Cinderford United 26–24 Old Redcliffians
Jack Harris scored a hat-trick as Cinderford United fought back from 12–0 down at half-time to claim a dramatic victory over Old Redcliffians at The Bridge.
Matt Tinker’s late conversion put United ahead for the first time, providing a fitting finish to captain Dan Nicholls’ 150th United appearance.
The visitors opened the scoring with a converted driving-maul try before adding a second through their left wing in the corner. United reached the interval trailing 12–0, with a significant task ahead.
Harris began the recovery with a driving-maul try, converted by Charlie Stallard. Old Redcliffians responded with another try in the left corner, this time converted, to stretch their advantage to 19–7.
A fine offload from Dewi Wilcox then created a try for debutant Joby Fissenden. Stallard’s second conversion brought United within five points, and Harris crossed from another driving maul to level the scores at 19–19.
Old Redcliffians regained the lead after charging down a Cinderford kick and scoring an unconverted try. United, however, found another response. Harris completed his hat-trick from a driving maul before Tinker landed the decisive conversion to make it 26–24. United then saw out the remaining minutes to secure a hard-earned win.
Paul Morris thoughts:
“This could turn out to be an important victory for a very young United side who never gave up against a good Old Redcliffians side. We made many mistakes, and some are annoyingly repetitive. However, our passion never wilted, and the effort grew throughout the game, and we always gave ourselves a chance of reeling in Old Reds, who played some good rugby. We were well served by our ‘veterans’, Dan Nicholls and man of the match Dewi Wilcox, but all the youngsters in the team grew as the game went on, and it’s right to single out the back row of Jack Hall, Alfie Roberts and debutant Joby Fissenden, who were outstanding. They all have big futures if they keep to this level and add to it.
“If I’m honest, I’m not sure Old Reds deserved to lose, but the grit we showed in the last 15 minutes was palpable, and that edged it for us. A magnificent conversion by Matt Tinker put us in front for the first time, and we played out the last few minutes very intelligently. I was proud of the team. I’d also like to thank the support we had, which was important to us. You mattered! All in all, a really good afternoon in a magnificent Forest setting and a fitting and rewarding afternoon for United icon Dan Nicholls on his 150th United appearance.”