After falling back into the relegation zone last week and with league games running out, it was crucial for Ross to win last Saturday. Cometh the hour, cometh the men and Ross dug deep, eventually overwhelming Frampton to record their fourth win of the season and in doing so climb out of the relegation zone.

Ross dominated the first quarter, controlling possession and in doing so camping themselves deep in Frampton territory. An early Casey Morgan penalty put Ross 3-0 ahead which calmed the nerves. Frampton looked dangerous when they did get the ball but some great defensive pressure from the Ross back row and midfield sniffed out any threat and it was this defensive pressure that saw Ross score the first try.

After securing scrum ball, Frampton moved the ball to the left. However, both Casey Morgan and James Hughes were up quickly in defence. From the ensuing tackle, the ball broke free and Casey was the first to react. Hacking the ball down field, he outpaced the Frampton Winger to score in the right hand corner. He just missed the conversion but Ross were 8-0 ahead.

At this stage Ross were in control of the game. However, some silly penalties gave Frampton a lineout 20 metres from the Ross line. They set up a driving maul that initially was repelled by some great work by Chris Price and Tara Barnett but the Frampton pack regrouped and forced their way over. The try was converted and Frampton were only 8-7 behind.

Ross regrouped from the kick off and quickly established territory in the Frampton half. Once again some great tackling from Gavin Oates and Mike Davies put Frampton on the back foot. They tried to move the ball left but another big hit In the midfield saw the ball break loose. Chay Brine was the first to react and he controlled the ball with great skill before scoring. Once again the conversion was missed but at the break Ross were 13-7 ahead.

Early in the second half, both sides traded penalties which saw the score 16-10 with half an hour remaining. With both scrum and lineout functioning well once again, Ross were able to establish a foothold in the Frampton half. In an attempt to break this strangle hold, the Frampton 10 attempted a speculative pass which went to ground. James Hughes pounced, hacking the ball up field. He outpaced the Frampton full back and looked like scoring himself but he was tackled 5 yards out. However, Casey Morgan was on hand to score. His conversion hit the upright and Ross were 21-10 ahead.

For the final quarter, Frampton threw everything they had at Ross. Again, the whole team tackled like demons as they protected their try line. In the end, the only way they could score was through a dubious penalty try after the referee adjudged Ross had collapsed a maul. This Put Ross 21-17 ahead and they managed to play out the last few minutes with no problems, registering a crucial 21-17 victory.

The W. James Repairs man of the match was Michael Davies who controlled things brilliantly at the back of the scrum and carried some great ball into the Frampton defence.

Next Saturday, Ross will play away to the Bristol Saracens. Kick off is at 2.30pm.

Local MP Jesse Norman congratulated Ross Rowing Club on its great continuing success both on and off the water when he visited the club last weekend.

The club won a hat trick of awards at the recent Herefordshire Sports Awards ceremony at the Royal National College in Hereford. It won Club of the Year as well as Junior Team of the Year and Captain, Ian Howell won Coach of the Year. The rowing club now has 92 juniors, and has gone from strength to strength since the launch of its Junior Academy in 2005.

Commenting, Jesse said, 'Ross Rowing Club is a superb example of a local community sports club. It does fantastic work with young people in and around Ross-on-Wye, as well as with older members and veterans.

The club's success on the river is testimony to the huge amount of hard work which they and the club's coaches, staff and volunteers all put in around the year.'

Ross RFC 2nd XV were both unfortunate and disappointed in losing at home to Upton-on-Severn in a merit table game which they should have won.

In blustery first half conditions and playing against the wind, Ross were controlling things up front and had the 'drive on' in the scrum and mauls despite being considerably lighter in the pack. The front three of Tim Morgan, Andy Lovering and Lee Lusty bossed things from the off and looked formidable, running at the opposition. Despite having the upper hand in the pack, it was Ross's defence in the backs that let them down for this first try to Upton.

Ross half backs were drawn into a ruck and after winning the ball, Upton made use of the space and numbers to spin the ball wide to score in the corner. From the restart, again Ross looked strong up front, but their real first chance to score in the first half was when the backs took a chance in running the ball from deep inside their own half, eventually reaching full back Alex Bound who showed great pace but was just held up short of the try line yards.

Mid way through the half, Upton scored again, with a 'miss move' in their centres leaving a gap for their big outside centre to break through and score under the posts. Ross were still not phased and time and time again looked dangerous on the attack, but either carelessness, ill discipline, inexperience or just plain bad luck let them down. Casing point was when Upton scored their third try. Ross were attacking on the half way line, but a knock on allowed their centre to twice kick on, gather the ball and score leaving the score at half time at Ross 0 - Upton 19. However, Ross' heads never dropped and they came out in the 2nd half with all guns blazing.

The introduction of brothers Grant and Gareth Holdsworth worked wonders and from a quick tap penalty, scrum half Ian Phillips found himself clear, drew in the Upton full back and passed onto to Gareth to score. Replacement full back, Lee Harrington converted. Almost straight from the restart, the Ross pack won the ball for the half backs to link up and this time it was Grant Holdsworth who broke tackles and raced away to score. Again Harrington converted.

Ross were now constantly on the attack, but again it was individual errors at crucial times that let them down. A Ross forward couldn't resist but put a hand in at the rack and from the resulting penalty, Upton found themselves scoring a further try. The game should have been dead and buried, but Ross' commitment (as they have shown over the last few weeks) never ceases to amaze.

Ross' No. 10, Tim Chaney sped the ball to Inside centre Tom Harris. He in turn passed to outside centre, Russell Walker to touch down in the corner only for Tom's pass to be adjudged as being forward! With the clock ticking down, another quick tap penalty saw Paul Hayward break tackles and the ball was set for Lee Lusty to break a few more, then Andy Lovering to do the same, each time gaining crucial yards until eventually the ball found Gareth Holdsworth to find the gap and score. Gareth drop converted to try to keep the game flowing, but time just wasn't on Ross' side.

Ross will almost certainly take heart from this and having a selection of nominally 22 players over the past few weeks, things are certainly positive in the camp. Praise will go to the full team, with stand in full back (not ever playing the position before), Alex Bound, just shading man of the match over Lee Lusty.

This coming Saturday, Ross 2nds are at home to Bromsgrove. Kick off is at 2.30pm.