LEDBURY  11 - 13  HEREFORD

Ledbury, Saturday 23 April 2005

Powergen Midlands 3 West (South)

With Hereford already having secured third place in the table and not able to move any higher, Ledbury were the team with the incentive to win as a victory would have given them the chance of avoiding the drop. The home side made an excellent start when they crossed for a try with just eight minutes played and then went on to extend their lead with a successful penalty kick. Hereford hit back with a penalty of their own from Will Bolt before Ledbury restored their eight-point lead with a further penalty which saw the home side in control 11-3 at the interval.

The Wyesiders enjoyed a better spell at the start of the second period and Bolt again reduced arrears with a penalty. Adam Knight's excellent break paved the way for Des White to go over for a try for Hereford. White, despite the attentions of three home players, showed the presence of mind to cut in and cross under the posts, presenting Bolt with an easy conversion to allow Hereford to take the lead. Ultimately, this proved to be crucial, as despite plenty of home pressure, Ledbury missed three penalties in the closing stages to allow the visitors to run out with a narrow win.

Hereford completed a clean sweep over Ledbury with the second team winning 33-7 and the thirds 65-0. Will McQuaid, Tony Shaw, Shaun Dawking, Richard Preece and Mark Lynan scored tries for the second team and Colin Osborne landed four conversions.