Birmingham Moseley put on a dominant second half performance to secure 34-14 away win over rivals Cinderford.
The first half of the match was responsible for just 12 points of the 48-point thriller. Cinderford were the first to attack with winger Mason Tonks scoring in the first 8 seconds of the referee’s whistle, converted by outside-half Joe Winfield to complete their perfect first minute of play. Birmingham Moseley later put a perfectly weighted grubber kick into Cinderford’s 22 that bounced awkwardly over Cinderford’s try line, and it was full-back Sam Pointon who was able to apply downward pressure for the away side’s first try. The conversion was missed by fly-half Tighe Maxwell-Whiteley after hitting the post, keeping his team behind by two points at half-time.
It was the away side who looked most eager to impress in the second half, taking an easy three points in the opening minutes which appeared to be the inspiration they were looking for. The rejuvenated visitors consistently made their way back into the host’s 22, initially spotting an overlap on the left-hand side of the pitch to meet the hands of winger Dan Brough for their second try. Maxwell-Whiteley secured the extra points on this occasion. Birmingham continued to penetrate Cinderford’s defence with a hat-trick of tries from winger Aquile Smith, who showed incredible pace throughout the second half to score 15 points in his ‘Star Man’ performance.
Cinderford refused to go down without a fight and they responded with a try from replacement prop Shaun Knight in the 71st minute, converted by Winfield. However, it was Birmingham Moseley who travelled home with a well-deserved bonus-point victory.
Cinderford; Mike Wilcox, Matthew Jones, Will Hendy, Jamie Forrester, Mason Tonks, Joe Winfield, Tom Knight, George Porter, Nathan Taylor, James Elliot, Tyler Jerrum (C), Callum Thompson, Paddy Pearce, Tom Anderson, George Evans.
Repls; Harry Edwards, Shaun Knight, Dan Hodge, Jack Shields, Jimmy Williams.