CIRENCESTER TOWN'S under eights travelled to Hucclecote for the second round of the County Cup and two wins out of three should prove enough to secure them a place in the quarter-finals.

They did it the hard way, losing the first of their three matches 15-5 to Minchinhampton.

Ciren had exerted significant defensive pressure in the first half and James Adey almost scored in the right corner but stepped into touch just short of the try line. Despite clear dominance by Cirencester, Minchinhamption scored the only try of the first half as there was insufficient time for a response on the line.

In the second half, Ciren piled on further pressure but Minchinhampton scored early in the half to lead by 10.

With an immediate response, Sam Christopherson was tackled diving for the line but spread it wide for Arik Cuciurean to score a much needed try for Town.

For the remainder of the match Ciren defended brilliantly but they were unable to reduce the deficit.

The Town boys bounced back in game two, with a 5-0 victory over Widden.

Cirencester started the match with the same defensive attitude as the first, however there were a number of handling errors on both sides which did not allow the excellent playing conditions to be exploited with attacking rugby.

This changed late in the game after a blinding run down the pitch by James McPherson.

Town then increased the pressure on Widden to force them back to defending the try line and this constant pressure eventually paid off when McPherson pounced on a lost ball to score the only try of the match.

Cirencester cantered to victory in the third decisive match against Cheltenham Barbarians 25-5.

Ciren started this match with the knowledge that only a win would keep them in the cup and the higher the score the better. They did not disappoint.

After an initial hiccup where a knock-on on Cheltenham's line saw a try scored against Ciren following a pitch-length effort.

But Town found their feet and defended strongly.

After pushing Cheltenham back, McPherson popped a ball quickly off the ground in the tackle to put Lance Baynham through for a quick response.

Cirencester scored again on the back of good defensive pressure and Sam Christopherson cleverly avoided tackles by scoring on his belly.

In the second half, Ciren started to use the width of the pitch and this resulted in some excellent tries with James McPherson cutting into each corner to score two and Sam also scored his second after a Cheltenham error.

This excellent performance should see Cirencester through to the quarter-finals to be held in two weeks.

CIRENCESTER SQUAD: James Adey, Will Armitage, Lance Baynham, Sam Christopherson, Angus Comery, Douglas Cooper, Arik Cuciurean, Alex Lewis, James McPherson, Luke Pillonel.