Drybrook 25pts  Cinderford Utd 27pts

Drybrook went out of this competition in controversial circumstances when the referee Nigel Stephenson advised them that a last minute conversion would not be enough to see them through if the match ended all square.  The complicated system uses the try count back method of determining the winner but Drybrook were told they were level on tries when in fact they were ahead.  Opting not to take the kick to save on time Drybrook were unable to score again at the end and Cinderford went through.  Drybrook should not have even been in the position in the first place since they allowed a 20 point lead to be chipped away after their excellent start gave way to a disappointing finale.  Winger Jamie Roberts opened Drybrook’s account with a try after 10 minutes when the ball was whipped wide following a lineout.  Every scrum was proving difficult for Cinderford at this stage and continued pressure led to a Chris Thomas penalty when Leon Meek was high tackled under the visitor’s posts.  Drybrook went 15 points clear after 25 minutes when skipper Tom Reed crashed over with several players hanging on to him following another sweeping move down field.  It got even better for the home side just after when scrum half Carl Moore squeezed through a gap to add another try.  Indiscipline then began to creep into Drybrook’s play and Cinderford’s Danny Trigg was able to add 2 penalties to close the gap before the interval.

Cinderford played much better in the second half when they used the driving maul to good effect and they were soon on the score sheet again with a converted try to close the gap to 7 points.  Drybrook’s John Duffin was sent off after 20 minutes for punching and this gave Cinderford the edge in the forwards from then on.  After 30 minutes Drybrook almost increased their lead when Carl Moore was halted just short but Cinderford turned defence into attack and scored a length of the field try under the posts.  At 20 points all it was still anyone’s game but Cinderford managed to forge ahead with another try from distance as they exposed some weak tackling from Drybrook.  Into the dying minutes Drybrook had Cinderford under pressure and they managed to steal the ball from a maul to send over Tom Reed for his second try.  Then came the controversy over whether to take the conversion or no but unfortunately Drybrook were given the wrong advice and with it went the chance of victory.

Drybrook team: Steve Skelton, Jamie Roberts, Chris Rawlings, Leon Meek, Simon Rugman, Julian Horrobin, Carl Moore, Tom Reed, Chris Thomas, Scott Phelps, Simon Ballinger, John Duffin, Craig Moore, Peter Meek, Neil Morgan.

Replacements ; Steve Williams, Andy Jones, Mark Perkins