STRATFORD-upon-Avon RFC scored a late try to secure a losing bonus point in a 28-22 defeat away at Cheltenham despite playing most of the match with 14-men.
A 12-point haul from Gwilym Davis and tries from Nathan Geekie and Lewis Mellor ensured Stratford did not come away from Southam Lane empty-handed after Sam James received a red card on the 20-minute mark.
The result means Stratford sit sixth in the Regional 2 Midlands West table after thrashing Ledbury 51-7 in their opening game of the season.
Cheltenham scored the game’s first try when the home winger intercepted a pass close to his own line and ran almost the length of the field to dot down in the corner for a converted try.
However, the game turned on 20 minutes when Stratford’s James received a red card for throwing a punch at Cheltenham’s number eight after the latter left Zak Hamersley needing treatment.
That meant Stratford had to play the remaining hour of the game with a man less.
Cheltenham eventually made the most of the man advantage to cross for their second converted try as Stratford trailed by 14 points at the break.
The visitors crossed for their first try shortly after half time as Geekie touched down for an unconverted score with Cheltenham’s winger in the sin bin for a tip tackle on Geoff Dyson.
However, the home side crossed for another converted try on the blindside of the Stratford scrum to extend their lead.
Stratford responded with a converted try of their own soon after as Davies dotted down in the left corner and kicked the extras.
And Davies then kicked a penalty from just inside the Cheltenham 22 in front of the posts to reduce the deficit to six points.
The home side scored their bonus point try to take the game out of Stratford’s reach with 10 minutes left to play although the visitors refused to give up.
And after surviving another spell of Cheltenham pressure, the away side secured a losing bonus point against the odds when Mellor touched down from Bobby Scott-Walker’s offload and Davies converted.
