REDDITCH reeled off an almighty 31-19 triumph over bottom side Tenbury to give themselves a massive boost in their battle to beat the threat of relegation.

The result has enabled Redditch to climb out of Midland Four West South's bottom two, leapfrogging ahead of Birmingham Civil Service by just one point.

But the two sides must meet this Saturday at Bromsgrove Road in what may well prove the defining game of Redditch's season.

Redditch pulled out all the stops to get the game played against Tenbury as rain threatened to wash the fixture away.

Thanks to the efforts of coach Simon Fitzpatrick and his loyal army of volunteers, the game went ahead in front of a healthy Bank Holiday crowd who were entertained by some scintillating play at times, although not surprisingly in the conditions, it was errors that had much to do with the result.

Redditch struck first when Mark Green produced a crunching tackle to rob Tenbury's centre of possession before Tom Saddington hacked the ball on, which was in turn fed back to Green who sent Lewis Saddington over for a try which Tom Saddington converted.

Tenbury hit back to level when their winger pounced on a loose ball that slipped out of a ruck and raced 70 metres to score.

Redditch regained their composure and Tom Saddington chipped ahead for Steve Wilman to race clear and slide over the line to score.

That was followed by a forward drive from Redditch's rampant pack which enabled Tom Saddington to score under the posts and convert himself to put his side 19-7 ahead at the break.

The second half proved a much more controlled affair as Redditch eventually reaped a vital fourth and bonus point try when Will Ballion charged down a clearence kick close Tenbury's line.

As a result, Redditch were able to obtain turnover ball, which was quickly spun across the backs where replacement Josh Kearney collected and barged his way over under the posts for Lewis Saddington to convert.

At 24-7, the game appeared to be in the bag, but Redditch took their eye off the ball and Tenbury hit back with a couple of tries and cut the deficit to 26-19.

Redditch responded by kicking deep into Tenbury territory where the ball fell loose following the subsequent line-out enabling the alert hooker Matt Dickinson to dive through a mass of legs to claim a further try.