Year Summary 2003
2002-2003 was a reasonably succesful season for Cinderford who finished third in SW Div 1.Nevertheless it was ultimately a disappointing year for the club who had aimed to bounce back into Nat Div 3 at the first attempt.
The squad's back-line suffered a spate of pre-season injuries which disrupted preparation and it showed when we were knocked out of the Powergen Cup in the preliminary round away at Western Counties(S) Penryn.
Nevertheless the team started their league campaign with a narrow home victory over perceived title rivals Reading and carried on winning until suffering what has to be seen as a shock home defeat at the hands of near neighbours Berry Hill.
The Cinderford side played a fifteen man game which enabled it to inflict very heavy defeats on sides such as Bridgewater& Albion
12pts - 65 and Keynsham 71pts-8 but sometimes seemed to lack the will to impose themselves and were often content to do just enough. We lost games which we could well have won; we were 'patient' when we should have willed our way.
Top points scorers Cheltenham scored just a single point more but Cinderford scored more tries (74) than any other team in the Division and, with Reading, conceded fewer (33) than the rest. However we were well down the list for kicking strike rate and this was probably the decisive factor in our failure to get into promotion position.
The bulk of the squad are available for 2003-2004 and the club also has a crop of excellent players in its succesful Colts XV. Some of them helped to power the club's United and Stags XVs to local cup victory and several of them will be eligible for senior rugby in season 2003-2004. An exciting prospect.
Please feel free to visit our official site http://www.cinderfordrfc.co.uk
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