National League 3

Cinderford 13, Old Patesians 3

SMASHED by the brilliance of the Penzance backs when they met back in September, Cinderford will measure the improvements they have made since then when the two teams play again this Saturday.

The last meeting was a Cup match – Cinderford lost 80-12 – and this Saturday's encounter against the famed Pirates will be National League rugby.

Cinderford will be travelling to Cornwall on the back of a convincing win against Old Patesians and are well aware of the task they face.

Director of rugby Dennis Hargreaves is convinced his pack will have the measure of the Penzance eight and says his tactics will be simple.

"We have to keep the ball for as long as possible. The last time we played them we were seven players short of the present team. I think we can hold them at forward. We scrummaged well the last time we played them and matched them at the line-out but they are very dangerous behind the scrum.

"We will have to keep possession for as long as possible – stick the ball up our jumpers if you like, and try to tackle them to death," he said.

Cinderford had to win Saturday's clash against Patesians. The teams both gained promotion last season and played each other four times sharing the honours two apiece.

Now Cinderford have the initiative and Hargreaves said that there was never any real doubt about Saturday's win after his team had taken the lead.

For a while it looked uncertain as Pats capitalised on good early pressure to take the lead.

But a try by full-back Ollie Lamb, converted by Mark Roberts, who also added a drop goal and a penalty settled the nerves and the Foresters ended good value for their victory.

"We had to soak up a lot of pressure but we defended well. It was a solid team performance and we closed them down very quickly," said Hargreaves.

For the first time this season Cinderford have shifted from bottom spot in the league and will be seeking to pick up a couple more wins before the half-way stage.

"We're not out of the woods but we have improved. We were inept against Tabard the previous week and we are seeking consistency. In this league mistakes are generally severely punished and we will be seeking to cut out errors at Penzance on Saturday.

"It is a big ask but you never know...", said Hargreaves.