Prop Bayliss returns to former club
After just one season in the Forest of Dean, prop Neil Bayliss left the Foresters to sign for the Cornish All Blacks last month and will return in the new campaign's curtain-raiser.
The 31-year-old was a regular starter in the Dockham Road outfit's front row, helping them to an impressive fifth-placed finish in their debut season in the third tier of English rugby.
But with seven new teams coming into the division following the RFU's reshaping of the leagues, Cinderford may struggle to hit the heights of last season.
A total of five former professional outfits have come down from the old National One, which is now called the Championship.
Otley, Sedgley Park, Newbury and Manchester will all be new visitors, while big-spending London Scottish have come up after winning Lydney's division.
Cinderford will face the other two new teams in their first three matches when they travel to Esher on September 12 and welcome National Three North champions Nuneaton on September 19.
The season has been extended to include 30 games in total, with 16 sides vying for the title, and the campaign finishes on April 24 with a trip to face Bayliss' Launceston again.
Lydney, meanwhile, should know plenty about the opposition in their first match of the National Two South campaign because they faced them in the final fixture last year.
The Severnsiders have a trip to Canterbury first of all on Saturday, September 5 and end their campaign at Swan Road with the return leg against the Kent outfit.
A total of six new teams are introduced, making it a 16-side division, which also finishes on April 24.
Rugby Lions are relocated to National Two North.
Mounts Bay, Southend and Westcombe Park have all come down from Cinderford's division, while West London outfit Barnes, Cambridgeshire side Shelford and local rivals Clifton have all come up.
The Severnsiders struggled for most of the season last year and finally secured their safety in their penultimate match of the campaign.
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