NICK Smith’s penalty in the last play earned Chinnor a well-deserved draw in an attritional contest with Cinderford.

The full-back held his nerve as we left the Forest of Dean with two points - arguably a fair result and certainly one we were happy to settle for - in Round 9 of National 1.

At 10-7 down and with Oli Curry red-carded, our Men’s First XV showed great desire and spirit to push for a reply late on.

Our pack was outstanding all game, dominating at scrum time and the maul, and it was their hard work and brutal carries through the centre of the field which resulted in the penalty being awarded.

After an extremely tough start to the season, the players showed great togetherness in the Forest of Dean and this result extended our unbeaten run at Cinderford to six games, stretching back to 2016.

Five changes - two positional - were made to the side which lost at home to Sale last week. Scrum-half Luke Carter, wing Dean Hammond and centre Lewis Jones came into the XV, with Will Feeney moving to fly-half and Will Simonds to 12. There was also a late change before kick-off, with our leading try-scorer Jason Worrall sensibly pulling out of the game with a quad issue, so Josh Hodson started on the right wing.

Unfortunately, the opening few minutes brought back memories of the previous weekend as a charged down kick provided Cinderford with the platform to open the scoring. With the ball bouncing over our try-line, Carter thankfully won the foot race and touched down for a goal-line drop-out. From there, the hosts were able to launch an early attack and right wing Mike Holden came close to gathering a crossfield kick from fly-half Mike Wilcox. Advantage had been played and they kicked to the corner, resulting in hooker Nathan Taylor going over at the back of the maul.

A gloomy day brought light rain for most of the match, while there was a wind down the pitch towards the back of the ground, but it is unclear as to the impact it had on the game. In any case, it was at Cinderford’s backs in the first half, but more credit should probably go to the kicking ability of Wilcox as to how they were able to enjoy so much territory and possession in our half.

Despite this the hosts were unable to add to their unconverted try before the break as we defended superbly, nullifying their maul.

By now it was clear this was a game for the forwards, but on 29 minutes there was a rare moment when the ball was in the hands of Hodson and he worked his magic in the centre of the pitch, dancing through three players to drive us up to the 22. This resulted in at least five minutes of sustained pressure in the opposition half, but ultimately it came to nothing.

Instead, we would have to dig in at the end of the half, and again our maul defence was on point, while a scrum penalty relieved pressure and allowed Feeney to clear up the pitch as the referee’s whistle sounded for the break.

Sitting in the tall stand, you are always provided with a good view of the game at Dockham Road, and most of the action had been on the far left-hand side. Perhaps the conditions were having a say on this fixture as we went on to enjoy the territory Cinderford did in the first period.

Strong carries from tighthead Josh McNulty and flanker Alfie North got us going forward from the restart, but we were never able to make the pressure count as the hosts fended off a couple of lineouts close to their try-line.

It took the home side 18 minutes to get out of their half, with No 8 Harry Hone driving his way over into Chinnor territory. That resulted in Cindy kicking to the corner, but Curry superbly stole their lineout and although we were penalised at a ruck moments later, another dominant scrum allowed us to kick clear. Feeney had sent the kick straight down the middle of the pitch and when we received it back, the Australian took aim towards the right-hand side and a Cinderford player ended up knocking it into touch as he attempted to catch.

From the 22, we launched a patient attack, with our big ball carriers taking us forward through the middle of the field. Phase after phase went by, before we got within a couple of metres of the whitewash, and loosehead Josh Pieterse drove over for his third try of the season. Smith stepped up to slot the extras as we now led 7-5 after 66 minutes.

Most of the match was now being played in the middle third of the pitch, but with seven minutes to go Cinderford’s hopes were given a boost. At a ruck just inside our half, Curry attempted to free himself but the assistant referee felt he had made contact with the head of a Cinderford player in doing so and a red card was issued.

The hosts and indeed the home crowd sensed an opportunity and they kicked up to our 22. Mauling forward and then sucking us in, space was appearing out on the right, and Wilcox sent a nicely weighted kick out to Holden who won the aerial battle and dived over out wide. Mike Austin was unable to convert, but Cinderford now led 10-7 with only a couple of minutes to go.

We went all out to get something from the game. Feeney moved to 12, with Carter and Jack Walsh now the half-back pairing. Our response was impressive and a penalty allowed Feeney to boot us up to the 22 and launch one final attack.

Again, we were patient in our play, with our forwards superbly picking and going, and driving us forward. Our discipline was superb and when Cinderford were penalised at a ruck about 15m out, we had a decision to make. Would we go for the points or send it into the corner? We opted for the former and Smith sent his kick through the posts – perhaps a little too close to the right upright for our nerves to take – as the match finished in a draw.

A fair result, but the most pleasing thing was the impressive reaction from our players. Next up is Esher at home next Saturday, and let’s hope we can back this performance up with a victory in front of our Vice Presidents and Founders.

Cinderford: Austin, Holden, Baldwin, Boulton, Hendy, Wilcox, Williams, Porter, Taylor, Knight, Jerrum, Holliday, Lane, Ryan, Hone.
Reps: Chalklin, Baker, Hodge, Fissenden, Forrester.

Chinnor: Smith, Hodson, Jones, Simonds, Hammond, Feeney, Carter, Pieterse, Marshall, McNulty, Down, Curry, Brockschmidt, North, Ryan.
Reps: Robinson, Lines, Berry, Price, Walsh.