Party laid on for the Aussies
CINDERFORD Rugby Club put on an impromptu Christmas party on Saturday afternoon for the touring Australian Schools’ rugby team.
For the second year running, Cinderford Rugby Club’s money-spinning Christmas plans were dashed by bad weather.
The Saturday before Christmas is usually one of the busiest on the club’s calendar and this year looked even more lucrative – with the club set to stage the prestigious England Academies v Australia Schools test match, the final game of the Australian team’s tour.
The severe frost meant the match was called off, like all others in the district, but that didn’t stop the club from making the best of a bad situation.
Commercial manager Matt Bayliss said: “We invited the Australians and all their parents along for a farewell meal in the afternoon.
“I think the Australian lads enjoyed themselves.
“One or two said ‘this is a proper rugby club’, having played a lot of their games on tour at colleges and schools.”
Cinderford expect the RFU to reimburse them for money laid out on Saturday’s game.
John Owen has agreed to speak at the club’s dinner next year, and has promised to do all he can to get the club another international match.
Mr Bayliss added: “At noon on Friday everything was OK, but by 2pm that day we knew we might be in trouble.
“We called the game off at 11am on Saturday. We had arranged to use Hartpury College as a back-up but there was no chance of playing at either venue.”
Source:thisisgloucestershire
Aussies roll in to finish off the tour
THE cream of England’s young rugby talent will take on the finest prospects from Australia at Cinderford Rugby Club this Saturday (2pm).
The Australian Schools’ team will be playing the final match of their tour against an England Academies under-19s team.
Some of the most powerful men in English rugby will be at the game, including RFU president John Owen, and director of elite rugby, Rob Andrew.
Cinderford’s commercial manager Matt Bayliss said: “Everyone is working hard behind the scenes, even though we have a first-team game away at Cambridge the same day.
“The pitch will be in excellent condition and we’ll be giving the Australian players a full English Christmas dinner after the game.”
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The England team for Saturday’s match could include Jon Harris, who has played for Leicester Tigers this season, rising Sale star Ryan Glynn and Sam Stanley, the nephew of the great All-Black Joe Stanley.
Leicester wonderboy George Ford and last season’s England under-18s captain Alex Gray are also likely to figure. Ford recently made his first-team debut for the Welford Road club at the age of 16, becoming the youngest player ever to appear in a professional club game.
Scotland head coach Andy Robinson may even be in the crowd if son Oliver lines-up for the England team.
Inside the Dockham Road dug-out will be former Gloucester, Harlequins, Saracens and London Irish fly-half Mark Mapletoft, who has been put in charge of the England Academies squad.
The Australians have suffered some disappointing results on their tour so far, having lost 15-0 to Ireland under-19s and 27-12 to England under-19s at Lymm RFC. They also went down to England under-18s.
They did, however, beat Wales under-19s 10-6.
The Aussies have been rotating their 32-man squad thus far, but are likely to field a full-strength side for the capped international in Cinderford.
Home fans should watch out for Liam Gill and winger Kimani Sitauti, who have both been named in Australia’s sevens squad for next year’s IRB World Series.
Source:thisisgloucestershire
It’s Australia v England at Dockham Road!
INTERNATIONAL rugby is coming to Cinderford this Christmas.
Cinderford Rugby Club has beaten off stiff competition to stage the clash between the touring Australian Schools side and England under-19s on Saturday December 19.
The Rugby Football Union broke the good news to Cinderford officials on Tuesday morning, after inspecting their Dockham Road ground and listening to a special presentation from Cinderford RFC staff.
Commercial manager Matt Bayliss, who gave the final presentation, said: “It’s a major coup – not only does it put our club on the map, it puts the whole of the Forest of Dean on the map.
“I think the last time Cinderford staged such a high-profile match was 25-years ago, when England Students took on France Students.”
A crowd of more than 1,000 is expected for the game.
The Australian Schools side is renowned for producing fully-fledged internationals – the Wallabies team that recently played Gloucester at Kingsholm contained 11 former schools’ internationals, including four former captains in Dean Mumm, Mitchell Chapman, Kurtley Beale and Tatafu Polota-Nau.
“It’s a big achievement for a club of our size, but the RFU was impressed by what we had to offer,” added Mr Bayliss.
In the evening, Cinderford RFC will put on a dinner for at least 100 people, including players and officials.
Cinderford’s first XV is scheduled to play away at Cambridge the same day.
The Australian Schools squad leaves Sydney for their seven match tour of GB and Ireland on November 22.
The game at Cinderford will be the final match of the tour before they fly home for Christmas on December 20.
England v New Zealand
Come to the Clubhouse and follow England in there game against New Zealand
To celebrate this special event Cinderford RFC are doing a ‘SPECIAL 3′ deal.
This deal gives you 3 3 HOURS were pints are at £2 (Draught Beer & Lager Only. Guiness & Grolsch £2.50) and if your feeling hungry for just £3 have a CURRY.
