FIRST XV - MATCH REPORTS 2006/07

SATURDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2007 - HEREFORD  41 - 0  LEDBURY
With Ledbury having strengthened their squad with the addition of four former Oxford 'Blues', Hereford anticipated a sterner battle than when they beat their visitors back in September.
Hereford started off in lively fashion and had scored their first try within six minutes. Dean Powell, at outside half, dummied his way over to score a try which he converted. Within ten minutes, Powell astutely kicked ahead and Richard Preece followed up to score the second try. Just before half time, a flowing move resulted in Keiron Griffiths scoring to give Hereford a 17 - 0 lead.
The next try came from a driving maul following a line-out. Good possession enabled the pack to drive over Matt. Pritchard. The try was not converted. Des. White than showed his speed by rounding the opposition to score under the posts for Jeremy Grisman to convert. Further tries came at regular intervals. A surging run by Darren David, on his debut, led to Billy Grisman scoring with his brother Jeremy converting. The final try was scored by winger Dan Thomas, who used his speed to give Hereford a comfortable 41 points to nil victory.

SATURDAY 3 FEBRUARY 2007 - OLD COVENTRIANS  12 - 41  HEREFORD
On a crisp, wintery but sunny afternoon, Hereford completed the double over Old Coventrians by 41 points to 12. The home team kicked off with the sun behind them and quickly went onto the attack. Good tackling by Hereford enabled them to gain 'turn over' ball and quick passing enabled Des White to beat off several tackles. He ran half the length of the pitch to score a fine individual try under the posts. Dean Powell added the conversion points. Coventry's tactics were to try to slow down the game and make use of their outside half who kept them in the game with some excellent line kicking. From a line-out, Coventry set up a rolling maul and to score an unconverted try. Hereford continued to run the ball which led to another fine solo try by Des White. Again the conversion by Dean Powell was successful to give Hereford a 14 points to 5 half time lead.
In the second half, Hereford started to re-cycle the ball more quickly. This led to Coventry conceding a number of penalties and eventually one of their second row forwards was 'sin-binned'. The resultant penalty was kicked by Dean Powell. Hereford continued to attack and tries were scored by Ceiron Griffiths and Dean Powell who scored two. Powell converted both of his tries. The final try was scored by flanker Ali McColl to give Hereford a 41 points to 5 lead. In the final minute, Coventry developed another rolling maul to score their second try under the posts. The conversion was successful to give a final score of Hereford 41 points Old Coventrians 12.

SATURDAY 27 JANUARY 2007 - HEREFORD  22 - 5  PERSHORE
Hereford continued their run of success with a 22 - 5 win over Pershore to complete the double. Hereford had beaten Pershore by 29 points to 8 earlier in the season. Late withdrawals forced Hereford to make a number of changes to the team that had beaten Stratford in their previous league game.
Pershore opened strongly. Their forwards obtained good position and after fifteen minutes forced a number of mistakes to enable them to score an unconverted try. Hereford raised their game and it resulted in Pershore missing touch. Jeremy Grisman fielded the ball and counter attacked. After beating several players he found Keiron Griffiths up in support and he crossed to score. The try was not converted. The Hereford pack was beginning to dominate proceeding which led to prop forward Ben Roberts scoring his first try for the club. The try was converted by Dean Powell to give Hereford a 12 - 5 lead at half time.
Twenty minutes into the second half, Hereford won good line-out possession which enabled their backs to attack. Good handling led to Keiron Griffiths scoring his second try. The try was not converted but Hereford led by 17 points to 5. The Hereford pack continued to dominate and most of the play was confined to the Pershore half of the field. The scoring was finished when speedy winger, Dan Thomas, used his pace to beat the Pershore defence and score another unconverted try. This win enabled Hereford to retain their top place in the league.

SATURDAY 20 JANUARY 2007 - BERRY HILL  26 - 12  HEREFORD
HEREFORD Rugby club will entertain lower-graded Bishop's Castle at Wyeside in the second round of the North Midlands Shield on February 10. The city side were awarded their first round tie with Oswestry as their opponents pulled out of the match late on, citing the reason that they were unable to field a competent front row. With the majority of their squad opting to take a rest after two hard-fought league fixtures, played in very heavy conditions, Hereford took a makeshift side to Berry Hill and were beaten 26-12. Hereford struggled to get into the game in the first half and trailed 21-0 at the break. They pulled things around in the second half and scored two well-taken tries. Scrum-half Morgan Goodall grabbed his first try for the side, and outside centre Adam Gwynne scored the other. Jeremy Grisman converted the second. .

SATURDAY 13 JANUARY 2007 - HEREFORD  31 - 3  STRATFORD-UPON-AVON
Hereford Rugby Club’s 1st XV deservedly took top spot of Midlands 3 West South Division after another comprehensive victory over fellow promotion contenders Stratford, whom they dispatched 31-3. Facing a blustery wind in the first half and in the face of some accurate kicking from the hosts Hereford went 3-0 down after an early penalty. But they hit back after 20 minutes when right winger Des White beat several tackles to make ground on the right and after a couple more phases it was fullback Sean Day who showed great footwork to beat three tacklers and cross for the visitors’ first score.
Hereford turned round at the interval defending a narrow 5-3 lead and faced a renewed onslaught from a determined home side. But the visiting defence held firm and the home side were unable to add to their first half penalty. The Wyesiders went on to kick two penalties in the space of ten minutes through outside-half Dean Powell to make their lead 11-3. Hereford were by now beginning to take control and after a succession of scrums, scrumhalf Billy Grisman, despite losing his shirt, showed good strength to burst over on 55 minutes. Dean Powell converted. Another foray into the home half was cut short when a Stratford player killed the ball under his own posts to prevent Hereford profiting from the possession. He was yellow-carded and Dean Powell added the resulting penalty to extend the Hereford lead to 21-3. The visitors’ final score came courtesy of winger Dan Thomas who showed great pace to beat the covering defenders after the ball was moved to the left. Dean Powell converted and added another penalty to make the final score 31-3.
Coach John Watkins was delighted with the Wyesiders display: “It was a fantastic performance and a wonderful day. Every one performed – it’s great to be top of the league but we must concentrate from now on.” Hereford have a break from league rugby next weekend, but will face Pershore at home on 27 January.

SATURDAY 6 JANUARY 2007 - HEREFORD  21 - 3  OLD EDWARDIANS
After a morning of incessant rain and on an almost water-logged pitch, Edwardians kicked off and set up a maul inside the Hereford twenty-two. Hereford wandered off-side and the Edwardians' outside half kicked the penalty to give the visitors a three point lead.
Hereford re-grouped and went onto the attack. A scrum, after about ten minutes, put pressure on the Edwardians defence and the Hereford winger just failed to to reach the ball. In the continuing rain. Hereford tried to run the ball and eventually, a grubber kick through to the left had corner was followed-up by Dave Thomas who scored a try in the corner. The try was converted by Gary Preece to give Hereford a 7 - 3 lead.
The Edwardians' defence was continually stretched and they conceded a number of penalties. Preece converted two of the penalties to give Hereford a 16 - 3 lead at half time.
In the second half, Edwardians changed their tactics and tried to use their heavier pack to take control. Hereford continued to look the more dangerous when running the ball. A good handling move, when the ball went through a number of hands, allowed Luke Clifford to break free and score the only try of in the second half. The conversion failed and Hereford continued to dominate the game - the final score being Hereford 21 Old Edwardians 3 pts. Hereford visit Stratford next week for a game that could decide the end of season promotion positions.

SATURDAY 2 DECEMBER 2006 - HEREFORD  10 - 6  OLD LAURENTIANS
Hereford won a very competitive game against the league leaders by scoring two tries to two penalties. In an open and running game, Hereford generally had the advantage in the tight scrums and held their own at the breakdowns. Hereford scored their two tries in the first half - the first as a result of a counter attack when Old Laurentians missed touch. The ball was fielded and went through the hands of half the team for Sean Day to touch down wide out. The conversion was missed. The second try was initiated from Hereford's twenty-two. The ball was recycled several times and finished with Des White scoring near the posts. The conversion was again missed. Hereford had a half time lead of 10 pts. to nil.
A very heavy dopwnppour of rain changed the conditions for the second half. It enabled Old Laurentians to come more into the game and some astute kicking from their outside-half forced Hereford onto the defensive. The visitors kicked two penalties during the half and were unsuccessful with one. Eight minutes from full time, one of the Old Launentian's centres was sent off. The game finished with Hereford camped in the visitors half but they were unable to add to their score.
This was a fine performance from the Hereford team - their tackling and enthusiasm was of a high order.

SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER 2006 - GORDON LEAGUE  21 - 15  HEREFORD
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SATURDAY 21 OCTOBER 2006 - HEREFORD  24 - 19  STRATFORD-UPON-AVON
The pace is hotting up, as Hereford Rugby Club’s First XV made it six wins in succession to hold second place in Midlands Three West (South) after a hard-fought 24-19 home victory against Stratford. “This was a key match to win, and the best game we have seen at Wyeside for two seasons,” said forwards' coach John Watkins. “Stratford have lost two league games, but only by a few points, and they had a strong pack and fly-half who showed us we still have a few lessons to learn. It’s a tough league and it was a tough game, and the penalties we gave away could have cost us the game.” And it was a penalty kicked to the corner by Stratford that saw their pack drive forward to feed the ball to the wing for an unconverted try after eight minutes.
A penalty by centre Colin Osborne reduced the lead to 5-3, but Stratford used the same driving tactics after a corner penalty of their own for a converted try under the posts to make it 12-3 to the visitors. Then a tap penalty by Billy Grisman fed Harry Jenkins, who scored for an Osborne conversion and a 12-10 scoreline, but Stratford repeated their penalty-corner-drive strategy to drive over for a converted try to make it 19-10 at half-time.
The second half was a different story, as Hereford moved the ball left and right for Sean Day to join Jerry Grisman who scored. Osborne converted to bring it back to 19-17. Hereford survived two Stratford attacks before Sean Day scored an individual try and Osborne added the points for the 24-19 result.
This Saturday, Hereford travel to Gloucester side Gordon League in the EDF Cup, before facing lowly Edwardians in the league.

SATURDAY 14 OCTOBER 2006 - PERSHORE  8 - 29  HEREFORD
With five successive victories under their belt and second place in Midlands 3 West, Hereford Rugby Club’s First XV face a crucial game at home against Stratford on Saturday. “We had a convincing 29-8 away win against Pershore last Saturday, but Stratford are on our heels with eight points and it is vital that we keep up our winning momentum,” said forwards coach John Watkins. “Pershore had a big pack but we controlled the game for long periods, in spite of a rough deal from the referee who whistled for penalties against us almost every time we got into the home team’s 22. The penalty count was 43 to Pershore with seven awarded to Hereford. We had an amicable discussion with him after the game, but it’s up to us to take it into account when we are in third phase attacks in an opponent’s 22.”
Five attacking moves in the first half at Pershore brought Hereford three tries, the first when Billy Grisman put winger Des White over in the corner, before Keiron Griffiths broke to put White over again for a 10-0 lead. Fullback Sean Day then finished off a move to set up Jeremy Grisman for a try, before Pershore landed a penalty to make it 15-3 at half-time.
Gary Preece scored an enterprising try under the posts which Grisman converted to put Hereford 22-3 ahead. “The floodgates should have opened, but constant penalties prevented it,” said Watkins. Pershore scored their only try to make it 22-8, before Des White took a quick lineout to himself to send Day away for his second try, converted by Grisman, for the 29-8 result.

SATURDAY 7 OCTOBER 2006 - HEREFORD  66 - 0  OLD COVENTRIANS
Hereford enjoyed a comprehensive 66-0 victory over Old Coventrians at Wyeside. Forwards coach John Watkins was pleased with the way his side applied themselves against their weaker opponents, as they ran in try after try. Gary Preece scored the first try of the afternoon after five minutes, which was converted by Colin Osborne. Then centre Osborne then rounded off a good move before missing the conversion. Hereford decided to experiment with their kickers due to Osborne’s forthcoming absence on army duties. Captain Jeremy Grisman converted brother Billy’s try and Alistair McColl’s effort gave Hereford a commanding 24-point lead at the break.
Despite a quiet spell after the re-start, Hereford turned the screw with tries from Matt Pritchard and Jeremy Grisman, converted by new signing Dean Powell. Pritchard, Sean Day and Des White added further tries, with Powell and Grisman sharing the kicking duties between them. Will Watkins completed the try scoring after good work by Dan Thomas, and Grisman added the conversion.
“It was a convincing performance and we played well,” said John Watkins. “But we mustn’t get too carried away. We have some tough games coming up, starting with Pershore on Saturday.”

SATURDAY 30 SEPTEMBER 2006 - LEDBURY  3 - 37  HEREFORD
A very heavy storm just prior to the kick-off presented both side with a very slippy playing surface which was going to make handling and running rather difficult. Ledbury had the first opportunity to open the scoring but failed to convert a penalty. After 10 minutes Ledbury were successful and went into a three point lead. Hereford missed two penalties – one rebounding off the upright. Play throughout the first half was fairly even though the Hereford pack was beginning to dominate. After 30 minutes play, a tremendous surge by the Hereford forwards and good handling by the backs, led to Des White scoring the first try to give Hereford a 5 – 3 half-time lead.
The second half saw Hereford take control to score a further five tries. From another forward drive, Ben Hillstead scored a try to increase the lead to 10 – 3. The visiting forwards were dominating the proceedings. The constant pressure was awarded when Colin Osborne kicked a penalty to increase the lead to 13 –3. Some superb handling led to further tries at regular intervals. Des White scored his second try which was converted by Colin Osborne – the score now being 20 – 3. The next try was scored by Andy Johnson following a blind-side move. Jeremy Grisman then scored his try which was converted by Osborne to increase the lead to 32 – 3. The final try was scored by Sean Day who had caused Ledbury some concern throughout the afternoon with his counter attacking. The final score was Ledbury 3 pts, Hereford 37 pts.

SATURDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 2006 - BEDWORTH  18 - 47  HEREFORD
Despite being dominated up front by a strong Bedworth pack in the early stages, Hereford Rugby Club’s First XV came away from their bitter rivals with a 47-18 win – and praise for “an excellent performance” from forwards coach John Watkins. “Our forwards kept at them, but it was very hard work,” said the coach after a game that saw a total of seven ‘sin bin’ yellow cards awarded to players from both sides.
A penalty by centre Colin Osborne put Hereford ahead, Bedworth hit back with a try and a penalty, and the first two yellow cards were doled out by the referee. With Hereford’s pack getting into the game a planned move by the backs saw Keiron Griffiths cross for an Osborne-converted try to make it 10-8 to the visitors at half-time.
Hereford almost scored at the re-start but another yellow card gave Osborne a penalty – before he earned a spell in the sin bin himself. The sides swapped penalties to put Hereford 16-11 ahead, before Griffiths crossed for his second try from a well-rehearsed move by the backs for Grisman to convert and a 23-11 scoreline.
The threes were in action again from the kick-off, and the ball was worked to Gary Preece for a try converted by Grisman to make it 30-11. Osborne marked his release from the bin to score a try which he converted to put Hereford out of sight at 37-11. Bedworth had a converted consolation try, and another Osborne penalty gave Hereford a 40-18 lead. From the re-start Hereford worked the ball to debut winger Simon Sabel who galloped 60 yards for a fine solo try, converted by Osborne, as the game ended with a not unexpected punch-up.
This Saturday, Hereford travel to Ledbury for a local league derby, predicted by Watkins to be “a tough game – but we are playing better rugby”.

SATURDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2006 - HEREFORD  20 - 11  EARLSDON
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SATURDAY 9 SEPTEMBER 2006 - SILHILLIANS  32 - 14  HEREFORD
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