Juddians fail to halt march of high-flying Cinderford
TONBRIDGE Juddians fell to an agonising first home defeat of the season to high-flying Cinderford.
However, the hosts will feel deeply unlucky not to have taken at least a losing bonus point from a game that would be best described as one for the purists.
Rain fell throughout the encounter, with the wind also becoming an increasing factor in the game as the second half progressed.
Home fly-half Tom White opened the scoring following early Tonbridge Juddians pressure.
The visitors’ line-out failed to fire early on and that allowed TJs the field position from which Cinderford infringed and White converted the three-point opportunity with only three minutes played.
The opening ten minutes saw more of the same, with White doubling the lead from the kicking tee.
It took a full half an hour for Cinderford to exert any real pressure on the home side and when it came it was in the form of the set scrum.
TJs will feel aggrieved by the series of scrum penalties, but there can be little argument that the final scrum was motoring towards the home line when the referee saw fit to go under the sticks and hand Cinderford the lead.
However, TJs responded again, by first gaining field position and then winning a penalty that saw White restore their advantage and send them into half-time with a slender two-point lead.
As the players emerged from the break the weather worsened, particularly with the wind picking up and now favouring the west country outfit.
Despite this, it was TJs who again worked the first territory and scoring opportunity of the half, again coming courtesy of White’s left boot to stretch the lead to five points. With a potential upset on the cards, Cinderford notably change tactics and, instead of persisting with kicking for the corner, they took the more pragmatic approach of taking the points on offer.
What followed was three penalties in the space of ten minutes
from the boot of visiting fly-half Liam Hemming and that turned the course of the game, putting Cinderford 16-12 ahead with a quarter of the match still to play.
For the next 15 minutes a tight affair hung on a knife edge as a kicking battle ensued.
It always felt like one error or decision would prove decisive and so it was as eventually TJs spilled the ball deep in their own 22.
This allowed winger Will Baldwin to cross and put the result beyond doubt.
Hemming missed the extras, but the score was enough to extend Cinderford’s
winning run and deny TJs a losing bonus point that they probably deserved.
Cinderford will feel it was a job well done as they played not only to their strengths but also the conditions to emerge from what at one time had looked a difficult situation with a hardearned victory. While defeat leaves Tonbridge 12th in the table with only one win and seven points from their four games, Cinderford are second to Rosslyn Park on points difference alone.
They have won all five of their matches and secured three bonus points in the process.