JAK Rossiter scored a fabulous hat-trick for Redingensians Rams, but it was not enough to prevent a second straight away defeat for Seb Reynolds’ men as they went down 27-24 at Bury St Edmunds.

The home side had failed to beat Rams in their six previous National Two South encounters, but they made a dream start when man-of-the-match Mark Kohler fielded a Gensians 22 drop-out before sprinting clear and igniting some slick hands which put Dwayne Corcoran over. Fraser Honey added the extras.

It took the visitors 20 minutes before they replied, but it was worth the wait as a stunning backs move culminated with Rossiter crossing on the right for the first of his treble. Adrian Jarvis converted and the sides went into half time level at 7-7.

Bury went back in front after a Jarvis clearance was charged down, allowing the hosts to recycle the ball before Collen Smith powered over from close range for another converted score. Rams hit back immediately, though, a powerful scrum close to the line allowing Rossiter to take the ball, side-step his opposite man and cross the whitewash. Another successful conversion levelled matters at 14-14.

However, a brace of Honey penalties nudged his side into a 20-14 lead, and a searing Kohler break was then rounded off by substitute Dan Swithenbank who grabbed his side’s third try. The excellent Honey was again on target to push his side 13 points clear with seven minutes to go.

Rams showed their heart, though, and gave themselves a lifeline when replacement back row Josh Collis powered over from close range, albeit Jarvis was unable to add the extras.

And while that deprived them of any chance of a stunning comeback win, they were able to ensure a brace of bonus points with the final play of the game.

Debutant hooker Olly Moffit – impressive on his first start – was able to break a couple of tackles before Rossiter took the ball and went over to complete his treble.

Speaking after the game, Reynolds paid tribute to Reading University star Moffit, along with fellow debutant, No. 8, Matt Allen.

He said: “First of all, it was a nice surprise to have lovely weather and a good pitch to play on so we were grateful for that.

“I thought we played some really positive rugby and it was great to see the handling in our first try down the right hand side.

“The big story for us today is we introduced two guys making their debut into the pack in Olly Moffit and Matt Allen. They have had a fine season with the university and they did a great job.”

He continued: “Credit must go to Jak Rossiter for his hat-trick; he’s been dying to get his hands on the ball so I’m really happy for him.

“All in all, it didn’t go our way, but that’s just how it goes sometimes. We probably didn’t up our tempo enough until the final stages, but we got two bonus points and we played some good stuff so it’s not all bad.”

Redingensians welcome Canterbury to the Old Bath Road ground this Saturday (2.30pm).