This Saturday we welcome the league leaders Cinderford.
Cinderford is in the Forest of Dean - the triangle of land between the River Severn and the River Wye, that was once royal forest but which became a centre for coal and iron.
The Triangle, the market space in the centre of the town, is dominated by two statues. The war memorial and the statue of the Free Miner.
The war memorial was constructed by public subscription and erected in 1923, unveiled by Field Marshal French.
Free Mining is the right of inhabitants of the Forest to personally mine coal. The Statue is by Anthony Dufort, who lives just South of Cinderford in the Forest. He also made the statue of Maggie Thatcher that stands in the Members' Lobby of the Houses of Parliament. I do find it ironic that as well as casting the Iron Lady in Bronze, he has made three memorials for miners. His current project is a statue of George Boole, the mathematician whose laws of thought form the basis for all modern computing - to be erected outside Lincoln station.
Cinderford regained National 1 two seasons ago. Last season we had two low scoring games both home wins. Before that we last played them in 2013, as they were relegated the season we were promoted, but only Rob Conquest and Gareth Baxter remain from that side.
Cinderford started with a win at Sale which they followed with a win against Plymouth. They have scored eleven tries over the two games, so they will test our defence. However, they have given up four tries in both games - so there will be gaps. If we play like we did at Stortford we will be able to exploit them.
The Wanderers will play Cinderford United and the Thirds take on Bury St Edmunds.
We will be showing the NZ v South Africa game from the RC live on the big screen in the Turnstone suite with a special offer of a bacon roll and a coffee or tea for just £2.50 up until half time. The bars will also be open from 10am.
At half time in the game we will also be hosting a Q&A with Cambridge Rugby Club Head Coach Richie Williams as well as some of the 1st team squad. There will also be a first try scorer sweepstake on arrival.
After the game we hope to show a replay of the earlier France V Argentina game and the bars will open to keep you busy until the games kick off on our very own pitches.
