Redditch Ravens 28

Oxford Cavaliers 36

THERE was a disappointing end to the Ravens' league campaign as they lost a game which they deserved to win.

Too many handling errors proved their downfall as Oxford claimed the double over their visitors.

But the quality of the rugby on show demonstrated how much the Woodrush-based side has developed and there were a string of excellent performances, particularly from man of the match Andy McGrann.

The Ravens headed to Oxford in confident mood, bolstered by the return of a number of experienced players. But the final pass always seemed to be missing and they found themselves trailing to three tries inside the opening 20 minutes.

Redditch continued to play some good rugby and were eventually rewarded when loose forward John Grafton powered over in the 25th minute for the first of his two tries.

Grafton's second came when he finished off the best move of the match. Winger Tom Solomon broke down the left wing and after some deft handling, the ball was worked to Grafton, who touched down under the posts.

The end of the half saw the Ravens mount wave upon wave of attacks but failed to break the Oxford line. On the stroke of half-time, the home side pounced on a loose pass and scored under the posts to hand the Cavaliers a 22-12 interval lead.

The Ravens were reduced to 12 men early in the second period when scrum half and coach Jason Spafford was sin binned. Oxford took full advantage and ran in two quick tries in the 10 minutes for a 32-12 lead.

Redditch narrowed the gap thanks to scores from Sam Lofthouse and Spafford, following his return, but a certain try was squandered when the ball went to ground and the home side gathered to score a try that wrapped up their win.

McGrann kept up the fight with a converted try in the dying minutes but the game was lost.

There will be two charity matches over the next two weekends at Woodrush. This Saturday sees the Ravens take on a Woodrush rugby league team (3pm) with proceeds going to Sports Relief.

The following weekend, the Ravens will take on a team made up of players from the former Redditch Halcyons side and the proceeds from this one will go to the Millfield Special Education Centre in Redditch.