of the game, but while Rams continued to look threatening – Foxley nearly scoring a try of his own on the right wing – they failed to find the offensive opportunities needed to close the score line.

And they were left to rue that when play was seemingly halted early.

Redingensians travel to Barnstaple on Saturday (2.30pm).