Defensive Wall Keeps top tier Cinderford at bay

It had been a bad start to the weekend. England out-muscled by South Africa in the World Cup final, then Stroud First XV losing their cup semi to Matson on the last play. Finally the mighty Glaws losing a dirge-fest in the rain vs Leicester. 3 games. 3 losses. Wet weather everywhere. Now a trip on Sunday to the Forest through the mist and drizzle to play Cinderford who had demolished us 40-12 last season. At least we were going to play on their home pitch – home of the seniors – and not the wooded/mossy/pot-holed pitch – home of the boar.

World cup memories were everywhere. Cinderford were proud of their links to 2 recent ex-players – Flanker Sam Underhill and Welsh winger Josh Adams. The Stones and the Philips were still living the Saturday final as their all-day hangovers were slowly subsiding and they realised that England had lost badly to South Africa and the drop goal heroics on final play was a Jonny Wilkinson re-run from 2003 and not an Owen Farrell 2019 equivalent.

Speaking of dramatic drop goals captain Will was ready again to be called upon again if Stroud could keep it close and get within range in the closing seconds……

Forwards: Carlo, Liam, Bailey, Jedd, Laurie, Jake, Euan, Mr T
Backs: Hilly, Will, Dave, Arthur, Billy, Flash, Alex
Subs: Stoner, Callum, Darion, Lucas, Perys, Lofty, Keyan, James, Big Mac

Stroud kicked off and Carlo quickly introduced himself to the battle with a storming tackle. Mr T was then in with the next tackle but was adjudged high so a penalty to Cinderford that they kicked to touch. Cinderford knocked on their lineout so Stroud had a scrum restart on their 10m line. Powerful Forester Forwards were ready to do a South Africa to the Stroud pack but this year was different. Stroud were more than an equal match with another years expert coaching and the addition of Carlo and Jake. Stroud won their scrum and attacked right with Dave and Arthur. Cinderford were called offside so Will kicked to the Cinderford 22. Good pressure from the foresters disrupted the lineout but Cinderford couldn’t profit and knocked on. Another Stroud scrum and another secure win. Backs going left and Alex up the wing and into contact. Good clearouts from Jake and Billy secured clean ball to Hilly. A fantastic timed pass to the accelerating Laurie smashed a hole through the defenders and Laurie celebrated with a Chris Ashton swallow dive under the posts. Forwards can fly….. 7-0 to Stroud and an excellent start – unlike England…..

Cinderford kicked off and Stroud bobbled the kick off and an accidental offside gave Cinderford a penalty kick to touch. They won their lineout on the Stroud 22 and attacked left but a forward pass denied them a try scoring move. Stroud won their scrum, Mr T at #8 picked and barrelled into some tacklers but quick hands through the backs seemed to have found a gap for Billy but his legs were too fast for his hands and he knocked on. Cinderford won their scrum and attacked through their powerful backs. Expert chop tackling from Euan and Jake in quick succession was applauded by the Cinderford locals – reminiscing about Sam Underhill doing exactly the same a few seasons ago. Cinderford did well to keep the ball alive in the combative rucks. They edged closer to the try line but great team defense kept them at bay. Forwards defending the ruck fringes well. The backs rushing up quickly to deny them the space to go wide. Cinderford kept it tight and their powerful forwards edged closer and closer. A try looked certain until Arthur drove them back and forced a knock-on.

Stroud won their scrum on their own 5 metre line and Dave kicked deep to halfway and a great kick chase by Flash looked to have won a turnover but Cinderford were awarded a penalty instead that they kicked back into the Stroud 22. They won their lineout and improvised with a kick to the corner. Alex recovered it and kicked it back out but Cinderford did well to run it back down the left wing and a try looked certain until Euan carried on his Underhill impression and took the attacker down at pace. Mr T was injured (only a broken finger nail Tori) in the next ruck so after a lengthy stoppage (to re-apply the correct matching nail polish – image is everything to teenagers) the game restarted with a Cinderford scrum. Their backs pounded the line and eventually their centre crashed through about 3 tackles to score under the posts. Good kick and the game was drawn at 7-7. Game on for sure…..

Another Stroud kick-off error – this time Euan unlucky to knock-on the short kickoff – gave Cinderford a scrum on their 10 metre line. They duly won this and kicked diagonal but the ball missed their winger and went into touch. Laurie won the lineout from a perfect Liam throw. Jake crashed through some tacklers and made 20 metres. Then a gruber kick was recovered by Cinderford and they kicked wide again. This time Big Mac recovered it and went up the right wing but good tackling denied a try. Cinderford were penalised at the breakdown so a quick tap penalty from Will and a retreating Cinderford defense gave him a small gap to exploit and he slid through the gap and scored under the posts. Another good kick and Stroud re-took the lead at 14-7.

Big Mac secured the next kick-off but Cinderford defended him well. The forwards attacked again but the ball was lost in contact and then Stroud infringed at the breakdown. Cinderford kicked for the corner and a great scoring chance beckoned. Step (aka Leap) forward Laurie who stole the lineout. Jake then kept the ball alive under blue control. Will kicked for touch and a Cinderford foot on the line gave Stroud the throw-in. This time Cinderford defended well and held up the driving maul and earnt a scrum restart on the Stroud 22. They won the scrum and attacked left but good pressure from Dave and Keyan forced a Cinderford error and captain Will scooped up the ball and quickly set Billy off on a gentle jog down the wing…..

…..80 yards later and with tacklers strewn behind him Billy dived for the line and scored an excellent try. His top speed was measured at 34 mph – as fast as Jenks driving away from wild boar. The locals were in shock. The last time they had seen pace like that was Josh Adams and look at where his career has finished up……Will’s conversion kick drifted wide but Stroud were in the ascendency at 19-7. But Cinderford had most of the territory and possession until now so were still dangerous opponents.

Cinderford won their own kickoff and attacked left and right stressing the Stroud defense. Bend but don’t break was holding true – just about….. They crashed up the middle and threatened another try but Perys denied them with a great tackle. Jackyl Jake then latched onto the ball – survived 2 immense clearout attempts and kept his feet. The ref in admiration of his strength and skill then blew his whistle to reward Stroud with a momentum changing penalty. Will kicked for touch. Laurie wins lineout. Forwards drive well. Perys takes off on a powerful run. Darion wins the ruck. Carlo and Keyan then rumble forward for more hard yards. Liam and Bailey securing good ball. Back out to Keyan who sprints down the left wing and is forced into touch by stout defending.

Cinderford were under pressure in their own 22. A messy lineout was lost as Liam bravely dived on loose ball. Cinderford were penalised so Will kicked for the corner and Stroud won their lineout and setup a drive. Cinderford defended it well so Jake and Darion were forced into Rhino runs that were also held out. Hilly went wide and Will showed great skill to kick over the uprushing defenders and recover the ball himself and score a wonderful try under the posts. Good conversion and the whistle blew for half time.

Half Time: Cinderford 7 – 26 Stroud

More subs taken – the luxury of a large squad – forwards and backs – keeping fresh bodies on the pitch with no drop-off in skill or commitment.

Cinderford kicked off and were immediately looking to re-assert themselves into the game. They forced a Stroud knock-on and won their scrum restart. They attacked right and left. Earnt a penalty. Quick tap and more forceful running was rewarded with another try. This time the kick was missed but at 26-12 the Foresters were looking to get back into the game and keep Stroud under pressure.

Cinderford controlled the kickoff well and kept moving the ball left and right. They then kicked into space and put in a good kick chase but good work from Big Mac and Keyan kept the ball under Stroud control. Jedd smashed through some tacklers but the ball was lost at the next breakdown. Cinderford won their scrum and kicked right but their winger was unlucky to knock-on as a try beckoned. 2 minutes later the same happened to Stroud as Will kicked wide and Big Mac lost the ball as he was tackled as he tried to catch it. The next few minutes each team cancelled out each other. Stoner smashed into a Cinderford runner and forced a knock-on. Lofty at #9 kicked over the top but Cinderford defended it well and set up their own kick escape 5 metres from their own line. Jake was alert to this and charged down the kick. Stroud recovered it and won the breakdown battle. Lofty saw Will on the wing and a long pass gave him a 2 metre swallow dive to the line – not as good as Laurie’s….. Wide conversion was missed as Stroud stretched their lead to 31-12.

Lofty caught the kickoff and went on a mesmorising, spinning run. The ball went to ground and pinball ensued as both sets of forwards re-enacted the World War I Xmas trench footy game and hoofed the ball between each other. Keyan took over and ran the ball up the left wing but lost it in contact from a last gasp tackler as he was isolated. Cinderford kicked their penalty into the Stroud half and won their lineout on the Stroud 10. Good tackling from Dave forced Cinderford wide. Then James put in a stonking tackle. More good attacking was slowed up illegally by Stroud so Cinderford kicked for the corner. They won the lineout and went left but Dave tackled them into touch. Stoner under pressure did a great lineout throw for Laurie to take cleanly. Will then kicked upto halfway to release the pressure.

Cinderford came back strongly though and through good hands, powerful running and refs penalties got back to the Stroud try line. More stout defending and scrummaging kept Cinderford at bay though. A sequence of tap penalties was repelled with great tackling. Eventually Cinderford knocked on a tap penalty and Stroud could breath a sigh of relief. A good scrum under their own posts gave them attacking options both ways. Dave crashed through the middle and shed tacklers with his powerful handoffs. He was dragged down on halfway but Keyan was there to keep the move alive. He got surrounded by tacklers but somehow bounced his way around and kept driving forwards – then sideways – and then showing great skill gruber kicked through a gap to give Big Mac a chance. Big Mac hacked the ball on as a lineout looked inevitable and a lovely weighted kick was rewarded with a kindly bounce into his hands and he scored another Stroud try. Another tough conversion was missed as Stroud now looked in commanding control at 36-12.

Perys was on kick return duty and did well. Then Carlo took on the attack – with 3 defenders hanging off him. The backs came left with Will to Keyan to Alex and up the wing. Then back to the right with another punishing Carlo run. Lofty kicked over the top and Flash showed great skill to recover the bouncing ball but was forced into touch for his efforts. Cinderford lost their lineout as they threw long and Jake took it instead. The backs went left. Darion and Lucas winning the ruck. Carlo smashing through more defenders. Mr T then took on the attack and created chaos. Back to the right with Carlo drawing more defenders and releasing a perfect pass to Will who then did the same and set Dave off down the right wing and a try in the corner. Another swallow diver. Still not as good as Laurie’s – and he only gets to try that once/season. Dave and Will can swallow dive for fun in most games ;-) Kick missed as the score stretched to 41-12.

Liam ran back the kickoff well. Lofty then sniped down the fringes and won a penalty. Will’s loing kick to touch just stayed in and Cinderford ran it back well. Weary bodies missed tackles and the Cinderford back broke into the Stroud half. Smash! Alex took him down cleanly and the try opportunity disappeared….. Momentarily….. Stroud were penalised at the breakdown and Cinderford kicked deep into the Stroud 22. They were going down fighting and wanted the final try. They were on the Stroud 5 metre line. They threw short but an alert Carlo read it well and forced a turnover. Lofty kicked for touch but there was just enough time for a Cinderford lineout but the game petered out as mistakes were made and the ref blew for full time.

Full Time: Cinderford 12 – 41 Stroud

So a great performance from Stroud. Beating the mighty Cinderford on their own pitch and avenging the 40-12 loss last season. Didn’t even need a drop goal at the death to win……our nerves couldn’t take that!

Stroud have played better this season but showed great defensive skill to keep Cinderford at bay and then attack at just the right times and through the right channels. Stroud Forwards matching up very well with the Cinderford pack and keeping the Foresters strength neutralised. Then the Stroud backs working their magic and scoring from all directions – kicks and passes! Now to take on Bath and Clifton later in the season and see how we compare to those rugby powerhouses.

Many thanks to Cinderford for their hospitality and for organising the match official who kept the game flowing well and under good control. We look forward to hosting them at Fromehall later in the season and see if we can defend our home pitch and stop them getting their revenge.