1st XV match reports

National League Three South

Lee Soper leaps to collect in front of a crowd including former World Cup Winner Chester Williams who was present as a Touraid ambassador - photo Adrian Houstoun

London Scottish 8 Cinderford 6

LEE CHOLEWA’S nerveless penalty kick in the last seconds ended the closest of games and kept Scottish top of the table.

But if Scottish could be accused of having cruised to the top of the table by virtue of comfortable wins over the league’s lowlier sides, now they are very much there on merit.

Poised a point behind in the table, and utterly determined to leapfrog their hosts, Cinderford fought for 80 minutes and beyond, and so nearly got their reward. But for such a tight game to be decided on kicks would have been an injustice.

Not only did Scottish score the only try through Anton Petzer early on, they had two or three passable chances to score again while their visitors, for all their forward strength and defensive excellence, never looked remotely like threatening the Scottish try-line.

Thus for 73 minutes, and despite a Tristan Roberts penalty after half time, Scottish looked to be in control and always looked likely to be the next to score.

Then with seven minutes left on the clock it looked like all would go horribly wrong.

For once, Cinderford achieved a semblance of fluidity in the backs and, spotting that the ball was heading left where the home shirts were badly outnumbered, Stuart Peel lunged to intercept. He could have no complaints when Mr Tutty called him up for a deliberate knock on and carded him. Not only was that the end of his afternoon, the position was ideal for Roberts, and the kick sailed between the posts to edge the visitors a point ahead.

Now Scottish would have to dig deeper than they have for many months, and dig they did. For the remainder of the game Cinderford made no headway despite being a man up, and coach Terry O’Connor bravely sent on Cholewa for the limping Beard, leaving the forwards a man down but crucially, ensuring his leading kicker was on the pitch.

Scottish laid siege; from one good position Cholewa dropped back into the pocket but screwed his drop goal attempt horribly. Undeterred, Scottish pressed again, and eventually got due reward when the visitors were penalised in the tackle area. From 40 metres the substitute fly-half looked a lot cooler than he must have felt, and the kick was perfect. With barely time to restart, the game was won.

From the start, it was clear the game would be tight, every exchange hard fought. Former Gloucester captain Andy Deacon was still, at the age of 40, good for an hour’s hard graft at tight-head, and together with lock Mark Cornwell, who only left Gloucester a season ago, they led a formidable front five.

Scottish had an early chance to put some points on the board and ease the pressure. Just seven minutes had gone when Rory Greenslade-Jones led a superb break from midfield and with the line beckoning, off-loaded to Cam Avery, but the winger couldn’t hold on to the reverse pass, and the chance was gone.

Still, Scottish looked the more ambitious side, while the visitors were intent on keeping the game tight. And when they did threaten, man of the match Grant Livingstone quelled the pressure by stealing the ball from a Cinderford lineout inside the Scots 22. 

Soon after, Scottish were ahead: the move began deep in defence, with Charles Broughton effecting the initial break out. Two phases later, Will Green and Peel were setting up Greenslade-Jones on the left, and finally Anton Petzer joined the line and dived through a tiny gap to score in the corner.

Duncan Hayward found the kick beyond him, and it proved to be the only score of the half. Roberts had a reasonable chance to put Cinderford on the scoreboard but pulled his kick left when Scottish were penalised for offside.

Then Scottish missed what might have been a key opportunity. Cornwell was carded for straying offside – presumably having already tried Mr Tutty’s patience. Scottish however failed to score while he was off, even spurning two attacking lineouts deep in the visitors’ 22, which they would normally expect to turn into points, and though they got another just before the break, Cornwell was back on to join his colleagues in a superb defensive effort.

Cinderford finally got a score when Roberts kicked cleanly, after Scottish had been had up for not rolling away from the tackle, but the next chances all fell to Scottish. Under pressure though, the handling behind the scrum was not as crisp as usual, and three times, good positions were wasted.

Cinderford offered a warning when Roberts missed a drop goal attempt, but this was matched by Hayward scorning a penalty from 35m. Then came Peel’s card and Roberts’ second goal, and that a terrific last ten minutes with its dramatic finale.

Paul McFarland

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