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| FIRST XV MATCH REPORTS - 2010/11 | ||
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| SATURDAY 30 APRIL 2011 - HEREFORD 42 - 26 BROADSTREET | ||
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Hereford needed a bonus point win to
maintain their drive to keep National Division 3 status and they
signified their intentions by taking a 14 point lead within ten
minutes of the kick off. Simon Sabel completed the first movement of
the game when he touched down after a break by Morgan Goodall. Then
ten minutes later Dean Powell fed Ali McColl for the flank forward to
crash over for the second try. Both of these tries were converted by
Morgan Goodall who had another great day with the boot converting all
six Hereford tries despite a difficult gusting wind. Midway through
the first period Andy Potter for Hereford and Simon Morris for the
visitors were yellow carded and soon after Hereford were a further man
down when Gareth Miles also saw yellow. Then for a period up to the
interval the visitors put Hereford under pressure. Some determined
defence kept them out until just before half time when scrum half Nick
Thatcher crossed for an unconverted try. The home side put the Broadstreet defence under pressure straight from the restart and a try was disallowed when the Hereford forwards were held up after driving over the line. From the resulting 5 metre scrum Dan Phillips went over to register a try which Morgan Goodall converted. Broadstreet now had their best period of the game and after intense pressure on the Hereford line scored two tries within ten minutes, both of which were converted. Hereford responded immediately when Adam Gwynne made a break which was carried on by Matt Pritchard to give Hereford the bonus point try, converted again by Morgan Goodall. The visitors not to be outdone continued to press and were rewarded with a converted try which took the score to 28 points to 26 in Hereford’s favour. They had been in that position before during the season and the Hereford supporters had a few anxious moments before their team closed off the game with a brace of tries from Finn Ralph and a second for Matt Pritchard. Both of the tries were converted and Hereford ran out clear winners to retain their league status for next season. The determination of the players and coaches not to go down without a fight has been rewarded and the news that Peterborough had lost narrowly to Scunthorpe meant that Hereford had moved above them and avoided relegation. On Sunday the Hereford Colts lost the North Midlands Colts League play off to Moseley by 20 points to 10. They have a chance to take revenge this coming Sunday when they play Moseley again in the final of the North Midlands Colts Cup at Dudley Kingswinford RFC. |
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| SATURDAY 23 APRIL 2011 - HEREFORD 73 - 10 SOUTH LEICESTER | ||
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Hereford knew this was a must win game
and showed their intentions right from the start. A try from Finn
Ralph after six minutes paved the way for further tries from Ali
McColl and a second from Finn Ralph. Hereford continued to run riot
for the rest of the first half adding five more tries from Sam Bishop
2, Simon Sabel, Kieram Hallam and Adam Gwynne. Morgan Goodall, who had
another good afternoon with the boot added the extra points to seven
of the first half tries helping Hereford to an interval lead of 54
points to nil. Adam Gwynne recently back from Cyprus showed how much
the team has missed his finishing ability with a copybook try beating
one defender on the outside and cutting back to beat another on the
inside. For a rare occasion this season the Hereford forwards and
backs combined effectively and totally outplayed the visitors who had
won the earlier game in Leicester by a substantial margin. Hereford started the second half much more slowly but after fourteen minutes a break by Tom Ewins was carried on by Simon Sabel who crossed for his second try of the game and Morgan Goodall added the extras. Hereford continued to dominate and a spirited run by Morgan Goodall was ended by a high tackle which earned a yellow card for South Leicester’s Stuart Bale and a penalty try for Hereford which Goodall converted. A couple of defensive errors allowed the visitors to score a brace of consolation tries before a break by Dan Phillips from the base of the scrum completed the scoring for Hereford who ran out winners by 73 points to ten and to kept alive their hopes of avoiding the drop. They now have two remaining home games, Broadstreet next Saturday and local rivals Malvern the following week. Hereford need a maximum of 6 more points to be sure of staying up. One win and 2 bonus points from the two games would be sufficient. The Colts XV have reached the final of both the North Midlands Colts League and the North Midlands Colts Cup. In both finals they have to meet Moseley Colts, at Bromsgrove on Sunday 1st May and at Dudley Kingswinford on Sunday 8th May. |
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| SATURDAY 16 APRIL 2011 - HEREFORD 20 - 31 NEWPORT (SALOP) | ||
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Hereford missed the chance to make
progress in their fight to avoid relegation when despite having more
than their fair share of possession the familiar pattern of unforced
errors and ill judged kicking from hand helped to concede four tries.
The trio of colts Finn Ralph, Tom Ewins and Toby Razvi again showed up
well with Ralph and Razvi contributing tries. Hereford started the game determinedly and put the Newport line under pressure early on but after 13 minutes an ill judged kick ahead allowed the visitors to set up an attack and a missed tackle enabled Jake Goulson to cross in the corner. Jamie Simpson the Newport kicker added the extra points from wide out and went on to have a good haul converting all four Newport tries and adding a penalty. Just minutes after the opening score Adam Knight followed up a kick ahead to make ground and pave the way for Toby Razvi to score his first senior try under the posts, Morgan Goodall added the conversion. Hereford were now on top and shortly afterwards Goodall kicked a penalty to give the home side the lead for the only time in the match. The lead was short lived as a handling error in the Hereford threequarter line let Joe Carpenter in for an easy try which Simpson converted. Poor ball protection allowed Newport to set up an attack from which Adrian Gilespie scored in the corner and again Simpson converted from a difficult angle. The Hereford pack increased the pressure on the Newport line and a succession of forward drives produced a number of penalties which were taken quickly and eventually Kieran Hallam crossed, only for the score to be disallowed by the referee who must have been unsighted. A penalty converted by Goodall took the half time score to 13 points to 21 in favour of the visitors. Shortly after the interval Hereford conceded a number of penalties one of which was landed by Simpson to increase the Newport lead. Hereford increased the pressure and eventually it boiled over and a fracas between the two sides resulted in a yellow card for Dean Powell which must be considered harsh in the circumstances. The home side continued to make the running but just 10 minutes from the end an error in the Hereford defence let in Joe Tucker for the fourth Newport try, again converted by Simpson. Hereford as always never gave up and a final period of pressure resulted in Finn Ralph touching down for his first senior try. Morgan Goodall added the extra points but it was too little too late the referee blew his whistle and Hereford were left to ponder what might have been. They have still three home games left and just two wins with one bonus point would provide an escape route from relegation. Supporters should note that Easter Saturday sees a visit from South Leicester and a good turnout would give the team an added impetus. On a brighter note on Sunday the Hereford Colts XV defeated Dudley Kingswinford at Wyeside in the semi final of the North Midlands Colts Cup by 47 points to 6. They scored a total of seven tries from Brad Talbot 2, Jake Smithers, Ben Osborne, Chris Bradford, Finn Ralph and Marcus Ashcroft whilst Alex Lane converted 6 of them. |
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| SATURDAY 9 APRIL 2011 - MALVERN 31 - 15 HEREFORD | ||
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Hereford got off to a good start and early
in the first half Malvern conceded a penalty at a ruck just inside
their own half. Morgan Goodall attempted the kick against the wind,
but was just wide and short. On 10 minutes the home side were pressing
the
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| SATURDAY 26 MARCH 2011 - HEREFORD 33 - 16 SCUNTHORPE | ||
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Hereford knew that this was a “must-win”
game if they were to maintain a chance of avoiding relegation. They
duly closed off a bonus point victory with two tries in each half. Scunthorpe started well, their full back Clayton converting a penalty chance in the third minute to take a three point lead. Just minutes later hooker Gareth Miles took a ball against the head, Andy Potter picked up at the base of the scrum drove forward and offloaded to Simon Sabel who crossed in the corner. Morgan Goodall narrowly failed with the conversion attempt from a difficult angle but Hereford had taken the lead by 5 points to 3. Goodall, who had an excellent game on his return to first team duty, landed a penalty after ten minutes and shortly afterwards charged down a Scunthorpe kick ahead to put the visitors’ line under pressure. The Hereford pack, was once again gaining a good supply of ball and pressed the Scunthorpe line. After twenty five minutes Andy Potter was held just short of the line allowing Ali McColl to pick up and drive over the line. Goodall added the extra points and just before the interval landed a further penalty after the Scunthorpe backs were caught off-side giving the Wyesiders a half-time lead of 18 points to 3. Just after the restart Jamie Bullock, who had earlier had a try disallowed, was yellow carded for a high tackle and from the resulting penalty Scunthorpe’s full back reduced the deficit. Whilst Hereford were still a man short, skipper Gareth Miles broke through the visitor’s defence selling dummies left and right to add a try which Morgan Goodall converted. Only minutes later a missed tackle in the Hereford threequarter line allowed Scunthorpe out half Foster to cross in the corner, the conversion attempt failed. Charlie Bird replaced Gary Preece and with his first touch of the ball put the finishing touch to a smart handling movement to score an unconverted try in the corner securing the bonus point. Morgan Goodall completed the home scoring with a penalty goal five minutes before the end. With only minutes to go the Hereford defence lost concentration and Scunthorpe were able to reduce the deficit with an unconverted try in the corner. This was a victory gained by hard work, the ability to escape relegation is still in the team’s own hands if they win the games they have in hand on their rivals. However they need to eradicate the tendency to concede a score shortly after scoring themselves. |
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| SATURDAY 19 MARCH 2011 - HEREFORD 16 - 20 LUTON | ||
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| SATURDAY 12 MARCH 2011 - LONGTON 54 - 7 HEREFORD | ||
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On Saturday Hereford travelled to
Longton and met a powerful and well-drilled side. Although Hereford
started the game brightly and for the first 10 minutes confined the
home side to their own 22, for the majority of the game Longton were
in control. Hereford had to defend vigorously as Longton attacked with
powerful drives from their forwards and slick passing by their backs.
The home side opened the scoring in the thirteenth minute when,
following a penalty, their lively threequarters completed an
inter-passing movement by sending winger Pete Clifton over in the
corner for an unconverted try. Longton added two further tries from
Wilson and Rawlings, both of which were converted, before Hereford
registered their only score of the game. Richard Preece put in a
fierce tackle on a Longton ball carrier which freed the ball for Ali
McColl to gather and sprint through the defence. A well timed pass to
Matt Pritchard who transferred to Charlie Loughman who was able to
cross under the posts, Richard Rees added the conversion. Before the
interval the home side added a further converted try from Scott
Rawlings to give them a half time lead of 26 points to seven. The second half continued in similar vein and despite the valiant efforts of the Hereford pack, who for long periods contained the heavier Longton forwards, the home team added four further converted tries from Hallam, Brogan, Wilson and Healey giving them a bonus point win by fifty four points to seven. The team never gave up and were trying right to the end. They will not meet such a strong side in their run in to the season end and with six home matches to come the season should end up on a high note. |
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| SATURDAY 5 MARCH 2011 - HEREFORD 26 - 15 OLD NORTHAMPTONIANS | ||
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Old Northamptonians kicked off and
immediately their lively backs put Hereford under pressure and after 5
minutes Hereford were penalised for obstruction and Alex Rose landed
the kick to give the visitors a three point lead. Shortly afterwards
Hereford had their first chance when Adam Knight followed up his own
kick ahead and handed on to Perry Pudge who was unable to take the
pass. The home side were soon under pressure again and Gareth Miles
was shown a yellow card for retaliation. On thirteen minutes Old
Northamptonians added to their lead when centre James Hayden broke a
tackle and crossed for a try which was converted by Alex Rose. The
Hereford pack began to dominate the set pieces and during a period of
concerted pressure the visitors line was crossed on two occasions but
the ball could not be touched down. After 30 minutes Andy Potter drove
over for the first Hereford try which was converted by Richie Rees.
Shortly before the interval Potter picked up from a scrum close to the
visitors line, handed on to scrum half Dan Phillips who crossed in the
corner for Richie Rees to convert from a difficult angle. Half time
arrived with Hereford holding a well deserved 14-10 lead. The Hereford pack continued to dominate possession with Jamie Bullock and Richard Preece getting good lineout ball and a number of scrimmage balls taken against the head. Ali McColl crossed the line but was held up before another forward drive ended with Andy Potter touching down for his second try, Richie Rees again landed the conversion kick. The visitors came back into the game and after several lineouts and scrums near the Hereford line some indiscipline resulted in a penalty allowing the home side to clear their lines. Kieram Hallam, who otherwise had an excellent game showed dissent and was sent to the touchline for ten minutes. While Hereford were a man short Sam Howes took the opportunity for Old Northamptonians to score their second try which was not converted. Richie Rees narrowly missed with a penalty attempt and shortly before the end visitors lock Rhys Hughes was shown a yellow card. To finish a successful day with a winning bonus point the Hereford pack drove over the line for Dan Phillips to touch down for his second try and the team’s fourth. Richie Rees was unable to add the extra points. This was a performance which was not error free by any means but it was a performance of great character. This was not a pretty win but it was the result of hard work, courage, at times resolute defence and not a little skill. If this form continues we will surely avoid relegation. |
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| SATURDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2011 - KENILWORTH 34 - 10 HEREFORD | ||
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Kenilworth won this match between fellow
strugglers by a quite comprehensive scoreline contributed to by
unforced errors on the part of Hereford players. Within three minutes
of the kick off Kenilworth took the lead when they were awarded a
penalty for offside at the ruck in front of the Hereford posts. The
Hereford pack won a good share of ball but after thirteen minutes
Kenilworth increased their lead when their right wing crossed in the
corner for an unconverted try. Hereford were reduced to 14 men after
20 minutes when Ben Hillstead was shown yellow for an offence in the
tackle. Kenilworth increased their lead further before the interval
when from a short lineout on halfway they initiated a run down the
wing and a pass inside resulted in one of their centres crashing
through some poor defence. The try was converted taking the interval
score to 15 points to nil. Hereford had won plenty of ball but kicked
away much of their possession, often poorly. The second half started badly when Kenilworth secured the ball from the kick off and set up a ruck. They laid back the ball and their out half spotting a gap in the visitors defence put in a well judged kick for a centre to follow up to score easily. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful from a difficult angle. After Dean Powell had missed with an attempt from a penalty, a driving maul from mid field fed the backs and Perry Pudge was able to squeeze in at the corner for Hereford. Dean Powell was unsuccessful with the difficult conversion attempt. Once again Hereford conceded a score shortly after scoring themselves. Another well judged kick ahead from the home out half was fumbled by a Hereford player and with the defensive cover missing a Kenilworth wing ran in a try near the posts which the kicker had no trouble in converting. To their credit the visitors never gave up and after 73 minutes a driving maul from a line out enabled the pack to drive over for Andy Potter to touch down for an unconverted try. Kenilworth completed the scoring when a Hereford attack broke down and a break from inside their own half resulted in a clear run in for the final try converted from in front of the posts to take the final score to 34 points to 10. This was a disappointing result for Hereford littered with unforced errors. There were however a number of promising individual performances, Andy Potter had another good game in the second row of the scrum and scrum half Dan Phillips whose performances have been steadily improving was named as Hereford’s “man of the match”. |
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| SATURDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2011 - SCUNTHORPE 20 - 10 HEREFORD | ||
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This was a disappointing result for a
Hereford side visiting fellow strugglers Scunthorpe. The visitors were
in contact right until the last minute when a penalty goal finally
sealed a win for Scunthorpe. The Hereford side battled gamely
particularly after outhalf Dean Powell had received a red card early
in the second half for an offence committed after the referee had
blown for a scrum in favour of Hereford. Richie Rees was forced to
leave the field shortly before half time due to an “off the ball
incident” and Skipper Gareth Miles retired and had several stitches
inserted into a head wound the result of an accidental clashing of
heads. Hereford started the game brightly and went ahead in the first minute when Dean Powell landed a penalty goal. The Scunthorpe pack exerted pressure on the Hereford line and number 8 Dave Garbett drove over for a try after 13 minutes which was converted by Karl Clayton, For the remainder of the first half the exchanges were hotly contested and both sides lost a player to the bin Matt Pritchard for Hereford and Callum Davies for Scunthorpe. The half ended with the home side leading by 10 points to 3 and with Richie Rees leaving the field to be replaced by Owen Lawrence. Play in the second half continued to be end to end until Dean Powell was red carded. This seemed to galvanise the Hereford pack who took play to the Scunthorpe line and forced an offence at the break down leading to a yellow card for Scunthorpe’s Karl Clayton. The visitors maintained the pressure and Andy Potter was driven over for a try which Kieram Hallam converted. With the scores level at 10 points each Hereford continued to have the better of exchanges until hooker Gareth Miles had to leave the field resulting in a total reshuffle of the pack. The Hereford team defended soundly but eventually the extra man told and sustained pressure from Scunthorpe ended when Rewitt Valmoso crossed in the seventy second minute for Mark Willard to convert. Scunthorpe finally sealed their victory and cost Hereford a losing bonus point when Mark Woollard landed a penalty goal shortly before the final whistle. Hereford should take a lot from this game, the resilience of the whole team when competing a man short for the last thirty minutes, the determined defence all match and a pack which held its own even after the reshuffle of the front row. |
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| SATURDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2011 - HEREFORD 29 - 5 BURTON | ||
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Hereford started off this their first
home game for over 2 months by putting the Burton defence under
pressure from the kick off. Burton lost their hooker Dan Clarke for
ten minutes in the bin within minutes of the start and after 4 minutes
a driving maul by the Hereford pack allowed scrum half Dan Phillips to
cross for a try which was converted by Dean Powell. After Clarke
returned Burton had their best spell of the match and the Hereford
defence had to be at its best to keep them out. As the half progressed
the Hereford pack regained control and a neat break by Adam Knight
continued by Simon Sabel resulted in Sabel being forced into touch
just short of the Burton line. Following a series of offences at the
scrum the home side was awarded a penalty try by the referee to which
Dean Powell added the extra points and Hereford changed ends with a
half time lead of 14 points. Early in the second half a Burton infringement at the breakdown resulted in Dean Powell landing a penalty goal. Hereford made a number of substitutions they continued to press the Burton defence and after 60 minutes Charlie Loughman crossed wide out for a try which Dean Powell was unable to convert. During the final quarter Burton indiscipline led to two further yellow cards whilst Hereford also lost Andy Potter for ten minutes. With less than 10 minutes to go Hereford earned a winning bonus point with their fourth try. The Hereford pack drove to the Burton line and Dan Phillips plunged over for his second try of the game, Dean Powell converted to give Hereford a 29 points to 0 lead. With barely a minute left in the match Burton’s Joe Gazzard ran in a consolation try which went unconverted. The final score was 27 points to 5 and Hereford had gained their first home win of the season and moved two places up in the league placings. This was a much improved performance from Hereford. The forwards had the better of both scrums and lineouts providing a steady supply of good ball for the backs. In the lineout the added option provided by the return of Matt Pritchard was used to advantage and the return to fitness of Adam Knight allowed Perry Pudge to move to the wing where he had his best performance to date. The defensive play was good but there is still a tendency for poorly judged kicks in attack. All in all this was a good performance and will provide confidence for the ongoing battle to avoid relegation. |
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| SATURDAY 22 JANUARY 2011 - BROMSGROVE 38 - 7 HEREFORD | ||
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Hereford put in a much improved
performance when visiting top of the table Bromsgrove on Saturday.
Once again unforced errors cost them dearly. The pack won a good share
of ball and generally the team’s defensive play was of a high
standard. However, a lack of finishing power wasted the territorial
advantage they enjoyed particularly in the second half. Within five minutes of the kick off both sides had scored tries, firstly Hereford in a good attacking position in the Bromsgrove 22 had a speculative pass picked off by Adrian Hales who ran the length of the field to give the home side an early lead. John Critchlow added the extra points. A few minutes later Hereford were again pressing in the Bromsgrove 22 when a defender turned over the ball for Charlie Loughman to cross for a try which Dean Powell converted with an excellent kick from the touch line. During the rest of the first half Bromsgrove enjoyed plenty of possession but the visitors defence was determined and they had to be satisfied with just one penalty goal and a converted try to take a lead of 17 – 7 to the interval. Shortly before half time Hereford crossed the line, only to be called back for a forward pass. Hereford pressured the Bromsgrove defence throughout the second half, the forwards winning good ball and the backs creating a number of good chances which they could not finish. Bromsgrove had limited second half opportunities but finished three of them for further tries with the help of a couple of defensive errors by the visitors and ran out winners by 38 points to 7. There were a number of promising signs in the Hereford performance, The line outs were well managed, Harry Jenkins took a couple of scrums against the head, the backs created plenty of chances and Gary Preece starting at scrum half for the first time this season was man of the match material. If only we could finish. |
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| SATURDAY 8 JANUARY 2011 - SHEFFIELD TIGERS 45 - 9 HEREFORD | ||
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On Saturday Hereford made the journey to
Sheffield for only their second game since the 20 November 2010 and on
a bitterly cold day went down to a comprehensive defeat. Hereford
started strongly and for the whole of the first half remained in touch
with their northern rivals. Their defence was dogged spoilt only by
three errors which each unfortunately resulted in a try for the
Tigers. Hereford were kept in the game by landing three of a series of
penalties gained by forward pressure on the home defence. Dean Powell
landed two and the other was slotted by Richie Rees. Half time came
with a score in favour of the home team of 19 points to 9. Shortly after the break skipper Gareth Miles was forced to leave the pitch suffering with an eye problem arising from a bang on the head early in the game. Owen Lawrence a back row player came on as a replacement and the resulting reshuffle of the Hereford pack saw Jamie Bullock join the front row. Throughout the second half the strong Sheffield pack made their presence felt and four tries were added to their total, two for pick and drive movements and the others from push overs from their trade mark driving mauls. To their credit despite the loss of skipper Miles, a yellow card for Billy Sparey and an unrelenting freezing wind the Hereford side never gave up and continued to try to open the game up. Next week when they entertain Broadstreet it is hoped that they can return to the form which gave them the great win at Peterborough |
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| SATURDAY 11 DECEMBER 2010 - PETERBOROUGH 0 - 22 HEREFORD | ||
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Hereford made a strong dynamic start to
this their first game for three weeks and immediately had the home
pack on the back foot. This was their best performance to date but ill
discipline was a concern and caused a high penalty count against both
sides. Hereford opened their account with a try for Simon Sabel
following a forward drive covering twenty metres. Dean Powell added
the two points and kicked a penalty to take the score to 10 – 0 by
half time. The Hereford pack had dominated the set pieces throughout,
winning well over their share of possession and spending the majority
of the half in Peterborough territory. Hereford opened the second half in similar vein taking several scrums against the head and pinching balls from a number of Peterborough lineouts. Their defence throughout the game was exemplary. After 70 minutes Charlie Loughman followed up his own kick ahead to touch down for an unconverted try. Minutes later Dean Powell placed a neat kick ahead into the path of Charlie Loughman who crossed for his second try to which Dean Powell added the conversion. In the dying minutes more indiscipline resulted in a couple of Peterborough players and Hereford’s Ali McColl being shown yellow cards. All in all this was a grand performance and after the game Chief Coach Mark Harris said how proud he was of his team particularly the determination they were showing to turn the corner. The poor weather had caused the cancellation of games and most of their training sessions had been held indoors. He emphasised that next week for the visit of Luton we need massive home support to help gain vital points to assist in moving out of the relegation zone. |
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| SATURDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2010 - HEREFORD 16 - 43 LONGTON | ||
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Hereford started this game with the
league leaders in fine style and after Longton missed with a penalty
attempt Richie Rees slotted over a penalty to give Hereford an eighth
minute lead. End to end play continued with Hereford giving as good as
they got but had the misfortune to concede a try five minutes later,
the Longton kicker adding the extra points. The Hereford pack secured
a good share of ball against a much bigger pack and the pressure
resulted two further penalties landed by Richie Rees and another
attempt which narrowly missed. The Hereford defensive lapses showed
once again and two further tries, one of which was converted were
leaked before half time. The Hereford pack performed valiantly all
game, with Harry Jenkins, Ali McColl and Jamie Bullock leading the
side in the absence due to a shoulder injury to skipper Gareth Miles
particularly showing up well. Hereford crossed over 9 points to 19 down and brought on Ben Hillstead for only his third appearance of the season. The play remained even but defensive errors allowed Longton to add two further tries to their total and with twenty minutes left flanker Luke Clifford received a red card for an alleged stamping offence. Charlie Loughman and Dan Lewis had been substituted for James Watters and Will Watkins and to the credit of the Hereford team no heads dropped and Richie Rees scored a grand try with quarter of an hour to go. Richie converted his own try but the effort of playing with a man short began to tell and when Ben Hillstead was yellow carded the last ten minutes was played with only thirteen. Longton completed their scoring with two converted tries within the final minutes of the game to run out winners by 43 points to 16. However, the Hereford side gave the league leaders some anxious moments particularly in the first half. If they can reproduce this form and tighten up their defence the playing record will quickly improve. |
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| SATURDAY 13 NOVEMBER 2010 - OLD NORTHAMPTONIANS 54 - 10 HEREFORD | ||
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On their first visit to Old
Northamptonians, Hereford were again on the wrong end of a heavy
defeat. The conditions were perfect for open rugby and both sides
tried to play running rugby. The Hereford pack won a good share of
ball but once again defence let the city side down. Old Northamptonians opened the scoring in the first minute of the game when the ball was transferred quickly across the field to the right wing who found plenty of space to cross in the corner. Alex Rose the home side’s out half converted with an excellent kick from a difficult angle, Rose in fact had a field day converting seven of his teams eight tries many from wide out. Seven minutes later Old Northamptonians registered their second try this time in the left hand corner. After Dean Powell had narrowly missed with a penalty attempt Hereford exerted pressure on the home defence and Sean Day made a determined run to score an unconverted try after fifteen minutes. The next twenty minutes saw Hereford leak three tries and Ali McColl sidelined for ten minutes for an obstruction offence. The half time interval saw the score at 31 points to 5. The second half saw the home side continue to get the ball wide quickly on every possible occasion and they were unlucky not to score when they knocked forward several times when a try seemed certain. Ten minutes into the second half Old Northamptonians scored their sixth try, again converted by Rose before Simon Sabel gave Hereford their second try after a good passing movement. Hereford had made several substitutions by this time and the city side suffered a number of injuries, Kieram Hallam, Brad Talbot and Matt Evans having to leave the field and Sean Day who was limping badly managed to remain on until the final whistle. The Northampton side ran in two further tries both of which were converted to make the final scoreline 54 points to 10. The Hereford side suffered again from poor defensive alignment leading to missed tackles and committing too many bodies to the ruck, their opponents seemed always able to create two to one situations from the breakdown. |
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| SATURDAY 30 OCTOBER 2010 - HEREFORD 30 - 33 KENILWORTH | ||
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In a game riddled with error from both
sides Hereford lost further ground on fellow strugglers Kenilworth.
Kenilworth’s Adam Canning and Hereford’s Dean Powell exchanged penalties in the early minutes of the game before Sean Day completed an excellent three-quarter movement by crossing in the corner for a good try which was converted by Dean Powell. After 15 minutes Hereford conceded a penalty which was taken quickly by Kenilworth but in successfully defending the attack Hereford gave away a penalty under the posts and Canning duly added 3 more points. Hereford at this stage were in control of the game and shortly after Matt Evans ran in a well worked try, Dean Powell added the extra points from a narrow angle. Indiscipline was responsible for Hereford skipper Gareth Miles spending 10 minutes in the bin and during this time Kenilworth reduced the arrears with a try from Gareth Renowden converted by out-half Canning and a further converted try from Jack Gibson. Just before the interval a promising Hereford handling movement was halted by a forward pass and the teams changed over with Kenilworth leading by just three points. Five minutes into the second half the Kenilworth scrum half was consigned to ten minutes in the bin and Hereford took advantage of the extra man to win a lineout for Liam Herbert to hand on to Gareth Miles who crashed over in the corner, Dean Powell missed the difficult conversion attempt. Dean Powell added a further penalty before the ball was spread wide for Matt Evans to get his second try, Powell again missed to convert from a narrow angle. Hereford now pressed the self destruct button and a number of movements were spoilt by loose passing which ended with Kenilworth wing Alex Wallis intercepting a Hereford pass to run in a try from twenty five yards which Canning converted. Canning also landed a further penalty before in the final minutes dropping a goal to give Kenilworth a three point victory. Once more unforced error, poor decision making and the inability to close a game out cost Hereford a game they could have won, but which neither side really played well enough to deserve a win. |
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| SATURDAY 23 OCTOBER 2010 - BURTON 18 - 19 HEREFORD | ||
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Hereford rugby club travelled to Burton
on Saturday with renewed hope and set about the task of improving upon
a disappointing start with a will. The early passages of play were
fairly even with Hereford getting a good share of possession. After 12
minutes Burton number 8 Joel Booth was shown a yellow card for an
offence at the breakdown but Dean Powell failed to give the visitors
the lead with the penalty attempt. Burton with a depleted team for ten
minutes kept their line intact, in fact during that time they
engineered an unconverted try for flank forward Grocott. A few minutes
later a missed tackle allowed winger Dave Archer to cross in the
corner for another try, the conversion attempt was wide. For the
remainder of the half Burton retained control and the only gleam of
hope for Hereford seemed to be a narrowly missed penalty attempt from
Dean Powell and it seemed that the sad start to the season was set to
continue. The score at the interval was 10 – 0 in favour of the home
team. The second half was another story. Hereford started full of life and exerted pressure on the Burton line which culminated in a well worked try for Kieram Hallam after 5 minutes of the second half which was converted by Dean Powell. Hereford continued to pressurise the Burton defence with Brad Talbot starting a first XV game for the first time showing up well. Some good work by the Hereford pack down the right hand touchline ended with Jamie Bullock, who had an excellent game in the front row, crossing for Hereford’s second try. Dean Powell narrowly missed the conversion from wide out but the visitors now had a narrow lead. This lead was short lived as Burton came back into the game and Daryl Barton who had just come off the bench dropped a neat goal. Minutes later Dave Archer ran in his second try of the game in the corner which Barton was unable to improve. The Hereford team now showed the resolve that had been missing in previous games and put the home team under intense pressure. The pressure told and the Burton side were penalised a number of times until finally Joel Booth received a second yellow card which was promptly followed by a red one. Hereford continued the pressure and Burton continued to offend at the breakdown until the referee lost patience and awarded Hereford a well deserved penalty try which Dean Powell converted and the final whistle followed. This was by far Hereford’s best performance of the season to date, not just because of the win but because of the manner of it. They spent a good deal of the game behind on the scoreboard but never once did the heads drop and the will to win was maintained right to the end. In the second half in particular the ball was recycled much quicker, the ball moved wide more frequently and the defence was more secure, The squad will take a deal of confidence from this performance and a number of the younger players will have added valuable experience at this level including “Man of the Match” Talbot, Matt Evans and James Costelloe. |
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| SATURDAY 16 OCTOBER 2010 - SOUTH LEICESTER 59 - 15 HEREFORD | ||
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Hereford started well and for an hour
played some of their best football of the season. The forwards got
plenty of ball and the backs were constantly threatening the South
Leicester line. However the last 20 minute syndrome struck again and
42 points were leaked to allow the home side to emerge the victors by
a margin of 44 points, much their best win of the season to date. Pressure by the Hereford pack in the first few minutes set up the opportunity for Richard Rees to open the scoring, a penalty conceded with an offence at the scrimmage. Shortly afterwards South Leicester opened their account, after winning quick ball from the loose, with a try from centre Nick Childs which was converted by Mark Lord. At this stage Hereford were more than holding their own and after 12 minutes they received their reward when Jamie Bullock was driven over for a try. Further end to end play ensued until shortly before half time Richard Rees narrowly missed with a long range penalty before the South Leicester out half landed a penalty and a second Nick Childs try was converted to increase the home lead to 9 points at the interval. The early stages of the second half were again closely contested until a try by winger Matt Fisher who was able to run the length of the field assisted by some ineffectual tackling took the South Leicester lead to 16 points after 62 minutes. Things now went from bad to worse as the home side ran in 5 tries all of which were converted in a period of less than 15 minutes. The frustration in the Hereford ranks now began to show and skipper Gareth Miles was shown a yellow card for a punch before some intensive pressure from the pack gained Hereford a penalty try and Richard Rees slotted the conversion to take the score to 59 – 15. Yet again poor tackling contributed to the Hereford downfall. The pack gained a good supply of ball but again the supply was slow and the play rarely went beyond two phases. Once again there were a number of good individual performances. Liam Herbert and Jamie Bullock in the pack were frequently prominent, Sean Day was his usual all-action self and Richard Rees is improving as the season progresses. We shall get a result shortly if only the standard of play can be maintained for the full eighty minutes. |
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| SATURDAY 9 OCTOBER 2010 - HEREFORD 15 - 39 BROMSGROVE | ||
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Another familiar story of unforced error
letting down a spirited performance that was nearly successful. Early
in the game Billy Sparey was yellow carded and Bromsgrove slotted the
resulting penalty to take the lead in the 5th minute. Bromsgrove
exerted pressure on the Hereford line and eventually Bromsgrove
crossed for the first try, the conversion attempt was successful. Some
good forward play by the Hereford pack resulted in a narrowly missed
penalty attempt from Richard Rees before a strong run from Liam
Herbert gained the opportunity for another unsuccessful penalty
attempt. With five minutes of the first half to go Gareth Miles made a
break which Perry Pudge carried on and placed a well judged kick ahead
for Keiram Hallam following up to touch down for an unconverted try
wide out. Within minutes Bromsgrove restored their 10 point lead when
an enterprising back movement helped by a number of missed tackles
resulted in an unconverted try in the corner. On half time a
Bromsgrove player received a yellow card for an offence at the ruck
and Richard Rees slotted the resulting penalty. Within minutes of the second half Hereford had drawn level and were playing better than at any time this season. A Richard Preece tackle dislodged the ball from a Bromsgrove hand, the ever alert Sean Day seized on the ball and crossed for a try which Richard Rees converted. Then we went to sleep, Bromsgrove with a converted try and a penalty took a ten point lead within ten minutes. Two further Bromsgrove tries one of which was converted took them to a 24 point victory. |
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| SATURDAY 2 OCTOBER 2010 - BROADSTREET 36 - 5 HEREFORD | ||
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Hereford’s troubled start to the season
continued at Coventry when the visit to Broadstreet resulted in injury
to two key players and ended in a 36 points to 5 defeat. Skipper and
hooker Gareth Miles was forced to leave the field after just 25
minutes with a serious hand injury and scrum half Billy Grisman making
his first appearance of the season succumbed after 36 minutes with a
reoccurrence of his ankle injury. These two influential players were
sorely missed and the growing injury list will pose selection problems
in the coming weeks. After twenty minutes of end to end football the home team took the lead when they won a lineout close to the Hereford line and drove over for an unconverted try. Hooker Miles left the field to be replaced by Dave Thomas and, shortly after this, concerted Broadstreet pressure on the Hereford line and ball retention through several phases resulted in a second unconverted try. On the half hour Hereford had their first good chance to score when scrum half Grisman made an interception inside the Hereford half to run fifty yards before being caught just metres from the Broadstreet line, Hereford were slow to follow up and Broadstreet cleared their lines. They once again applied pressure resulting in them taking a ball against the head and after a series of pick and drive from the forwards crossed for a try which their outside half converted. The home side were now in control and after going through a number of phases from half way, a break through the centre resulted in a converted try. Billy Grisman limped off to be replaced by Matt Hallett making his first team debut. The half time score remained at 24 – 0. Hereford improved and had more of the play in the second half despite conceding two further tries one of which was converted and losing Jamie Bullock for ten minutes, yellow carded for a trip. The home side were given some uncomfortable moments before Hereford opened their scoring with a well worked try. After losing a scrum they won the ball back and a nicely judged kick ahead from Richard Rees was followed up smartly by Perry Pudge to pick up close to the line and to cross for an unconverted try. Hereford continued to press during the remaining quarter of an hour during which time an altercation between forwards resulted in yellow cards for Ali McColl and his opposite number. Once again the Hereford pack obtained parity in the set pieces but were rarely able to recycle quickly enough to retain the ball for more than one phase. Generally the defensive play was improved but the occasional lapse proved once again very costly. On a brighter note Matt Evans made a promising first team debut and Liam Herbert making his first appearance this season had an excellent game. |
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| SATURDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 2010 - HEREFORD 3 - 20 SHEFFIELD TIGERS | ||
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In perfect conditions for open rugby
Hereford kicked off into a light breeze. The opening exchanges were
fairly even and Hereford missed the first chance to open the scoring
when Dean Powell was wide with a long range effort after 5 minutes. On
9 minutes Sheffield lost a man for 10 minutes when number 8 Nick
Pearson was yellow carded for foul play. Hereford were unable to take
advantage of the extra man and Dean Powell was wide with a further
penalty attempt during this period. Play remained end to end with both
defences on top and with both sides committing frequent and unforced
errors. Just before half time Callum McKenzie scored a try wide out
after picking up possession from a loose Hereford pass. The conversion
attempt was unsuccessful and Sheffield finished the first half leading
by 5 points to nil. At half time an injury to Jez Grisman saw him
replaced by Eric Rabuka. Early in the second half Sheffield increased their lead when a hole appeared in the Hereford defence for out half Joe Wright to cross under the posts.for a try which he converted himself. Hereford made a couple of substitutions, Owen Lawrence for Richard Preece and Billy Sparey for Sam Bishop. On fifty five minutes Hereford finally got onto the scoreboard when Dean Powell was successful with a penalty attempt. Hereford livened up their game for a while but it came to naught when skipper Gareth Miles was yellow carded with 15 minutes to go and Sheffield increased their lead with a penalty from Joe Wright. In the final minutes of the game Sheffield completed the scoring with a nicely worked try from full back Jon Feeley in the corner, the conversion attempt failed and the game ended with a 20 points to 3 win for Sheffield Tigers. The Hereford back division was lacking in penetration and following a four try haul at Luton last week it was disappointing that at no time during this game was the Sheffield line threatened. |
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| SATURDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2010 - LUTON 49 - 27 HEREFORD | ||
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Hereford kicked off in bright sunlight
against a strong wind and were soon in trouble when they conceded a
penalty at the line out from which the Luton out half hit the
crossbar. Shortly after, following a penalty for offside at the scrum,
Luton opened the scoring with an unconverted try. After 8 minutes
Hereford had their first opportunity to score when Goodall was just
short with a long range penalty attempt. Following a period of fairly
even play Hereford achieved a good attacking position just outside the
Luton 22 when a careless pass allowed Luton out half Chris Meehan to
make an interception to run the length of the field for a try which he
converted himself. Almost immediately from the kick off Luton made a
turnover from loose play inside the Hereford 22 for their winger to
kick ahead and their scrum half to touch down wide out for a converted
try. In the 23rd minute Hereford opened their scoring with a penalty
from Goodall when Luton offended at the breakdown after a penetrating
break by Perry Pudge. Hereford now enjoyed a better period and a
determined run by Morgan Goodall was halted close to the Luton line,
the ball ran loose and Keiram Hallam following up in support was able
to touch down wide out for an unconverted try. Luton came back within
2 minutes when winger Kenny broke away from half way to cross for a
converted try. Shortly before half time a Hereford handling movement
involving the threequarters and Matt Pritchard resulted in a try from
James Watters which Goodall converted. The final action of the first
half saw Goodall narrowly miss with a penalty attempt from half way to
leave the score at the interval at 26 – 15. For the restart Hereford substituted Ben Probert for Sam Bishop and Sean Day for James Watters. Luton kicked off and an injudicious kick ahead gave Luton possession from which they added to their lead when Hereford were penalised for not retiring in the ruck. Luton were now in the ascendancy and building on several phases of possession put their winger over in the corner for an unconverted try. Just two minutes later a Luton handling movement helped by a number of missed Hereford tackles resulted in a try under the posts which was converted to take the score to 41 – 15. The Hereford pack set about improving the situation and after a series of pick and drive phases Will Watkins drove over for a try which Morgan Goodall converted. Luton converted a penalty awarded for an offence at the break down for which Ben Probert received 10 minutes in the sinbin. Despite being a man down the Hereford pack continued to put pressure on the Luton eight and won a penalty close to the Luton line from which scrum half Simon Sabel scored an opportunist tap and go try. After 76 minutes Luton completed the scoring when a relieving kick on the Hereford line was charged down and their forwards drove over from the ensuing ruck. The conversion kick dropped short and the final score was 49 – 27. Yet another tale of what might have been for the Hereford team. Four tries and 27 points would often be a winning score but a profusion of penalties conceded, careless mistakes and poor decision making took their toll. Despite this there were some optimistic signs, the forwards more than held their own, Simon Sabel making his first appearance at scrum half for the senior team had an excellent game and four good tries earned a bonus point. This is a side with a lot of talent and will certainly get better results as the season progresses. |
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| SATURDAY 11 SEPTEMBER 2010 - HEREFORD 22 - 25 PETERBOROUGH | ||
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In perfect conditions for open rugby,
the home team started the game very well with several quick rucks and
offloads at the breakdown. Following several phases, with backs
linking with forwards the home side took to the lead, with winger
Morgan Goodall scoring out wide on the left wing after 6 minutes.
Peterborough then took control of the game with some deep penetrating
kicks near the Hereford try line. From one of these kicks Hereford
were forced to concede a five metre line out. The away team pack then
set up a rolling maul from where the prop Cade drove over the line,
scrum half Hogan converting the try. The home team continued to
struggle to clear the ball from their own 22 metre area. As a result
of this pressure Hereford conceded a penalty which Hogan converted.
Hereford went further in arrears when another in field stray kick
resulted in the winger Goodley diving over in the corner. Goodall then
reduced the deficit for the home team with a 40 metre penalty
following a Peterborough infringement at a ruck. However Peterborough
then increased their lead when full back Chan burst through the home
defence from an attacking line out, with Hogan kicking the conversion. In the second half Hereford introduced their three replacements, prop Ben Hillstead, second row Richard Preece and centre Eric Rabuka. This seemed to increase the tempo of the home team's play and Hereford had the majority of the possession in the half. Hereford created several chances but were thwarted by last ditch tackles near the try line. Hereford did break the line after 20 minutes when winger James Watters burst through the defensive line to score near the posts to set up a tense finish. The home team closed the gap further with two more long range successful penalties from Morgan with 15 minutes left in the game. However Prop Hilstead was then yellow carded for an infingment at the ruck and Hogan kicked the penalty to increase Peterborough's lead. Goodall did kick another 40 metre penalty but time ran out for the home team to gain one more score. Next week Hereford travel to Luton who have also lost their first two league games of the season. |
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| SATURDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2010 - NEWPORT (SALOP) 36 - 20 HEREFORD | ||
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On Saturday Hereford Rugby Club opened
their league season with a visit to Newport Salop. In perfect
conditions for open rugby Hereford opened the scoring in the second
minute of the game. From the kick off Matt Pritchard regained
possession and a handling movement involving forwards and backs led to
last years skipper crashing over for the first try of the season.
Morgan Goodall secured the extra points. Early in the game Hereford
lost the services of influential centre Adam Knight with a knee injury
he was replaced by Richie Rees. Hereford continued to control the game
until an injudicious kick ahead, after a clean line out take by
Richard Preece, presented possession to the lively set of Newport
backs. On thirteen minutes Newport levelled the scores with a
converted try. At this stage Hereford continued to have the better of
things and when Newport were penalised for an offence at the scrum
Morgan Goodall narrowly missed restoring a Hereford lead. With
seventeen minutes gone a good run by Perry Pudge was carried on by
Morgan Goodall and the lead was restored when Will Watkins crossed for
a try, converted by Goodall. A good break from the back of the scrum
by number 8 Andrew Potter came to nothing when an attacking kick ahead
went straight into touch. Mid way through the second half Hereford
conceded a penalty which took Newport back in touch and although
shortly after Goodall kicked his second penalty, before half time
Hereford conceded two further kickable penalties which reduced the
interval lead to just one point. Early in the second half Newport took the lead for the first time in the match when Hereford offended at the break down. Hereford’s game became hurried and was characterised by a number of unforced errors which handed the momentum to their opponents. A promising handling movement came to naught when another poor kick ahead gave up possession. Shortly after Hereford lost their own lineout and Newport capitalised on the error to score their second try which remained unconverted. Sam Bishop came off the bench to replace Ben Probert in the front row. Jamie Bullock was shown a yellow card for an offence at the break down, the resulting penalty was kicked to the corner and their forwards drove the ball over the Hereford line wide out for an unconverted try. Morgan Goodall took his personal tally to ten points when he converted a penalty taking the score to 29 - 20 in favour of Newport. With Bullock’s ten minutes in the bin over Ali McColl replaced him in the second row. Hereford set up some driving mauls and looked good to come back into the game when a pass was intercepted in midfield and Newport ran the length of the field for their fourth try, which was converted from in front of the posts. In the dying minutes Newport were penalised, Goodall put in a good kick into the corner and Hereford won the ball, but turned over possession with another penalty offence allowing Newport to clear their lines. The game might have had a different ending had the Hereford team made fewer errors, but Newport are a hard team to beat on their own patch. The performance of the Hereford team showed a lot of promise and if some of the errors are eliminated a good season can be anticipated. |
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