Cinderford 45 – 8 Wimbledon

This was a disappointing result for Wimbledon, not so much for the defeat…more for the manner of it. After having the best of much of the first half - the two tries they conceded to Cinderford’s no.10 Hemming and flanker Lane both scored against the run of play - they were just 14-8 down at half time, courtesy of a penalty conversion by James Doe and a forward’s try scored by lock Andy Hore. It looked at that stage as though Dons were in with a real chance of spoiling the league leader’s record.

But when they came out for the second half they appeared to have left their drive, shape and determination in the changing room. Missed tackles on Lane led to a soft try for the home team’s scrum half, Frame, almost from the re-start, giving them the momentum on which they built throughout the second half. Cinderford are not league leaders for nothing and they played well to their strengths….excellent lineout ball, strong rolling mauls and quick ruck ball leaving Wimbledon with almost no possession, while Cinderford made full use of theirs, running in four more tries and fullback Moffat bringing his tally of conversions to five.

The result leaves Wimbledon deep in the relegation zone, but if they can recapture the form they’ve shown in most of their matches this year, there are four winnable games remaining and they could lift themselves out of it. The first of those games is at home in two weeks to Tonbridge Juddians.