LUCTONIANS 47–0 CINDERFORD
Cinderford’s first away trip of the new National League 2 West season proved to be a difficult one as Luctonians produced a powerful and clinical performance to secure a 47–0 victory at Mortimer Park.
The hosts established themselves early and, once they had gained momentum, Cinderford struggled to find an answer to Luctonians’ physicality. Although the visitors had opportunities with the ball during the afternoon, they were unable to build the sustained pressure needed to turn possession into points.
Luctonians opened the scoring after nine minutes when Bryn Goodall crossed the line to put the home side 5–0 ahead.
The hosts were later reduced to 14 men when John Kelly was shown a yellow card, presenting Cinderford with an opportunity to respond. However, it was Luctonians who struck again, with Owien Harriott-Davis going over for their second try. Goodall added the conversion to extend the advantage to 12–0.
Cinderford continued to work for a foothold in the contest, but the final ten minutes of the opening half proved particularly costly.
On 30 minutes, James Mear secured Luctonians’ third try of the afternoon, with Goodall again successful from the tee to make it 19–0.
Just four minutes later the home side were over again, this time through Ben Link. The conversion followed and Luctonians had stretched their advantage to 26–0.
With half-time approaching, Link claimed his second try of the afternoon on 40 minutes. Another successful conversion sent the hosts into the interval with a commanding 33–0 lead.
Half-time: Luctonians 33–0 Cinderford
Any hopes Cinderford had of making a quick impression after the restart were dealt a blow almost immediately.
Luctonians struck again in the opening minute of the second half, with Goodall adding a try to his earlier contribution with the boot. The conversion took the score to 40–0.
Cinderford kept working and had a number of opportunities to attack during the second period, but promising sets repeatedly came to an end before the visitors could establish any sustained pressure.
The home defence remained intact and, with Luctonians continuing to impose themselves physically, Cinderford were unable to find the score that their efforts were searching for.
The final points of the afternoon arrived on 72 minutes when Harriott-Davis crossed for his second try. The conversion took Luctonians to 47–0 and completed the scoring at Mortimer Park.
It was a tough afternoon for Cinderford against a Luctonians side that executed its game plan effectively and made the most of its periods of dominance.
Following the game, Cinderford Director of Rugby Clive Stuart-Smith acknowledged both the quality of the opposition and the areas his side will need to address.
“𝘼 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡.
𝙇𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖 𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡, 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙘𝙠 𝙩𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙡 𝙖𝙩.
𝙒𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙜𝙜𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙢.
𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚, 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧𝙨.
𝘼𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨, 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙠𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮.”
A big thank you also goes to the Cinderford supporters who made the journey to Mortimer Park and continued to back the side throughout a difficult afternoon.
Photo Credit Kairos Sports Photography
FULL-TIME: Luctonians 47–0 Cinderford