THE ADVENT of league rugby means that these days points overshadow performances, and in that context Cinderford can at least take some consolation from a poor game.
It was not the ideal way to prepare for this Saturday's Tetley Bitter Cup match against Reading but it should at least concentrate the mind, said Cinderford director of rugby Dennis Hargreaves.
Cinderford's Matt Sherratt scored all his team's points with two tries, a conversion and two penalty goals.
But it was an uneasy Cinderford performance. They were plainly rattled by Berry Hill and will be disappointed to have spilt so many passes and kicked away so much possession.
Berry Hill, trailing by eight points at half-time, put Cinderford under extreme pressure in the second-half. Territorially they were superior and included two of the game's best players in veteran full-back Jeff Powell and rooky scrum-half Dave Arnett.
This is a young Berry Hill side, set to improve as they come to grips with playing in a highly competitive league. They have worked hard on defensive patterns and coaches Phil Jones and Neil Jones will muster enough wins to ensure their survival.
Until the final quarter Berry Hill were still in with a shout and the score flattered Cinderford when a handling error enabled a try and conversion to come from a kick and chase.
Cinderford's big forwards did well at the line-outs and Joe Gittins-Jones won some top class possession. But the pack rarely functioned as a unit and the passing and handling of the backs was below par.
"It was our worst performance of the season," said Hargreaves. "Credit to Berry Hill, they upset us. The players are well aware of where things went wrong and they will want to close down on the number of errors they made if they want to beat Reading," he said.