I was surprised to find myself celebrating the victory by Cinderford in the opening match of the 2023-24 rugby season last Saturday. 

Lydney and Cinderford were always great rivals, and I’m a Lydney supporter and former administrator. 

Cinderford are in National League One in the English rugby hierarchy, which puts them in the top 36 clubs in the country. An away victory in the first match of the season is a great start for the Forest’s leading rugby team.

I played for Bream in the 1970s, and we had a close relationship with Lydney, with fixtures every year against their second team, known as Lydney United. 

Sometimes we played under their newly acquired floodlights, an exciting experience for village club players. Bream players aspiring to higher things would move onto Lydney and then to Gloucester. More recently I became a Lydney supporter and administrator.

Lydney could boast five England international players: Chris Williams, Gordon Sargent, Bev Dovey, Trevor Wintle and Peter Kingston. Charles Bathurst of Lydney, later Lord Bledisloe, was club president for 70 years, and gave his name to the Bledisloe Cup, a rugby trophy competed for by New Zealand and Australia. The New Zealand connection enabled several Kiwis to make the long journey around the world to play for Lydney. 

The uncompromising front row forward ‘Bumps’ Carpenter was Cinderford’s sole England player, playing one international game in the 1930s.

The leading Forest clubs in my playing days were Lydney and Berry Hill, with Cinderford perhaps in third place. Lydney and Berry Hill had a few good seasons in the English knock-out cup that was competed for at that time, playing resolutely against senior national clubs such as Bath, Saracens and Sale. Berry Hill, with their formidable front row, had one epic win in this competition against London Scottish, which at the time were one of the leading clubs in the country. 

Bream would play against the second teams (known as the United teams) of these clubs. Sadly, with the advent of league rugby the Forest could not support three national league clubs. 

Berry Hill have dropped down to the same league as Bream, and these clubs will be playing each other this season on equal terms.

Recently Cinderford have been ascending through the leagues, while Lydney were going down. 

They met for a couple of seasons in National League Two, before Lydney moved down to regional rugby while Cinderford moved up to the heights of National League One.

While not losing my allegiance to Lydney, I have come to realise that support for a Forest team in a national league was not incompatible with support for Lydney in local rugby. 

When Lydney move up to the national leagues and play Cinderford again I will revert to my Lydney allegiance. But until then, in the national arena I will be a Cinderford supporter (except when they play one of my old clubs, Darlington Mowden Park).