Dings Knights 40 — Cinderford United 31
Cinderford United scored 19 unanswered points in the final 15 minutes but were unable to overturn a commanding lead built by league leaders Dings Knights.
United crossed five times in the 40–31 defeat, but Paul Morris was disappointed with a performance in which errors and poor game management left his side facing a substantial deficit.
Dings took control with two converted tries to establish a 14–0 lead before Jake Bailey crossed for United’s opening score.
The hosts then added another two converted tries to move 28–5 ahead. United reduced the gap before the interval when Will Day touched down and Charlie Stallard added the conversion, leaving the visitors trailing 28–12 at half-time.
Dings extended their advantage after the restart with an unconverted try, followed by another converted score to make it 40–12.
United rallied in the closing stages. Jack Hall crossed before Dewi Wilcox added another try, converted by Stallard. Stallard then scored and converted United’s fifth try to bring the final margin down to nine points.
Reflecting on the defeat, Manager Paul Morris said:
“This was a disappointing performance by the United side against league leaders Ding’s Knights. A final 15 minute burst where we scored 19 unanswered points cannot dilute what was a poor first hour littered with individual and collective errors and poor game management.
“Some players need to prove they are competitors and not mere participants. Just turning up is not good enough for Cinderford RFC.
“I have no doubts as to how good we can be as a squad and at our best we can compete with anybody in the league. However it takes hard work and a desire for players to want to learn and get better at their skills to do this on a regular basis. Saturday matters because that’s where we are judged!”
Cinderford United scorers: Tries — Jake Bailey, Will Day, Jack Hall, Dewi Wilcox, Charlie Stallard. Conversions — Stallard (3).
Half-time: Dings Knights 28–12 Cinderford United
Full-time: Dings Knights 40–31 Cinderford United