National League One

Fylde 19

JUDGING by the way they back-slapped each other after every tackle, Cinderford's players knew their rugby reputations were on the line.

A run of defeats and several indifferent performances left several high profile players with questions to answer, but they certainly delivered the goods as their visitors from the north were simply blown away.

The home side's first half display was arguably their best 40 minutes of the entire season.

Mark Davies kicked a third minute penalty to settle the nerves and it was one-way traffic from then on.

Fylde are no mugs and possess some of the best backs in the division. However, they saw little of the ball as Cinderford's pack kept things tight and punched holes in their defence with powerful carries from man of the match George Evans and Nick Selway, who is now starting to fulfil his enormous potential.

Those two combined for Cinderford's first try with Evans peeling off the back of a rock-solid scrum and making good ground, before Selway crashed over.

Fylde struck back three minutes later when Mike Waywell carved open Cinderford's defence after the hosts had kicked possession aimlessly away.

Cinderford took that setback in their stride and stretched 31-7 up by the break. The numbers ticked over so fast that even the electronic scoreboard in the corner of the ground stopped working.

Nev Codlin's swallow dive score under the posts whetted the appetite, with the conversion from Davies making it 17-7.

Ed King and Luke Allen both finished off powerful team moves with tries that owed much to the collective power of the pack.

Fylde's frustrations were obvious and an ugly mass brawl near the dugouts just before the break resulted in yellow cards for Paul Arnold and Cinderford's Nick Selway.

In the second half Cinderford continued to dominate. A probing kick to the corner from Danny Pointon put Fylde under pressure and Joe Smart breezed through a gap for a simple score. Davies kicked his fifth conversion.

Leading 38-7, Cinderford rang the changes and temporarily stopped doing the things that had brought them so much success.

Fylde showed what they are capable of when presented with an open field by scoring two tries in as many minutes.

Richard Kenyon's length-of-the-field touchdown fired an initial warning shot, while Evan Stewart's try in the corner made the crowd restless.

They need not have worried. Attempting to run the ball from their own 22, Fylde gifted Lloyd Stapleton an easy interception try.

Fittingly, the forwards brought up the half-century with sub Rob Langley finishing off a pushover move. It was Cinderford's seventh try of the afternoon, with all of them converted by Mark Davies.

Cinderford: Mike Wilcox (Stefan Hawley 68), Nev Codlin, Jack Adams, Dewi Scourfield, Lloyd Stapleton, Mark Davies, Danny Pointon, Joe Smart, Tom Bozzard (Stuart Bailey 74), Nick Selway (Chris Bundy 58), Ben West, Ed King (Dale Critchley 68), Luke Allen, Will Foden (capt, rep Rob Langley 53), George Evans.