Buster - I only waited out in the pen for a couple of minutes also. Having sat in the departure lounge and watched what happened on the other Ryanair departures, I waited until the last moment before they closed the gate, and joined the rest of the herd. We were the last 2 to board, but still got good seats together. It seems they start the herding process as soon as the 737 is on finals, and most of the herd are in the pen prior to the arrival on stand.
I`m not saying it is a good or fair way to treat your customers, but no matter what Ryanair seem to throw at their paying customers, most seem to accept it for the price of a "cheap" fare.