CINDERFORD RFC continued their preparations for the new National League 2 West season with a demanding pre-season trip to Wales, where they were beaten 77-14 by a powerful Pontypool side at Pontypool Park.

The hosts made the quicker start and opened the scoring after six minutes when Ewan Rosser crossed, with Kieran Meek adding the conversion.

Rhys Cole added Pontypool’s second try on 18 minutes and Meek again converted, leaving Cinderford 14-0 behind.

However, the visitors responded strongly and produced their best spell of the afternoon. Grady Alford crossed on 21 minutes before Joe Winfield converted to halve the deficit.

Five minutes later Cinderford were level. A well-worked rolling maul ended with Sam Baker touching down and Winfield added the extras to make it 14-14.

Pontypool regained control before the interval. Morgan Allen restored their advantage on 31 minutes before Rosser scored his second five minutes later. Meek converted both tries as the hosts established a 28-14 half-time lead.

Despite the scoreline, Cinderford had shown encouraging signs during the opening 40 minutes, particularly during their fightback from two scores behind.

Pontypool stepped up the pressure after the restart, with Rosser completing his hat-trick before Joe Davies also crossed. Meek converted both as the home side began to pull clear.

Rosser then claimed his fourth try of the afternoon on 59 minutes, converted by Evan Lloyd, before Joel Paterson crossed three minutes later and Meek added the extras.

Marcus Jones was next over the line on 69 minutes, before replacement hooker Ben Williams scored four minutes later.

Paterson completed the scoring with his second try in the 77th minute, with Meek’s conversion taking Pontypool to 77 points.

For Cinderford, the fixture provided another opportunity to give players valuable minutes and assess progress ahead of the competitive campaign.

Head of Rugby Clive Stuart-Smith said: “A tough test against a strong, well-coached Pontypool squad who kept the pressure on from the first minute to the last.

“We had plenty of opportunities and saw glimpses of what we can do with the ball in hand, but didn’t back ourselves enough. We certainly got through plenty of defence and have learnt some important lessons to take forward.

“While the final result reflected a clear gap, it’s another step forward as our senior squad got valuable minutes in the legs.

“We are now into our final week of preseason with a clear picture of where we need to improve.”

Cinderford now enter their final week of pre-season with another demanding 80 minutes behind them and plenty to work on before their National League 2 West campaign gets underway.

Stuart-Smith and his coaching staff used a large squad throughout the afternoon, with changes allowing players across the group to gain further match experience.

The result followed Cinderford’s narrow 35-33 victory at Dings Crusaders in their previous pre-season outing, meaning the Forest side have now experienced two very different tests.

Attention now turns to sharpening combinations and addressing lessons from Pontypool in training before the competitive rugby returns.