CINDERFORD captain Mike Wilcox hopes that his team’s dramatic 28-24 win at Hull Ionians will ’provide a springboard’ for the rest of the season.

Two late, late tries from Sam Hanks – both converted – sealed five points for Cinderford up north in their first win in 11 games.

The win was even more remarkable considering the Foresters were 24-7 down with 15 minutes left.

“It was massively overdue,” said Wilcox, who is on England Counties duty this week while his clubmates have a break from National One action.

“It’s been a tough couple of months. We’ve been working hard and to finally get the result feels pretty good.

“We started the game very well. We were on top and got our try and then let in some tries that could have been prevented and finished out wide.

“In the second half we knew we would have to come out of the block fast but it didn’t happen and they scored first and made it 24-7.

“We managed to get one and it seemed to spark us back into life. From that point we were comfortably on top.

“We got one try from a driving maul and after we got another we knew we needed one more to win the game.

“We haven’t had the rub of the green a lot this season and we’ve been on the receiving end where we’ve lost a few in the last minutes, so it was nice to be on the other side.

“I think the character is something that has always been there; we’re training hard on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we’ve just not had the results we felt we deserved.

“It’s been a tough season but we’ve got stability now with the coaching regime. Gradually, things have been getting better and better.

“Now it’s a case of keeping that going and hopefully it’ll be a springboard for the last seven games.”

Director of rugby Paul Morris hailed his side after the win, saying: “The players deserve a lot of credit. It was a game where they could have bailed at 24-7 down but they kept going.

“I’m not going to overthink the result. It doesn’t save our season but we think we’ve got a chance now when we play Fylde at home in a couple of weeks. It gives us a lift and gives us the hope back.

“More importantly, it gives the supporters a lift. They travelled in numbers to Hull and it was good to see them smiling again.”