NORTHAMPTON MENS OWN  20 - 21  HEREFORD

Saturday 16 October 2004

Powergen Intermediate Cup Midlands Second Round

The Wyesiders were trailing 20-3 just before the interval but their promising young side, despite playing up the slope in the second period, staged a strong rally to come through to win.

The home side gained a flying start and were 17-3 ahead after just 15 minutes with the only Hereford score coming from Will Bolt's penalty.

Northampton extended their lead with a further penalty in the lead-up to the turnaround but Hereford showed signs of recovery when they cut arrears with a try in the corner from Des White just before the half-time whistle.

After surviving a strong period of pressure from the home side, Hereford stormed back with another try which saw the ball travel 70 yards in some excellent movement from both forwards and backs before Jeremy Grisman went over in the corner.

Another penalty from Bolt cut the margin to just four points and the city side sealed their win when White went over for his second try with eight minutes to play.

The only disappointment for the Wyesiders came five minutes from the end when Will Watkins, who had had an excellent game, was forced to leave the field with a broken ankle. The hair-line fracture is likely to keep the second-row forward out of action for six weeks.

There were a number of other excellent performances in the Hereford ranks with Billy Grisman, in his first outing of the season at scrum-half, particularly outstanding.