The Rams second win in successive weeks to start the Regional 2 Midlands West league season sees them in second position in the table, joint on points with Newent RFC at the top, following an away victory at Ledbury RFC.

The Rams were made to work extremely hard by the newly promoted hosts, particularly in the first half, in which Ledbury used their big pack to make it difficult in the set piece and around the fringes of the breakdown. It was Ledbury who were first to get on the scoreboard following a penalty move 5m from the Shipston try line, as the set play allowed their big runners to attack space and enabled them to power over for the first score and take a 5-0 lead after just 6 minutes.

The Rams hit back with a score of their own, finished off out wide by fullback Tate O'Donovan, rounding off a succession of good phases to dive over in the corner and level the scores at 5-5.

The remainder of the half was a fairly scrappy affair, with neither side taking the advantage. Ledbury continued to look strong up front and the Rams were having the best of the exchanges out wide, particularly in open play, where the likes of Ben Harris and Chris Cummy were looking threatening.

Ledbury scored a second try from a well executed driving maul at a lineout, regaining the lead at 12-5, but the Rams hit back just before the break, with Matt Daniells rounding off a sweeping move from an attacking scrum to crash over on the right hand side. Both sides entered the half time interval with the score at 12-10 to the hosts.

The second half saw the Rams up the intensity and they were rewarded with a further 6 tries in the second period! George Minogue was the scorer of the first try after the break, smashing his way over from short range after gathering a pass from a quick tap penalty near the Ledbury line. The celebrations that ensued confirmed how rare it was to see the big ginger beard going over for a score!

Further tries were scored by Bertie Taylor, who had another impressive showing at number 8, Tobi Faulkner, Oliver Windebank and a brace for Chris Cummy - showing good pace out wide to continue his good form at the start of this season.

Ledbury worked hard right until the final whistle and deservedly scored another two tries of their own in the second half to secure a bonus point, but it was a game that the Rams came through fairly comfortably in the end, without really getting out of 3rd gear. The final score was 26-46 to Shipston and another 5 point win secured.

There were a number of candidates for MOTM again this week, with the liked of Ben Harris, Dan Taylor and Chris Cummy all playing very well. It was however awarded this week to George Minogue, who was solid in defence, a constant option to carry and do the hard work in attack and was deservedly awarded for his efforts with a rare try.

There was a great number of travelling support which is always hugely appreciated, so many thanks to all of those Rams supporters for making the journey over to Ledbury.

Shipston are back at home next Saturday (21st) where they welcome Cheltenham Tigers to Mayo Road. This Saturday is also our Sponsors Day at the club, where we say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the club this season so far with a warm beef bap and a few beers on behalf of the whole club.