Having had the previous week’s away game to Croesyceiliog snowed off, Cinderford welcomed them to a home game at Heywood School.
Croesyceiliog had been the only team to beat Cinderford at home last season, and Cinderford were keen to set the record straight, though they knew that they would be in for a tough game.
Conditions were far from ideal with fog limiting visibility and rain making handling very difficult. In the previous year’s fixture the handling of the Croesyceiliog backs held sway over the power of the Cinderford forwards, however Cinderford were hopeful that the conditions would suit them better than the opposition.
From the start the game followed the pattern of last season’s game with Croesyceiliog trying to run the ball from deep and Cinderford using the power of their forwards.
Cinderford were the first to score with a well worked drive from a line-out. Croesyceiliog responding by trying to run ball from deep, but were snuffed out by the Cinderford mid-field.
Cinderford kept the game simple and time and again the forwards drove deep into Croesyceiliog territory. Croesyceiliog competed well and tackled themselves to a stand-still, however the pressure told and Cinderford scored two more close range tries before half time.
The rains eased for the second half, however Cinderford saw no reason to change tactics and continued the use their forward power to keep a firm grip on the game. Three further tries were scored in the second half with Croesyceiliog replying with a break-away try.
The conditions certainly suited Cinderford’s style of play, however they were well disciplined in the way that they used the conditions and were worthy winners.
Croesyceiliog, as always, were stern opposition and played the game in the right spirit, and we look forward to the return fixture in the New Year.
Final Score: Cinderford 34 Croesyceiliog 5
Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and looking forward to a successful New Year.