Cinderford RFC kicked off their league campaign in style, marking their first match on the new 3G surface at the renamed Bell Sports & Rugby Park with a bonus point victory over Syston.
The visitors, playing their first ever league fixture against Cinderford, made a sharp start when centre Morgan Wayte-McPherson broke clear to score, converted by Jack Green.
But the Foresters were quick to reply. Captain Tyler Jerrum powered over, with Luke McMahon adding the extras, before McMahon scored and converted his own try to give the home side the lead. Jerrum soon grabbed his second, again converted by McMahon, to make it 21–7 after just 25 minutes.
Wayte-McPherson added his second try for Syston, but Cinderford secured the first-half bonus point when scrum-half Grady Alford dotted down, McMahon once again on target with the boot to leave the score 28–14 at half-time.
Syston reduced the gap early in the second half through Adam Riley, but Cinderford finished the match strongly. McMahon landed two penalties to keep the scoreboard ticking, before late tries from Sonny Greenman and Will Anderson – both converted – sealed a comprehensive 48–19 victory.
McMahon’s perfect kicking display saw him rack up 23 points, while James Elliot earned the Star Player award for his efforts. The game was played in front of a crowd of 350 at Bell Sports & Rugby Park.
Scoring Summary
Cinderford:
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Tries: Jerrum (9, 24), McMahon (16), Alford (34), Greenman (75), Anderson (79)
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Conversions: McMahon (10, 17, 25, 35, 76, 80)
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Penalties: McMahon (64, 69)
Syston:
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Tries: Wayte-McPherson (4, 37), Riley (56)
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Conversions: Green (5, 38)
From the Head Coach
Head Coach Clive was pleased with the opening day performance:
“It was a solid performance at home and a good result to kick off our league campaign. We were really pleased with a number of areas of our game – this led to creating a number of positive opportunities. Next week we travel to Old Reds and are expecting a very different type of challenge. In order for us to compete we will have to tidy up some defensive lapses from the weekend and show more patience with ball in hand.”
Cinderford now look ahead to next weekend’s away clash against Old Redcliffians, Saturday 13th September, 3pm kick-off.