On a windy day at the Beavis memorial ground Cinderford’s hopes of a comeback were denied by a resilient Rosslyn Park team. The loss to the home side of key second-row Joe Dancer to a pre-match injury was to prove crucial as they consistently struggled in the lineouts, however a clear dominance within the scrums kept them in the game.
It was a positive start for the home team as the first chance of the game saw Reece Dunn’s strong grubber kicked into space and chased down the wing by Will Baldwin. Unfortunately, in a tight chase, it was Rosslyn Park hands that grasped possession just short of the try line. The visitors fought back as full back, Henry Robinson snatched an impressive interception and took off for the line. After running almost, the full length of the pitch, a swarm of Cinderford bodies caught up and tackled Robinson to the ground. Moments later, Rosslyn Park hungered for revenge as they attempted a kick for three points, which was narrowly missed by fly-half, Craig Holland. It was Cinderford who claimed the first score of the game in an unusual turn of events. After initially loosing possession in a lineout just meters from the line, Tyler Jerrum seized the ball from a charge down and took a dive for the first 5 points. A missed conversion left Cinderford with a 5-0 lead.
The game continued to increase in intensity as the clock got higher and the score remained low. Cinderford’s defence was tough to crack as Park spent many minuities close to the line but unable to score.
The away side saw opportunity in Cinderford’s lack of discipline and successfully kicked for the posts on two consecutive occasions, Rosslyn Park took an extremely narrow 5-6 lead.
It was Cinderford flank and star man Matt Lane who retrieved the lead. After a rare successful lineout, the ball was shipped down the line to Lane, who danced his way around the defence and secured another five points. Another missed conversion meant the scores remained close and the game remained tense.
With just over 10 minutes remaining, Rosslyn Park’s Henry Robinson displayed his skills yet again as he spotted an overlap in Cinderford’s defence. Calling for the ball out wide, the full back received possession and scored the final try of the game. Holland shows another impressive kick as he slotted over the conversion, meaning Rosslyn Park achieved a very close, 10-13 victory.
Rosslyn Park are now back in the promotion hunt after losing their last two games, Park are currently two points behind the leaders Caldy with a game in hand, while Cinderford remain in 6th place with 70 points.