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| COLTS - 2010/11 FIXTURES AND RESULTS (HRFC SCORE SHOWN FIRST) |
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| MATCH REPORTS | ||
| SUNDAY 8 MAY 2011 - HEREFORD 10 - 5 MOSELEY | ||
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Hereford Colts rounded off a magnificent
season on Sunday by beating Moseley to win the prestigious North
Midlands Colts Cup in a fine display of rugby. Hereford were always
the underdogs having lost 20 - 10 only last week to Moseley in the
North Midlands League final and with Moseley aiming for the double
Hereford knew they had to change their game plan to win. Hereford won
the toss and elected to play into the strong wind in the first half.
The first 10 minutes were very close until a couple of quick ball
turnovers allowed Moseley centre Ryan Miller to show good hands to
offload in the tackle for left wing Josh Wyatt to score out wide. From
the restart Hereford regained the ball and set the tone for the rest
of the half by dominating the close play with strong running by
flanker Toby Razvi and front rows James Parker and Brad Talbot but
crucially were not able to consistently pressure the Moseley line, who
used the wind well to gain yardage and with the Hereford lineout still
not working well they took 50% of the Hereford lineout ball. Shortly
before half time Hereford lost their hooker Scott Robinson for
retaliation after an incident on the floor and went into half time
pleased to be only 5 0 down but with 14 men. Hereford now with the strong wind behind them started to move the ball wider with smooth interplay between centres Tom Ewins and Jake Smithers making good yardage and providing quick ball started to put consistent pressure on the Moseley line leading to Moseley Hooker James Bailie being sinned binned for stamping while trying to stop a Hereford drive. Hereford now back to full strength picked and drove Moseley to their 5 metre line and from a resultant Hereford scrum a well worked move by fly half Ben Osborne and scrum half Connor Sullivan allowed Sullivan to exploit the extra man and go through the defence to level the score with 15 minutes still to go. Moseley with their hooker only just back on lost their scrum half David Mott to the sin bin for cynically killing the ball on a Hereford drive. Hereford now sensed their opportunity turn over the form books and from a lineout just inside the Moseley 22 metre line caught and drove to 10 metres from the line before picking and driving again to set up a maul to drive powerfully over the line and Brad Talbot to come up smiling for the try. Hereford now with the lead for the first time ever against Moseley needed to hang on for 5 minutes. Moseley rallied massively like the class side they are and in series of moves pressurised the Hereford line for possibly the first time in the second period and broke through the Hereford defence in the midfield and a desperate last tackle by Hereford wing Fin Ralph stopped them on the 5 metre line, before they gave quick ball to go wide right and the other Hereford wing Chris Bradford came in and took man and ball and knock on but to nullify the 2 on 1 he was against. The resulting scrum to Moseley on the five metre line was called last play by the referee Fraser Colley. In a show of their forward dominance Hereford took the ball against the head leading to Moseley putting their hand into try to win the ball. The resulting penalty to Hereford was kicked into touch by Fin Ralph ending the game and winning the cup and with so many of their careers in colts rugby. Ben Osborne at fly half follows in the footsteps of his brother Colin Osborne in winning the North Midlands Colts Cup. Colin was part of the team who beat Luctonians 3 v 0 in 2002-3 season which was the last time Hereford won this trophy. Both brothers are part of the Osborne rugby dynasty including their father Mark Osborne who was part of the very successful Hereford sides on the 1980s. Gus Lowther and Fin Ralph are two of the longest serving players who both started with Hereford at under 8/9s and have played every season since. Hereford Colts won the North Midlands Sunday League and were runners up in the play off last week. Last season they won the North Midlands League and the North Midlands Plate. |
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Back row: Tim Bird (coach),
Jake Rook, Tom Ross, Gus Lowther, Charlie Bird, Matt Walne, Josh
Walker, Fin Ralph, John Watkins (coach), |
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| SUNDAY 17 APRIL 2011 - HEREFORD 47 - 6 DUDLEY KINGSWINFORD | ||
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Hereford earned a place in the North
Midlands Colts Cup Final and set themselves up to possibly win a
league and cup double. Dudley Kingswinford (DK) started well and, after weathering the first five minutes storm by Hereford, managed to kick down field and from the resulting ruck Hereford were penalised for going off their feet and the DKs number 10 Conor Jones took the 3 points. Hereford responded well and after pressurising the restart and turning over the ball Hereford took a number of short pick and drives from which number 8 Brad Talbot crashed over (not converted). DK responded in kind and after kicking for good field position Hereford infringed again wider out but Jones slotted again given the lead back to DK. Hereford finally found their rhythm after this and DKs pack could not contain the Hereford forwards who began to dominate in all areas of the park. Flanker Jake Smithers scored after fly half Ben Osborne exploited the overlap on the blind side of a ruck converted by centre Alex Lane. Talbot scored his second try after good work again by the forwards secured fast ball and Talbot smashed over out wide for Lane to convert. The final try of the half was scored by Osborne playing the advantage after DK where offside at the breakdown, and driving through a half tackle to score under the posts Lane converted leaving the score at the interval 26 v 6. Hereford came out fired up for the second half and in probably the team try of the day from the kick off drove 20m before going left and then right through the backs, leaving them in the DK before going left and being held up just short of the line, and then going wide right when they did not need to use the 2 man overlap but full back Fin Ralph sailed through untouched. Lane converted. After this Hereford rang the changes and brought on a number of subs which left the game a bit disjointed, some very good breaks were made but last passes either did not go or go to hand. Back row Mathew Ashcroft scored a fine solo try after James Parker off loaded from a tackle and Ashcroft broke the net tackle and rounded the DK full back to score Lane converted). The last try of the afternoon was scored after a good break by Lane put Chris Bradford into score out wide and Lane then converted. Final score 47 v 6. Hereford will meet Mosely in the final of both the North Midlands League and the Cup, Hereford will be looking to overturn their early meeting with Moseley when they lost to them in the National Colts Cup 5th round. (Moseley went only just missing out on a final at Franklin Gardens, Northampton) |
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| SUNDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2010 - WHITCHURCH 14 - 29 HEREFORD | ||
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Hereford travelled away to Whitchurch
this Sunday in the National Colts Cup to take on Whitchurch, both
teams not having met before at this age group as they play in Sunday
and Saturday leagues respectively. Both teams struggled with the refs
interpretation on the of the engage timing and after numerous reset
scrums the game started to get some momentum after about 10 minutes
when Hereford put a series of phases together before Aaron Tregasus
came of his left wing to score out on the right after the Hereford
forwards enabled some quick ball and the backs moved it wide to round
the Whitchurch defence. Hereford repeated the move soon after Prop
Dave Hobby made good yardage before Hereford moved the ball wide again
and Tregasus went over again after a good offload by full back Charlie
Bird. Both sides lost a player to the sin bin after a bit of nonsense
hand bagging and during this time Hereford scored again when quick
hands by wing Fin Ralph allowed back row Jake Smithers to crash over,
leaving the score at the interval as 15 v 0 to Hereford. Whitchurch rallied after the break and after kicking for field position they caught and drove from the Hereford 5m line and scored out wide which was converted well in the strong breeze. Hereford responded immediately by taking the kick off and after several phases fly half Ben Osborne gave a delightfully late pass to Alex Lane who danced round the Whitchurch full back to score not far wide of the posts, scrum half Connor Sullivan converted. Hereford scored next after good work by the forwards had them camped on the Whitchurch try line before second row Marcus Ashcroft used his reach to dive over and ground the ball, converted by Sullivan. Whitchurch had the final say and scored out wide after a rumble by their pack put their backs away and the wing went over and the try was given despite their being a doubt over whether it was held up. Final score Hereford 29 v 14 Whitchurch Next week Hereford travel away to Old Halesonians in the N Midalnds Colts league hoping to maintain their unbeaten league status |
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| SUNDAY 14 NOVEMBER 2010 - HEREFORD 32 - 3 WOLVERHAMPTON | ||
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Hereford welcomed the league leaders to
the Wyeside on Sunday and made a massive statement of their desire to
win the league again this year. Hereford started strongly and had all the play for the first 10 minutes and, after four or five close driven balls by the forwards, went wide initially to the right wing and then back through the good hands by Ben Osborne at fly half to put wing Aaron Tregasus over out wide (not converted). Hereford continued to dominate through their forwards who consistently delivered quick ball to the backs particularly centre Tom Ewins who broke through Wolves midfield defence at will. Hereford scored a second try in almost a copy of their first try just going right instead of left and wing Chris Bradford scored out wide (not converted). Hereford hooker Brad Talbot was sin binned for a late tackle and Wolves through their fly half Calum Madren slotted the penalty. Hereford then had to dig deep to keep Wolves out for anymore points while they were down a man, but the resolute defence left the score the same until Talbot came back on. Hereford's third try came after a series of drives by the now dominant Hereford pack and after an initial break by lock Alex Hickinbotham and then prop Dave Hobby before the backs showed good hands again and full back Charlie Bird went over out wide again (not converted) leaving the half time score at 15 v 3 to Hereford. The second half started well for Hereford after the Wolves' backs were offside in front of the posts and scrum half Connor Sullivan slotted the penalty, after which play became scrappy and both sides had players sin binned for stamping and late tackles before Hereford scored the try of the game. Quick ball from a lineout allowed fly half replacement Josh Malinder to put Charlie Bird away for his second try, sailing through the midfield almost untouched to go over under the posts. Alex Lane converted. Hereford's fourth try was scored after prop Brad Talbot made a break showing good pace to go round the Wolves fly half and then offload to the backs and Tom Ewins scored, Alex Lane converted. Final Score Hereford 32 v 3 Wolverhampton Next week Hereford travel away to Whitchurch in the third round of the National Colts Cup |
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| SUNDAY 31 OCTOBER 2010 - HEREFORD 18 - 5 SHREWSBURY | ||
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Top of the league table Hereford
welcomed Shrewsbury to the Wyeside pitches in Hereford, despite being
fifth in the league Shrewsbury proved once again to be very a well
organised and potentially dangerous side. All the early play was with
Shrewsbury pressurising the Hereford line and they should have scored
after Hereford were offside in front of the posts but Shrewsbury
missed the kick. Hereford then put together a series of rolling mauls
and then pick and drives to give them good field position just outside
the Shrewsbury 22m line before the backs showed good hands to get over
the line but the covering tackle dislodged the ball and Shrewsbury
were able to clear their lines after the scrum. Hereford kept up the
pressure and scored through good forward work again and then good
interplay by full back Ben Osborne, and wing Charley Bird who went
over to score just inside the corner flag. The first half ended after
Shrewsbury pressurised the Hereford line after an overthrow inside the
Hereford 22m by Shrewsbury was lapped up by their number 8 who stepped
his way through the defence to score out wide leaving the score at the
break 5 v 5. Hereford came out firing in the second half and scored a penalty when Shrewsbury were penalised for going off their feet at the breakdown, and then after good work by front row Dave Hobby set up a field position from which Brad Talbot crashed through the midfield to score. Hereford continued to dominate and scored again after a series of drives to the line and was finished off by Sullivan making the last couple of meters over the line. |
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| SUNDAY 17 OCTOBER 2010 - HEREFORD 20 - 10 BURTON | ||
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Hereford Colts welcomed Burton to
Wyeside on a gloriously sunny Sunday in the second round of the
National Colts Cup. In front of a large crowd Burton started very
strongly and had all the play for the first 10 minutes, and should
have gone ahead when Hereford midfield defence were offside in front
of the posts but the kick went wide. Hereford realising they had a
game on their hands upped the tempo and excellent work by flanker Tobi
Razvi from the drop out led to Hereford regaining the ball and setting
up a driving maul which Burton illegally brought down to give a
penalty to Hereford who then kicked to the corner of the Burton line.
Hereford won the lineout but could not make headway until a knock on
from Burton gave Hereford a scrum on the 5m line from which number 8
Brad Talbot (captain) picked and passed to scrum half (Connor
Sullivan) who scored under the post and then converted his own try.
Hereford started to dominate the loose play and good breaks by fly
half Alex Lane and full back Charlie Bird were only stopped by last
gasp tackle defence, after which Burton were penalised for going off
their feet at the breakdown and Sullivan slotted the penalty. Burton
had the last say of the half when Hereford were penalised for holding
on the ground leaving the score at the interval at 10 v 3. Burton nearly scored from the first scrum of the half when Hereford defence were caught napping and were only saved a tough tackle from wing Aaron Tregasus. Hereford then lost a player to the sin bin for retaliation and with 14 men maintained the pressure and after several good mauls were camped on the Burton line which eventually resulted in a Hereford scrum from which Talbot and Sullivan repeated their move from the first half and scored under the posts again, converted by Sullivan. Burton in their best play since the opening 10 minutes then marched Hereford back up the field (helped by the high penalty count from Hereford) and after battering the forwards defence for at least 6 phases went wide and their left wing got over in the far corner, which was then converted. Hereford hit straight back with penalty of their own from Sullivan, good defence from centre Tom Ewins who held up a certain try over the line saw Hereford out to the 20 v 10 victory and a journey into the third round when they will play either Whitchurch or Lichfield. |
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| SUNDAY 26 SEPTEMBER 2010 - CIRENCESTER 24 - 22 HEREFORD | ||
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Hereford were due to play Bromsgrove in
the North Midlands league but they conceded so Hereford travelled to
Gloucestershire again looking for a game. Hereford travelled with a
depleted side due to an Under 18s North Midlands game, the five uni
boys leaving us now for freshers weekends all over the country, there
were also debuts for three under 17s. Having said that this was a game
we should have won, but many important lesson were learnt for players
and coaches alike. Hereford having loss the toss played with strong
cross wind and started well and could / should have scored two tries
very early after good breaks by Charlie Bird and then Alex
Hickinbotham both being stopped just short of the line. Alex scored 5
mins later after Hereford had lots of pressure on the Cirencester line
and broke tackle to go over, Josh Malindar converted. Caleb Thomas
scored next after he took a quick penalty just inside the 22m line and
raced over untouched, converted by Malindar. Cirencester missed 2
penalties pretty much in front of the posts and then should have
scored but for a try-saving tackle by Tom Ewins who held the player up
over the try line. Score at the break 14 v 0. With the wind behind them now Cirencester upped their game and started to move the ball wide through their backs and good ground was made by a strong centre tacking a crash ball and then good use of both wings and 15 scored two tries in quick succession with one conversion brought them brought up on Hereford heels. Hereford responded through good forward play and after several phases Brad Talbot crashed over to score out wide. Cirencester went wide again and poor tackling let them score under the posts and convert leaving the score at 22 v 19 to Hereford with 10 minutes to play. Hereford scored next after putting pressure on the Cirencester line who were then offiside, Sam Bolt slotted the conversion. Cirencester now with the bit between their cheeks scored again out wide to take the lead for the first time in the match with about 4 minutes to go, from which Hereford could not come back. A good game played in generally good spirit despite some interesting interpretations. |
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| SUNDAY 19 SEPTEMBER 2010 - HUCCLECOTE 6 - 11 HEREFORD | ||
| This was a typical 'friendly' with a Gloucester side, i.e. it was a very hard physical game which for the young Hereford colts was somewhat of a rite of passage, which all passed with flying colours. Try D Hobby, Pens Lane x1, Sullivan x 2. They don't get harder than that boys! | ||
| SUNDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2010 - KIDDERMINSTER 0 - 51 HEREFORD | ||
| Hereford travelled to Kidderminster Carolinians on a beautiful Sunday looking for a second bonus point win in the North Midlands Colts league and to test themselves against strong competition. Unfortunately Kidderminster where somewhat depleted and Hereford had to lend them two players to make a full 15, even given the additions of Hereford players the competition was somewhat one sided and Hereford ran in nine tries and drop kicked three conversions. Tries: T Ewins x 2, A Lane x 2, J Mallender, J Parker, A Tregaskes and J Humphries. Cons: A Lane x2, | ||
| SUNDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2010 - HEREFORD 51 - 8 CAMP HILL | ||
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Hereford welcomed Camp Hill Colts to
Wyeside for the first round of North Midlands Colts League in the
2010-11 season. Having not met for a number of seasons the opening
plays were somewhat tense affairs in which Hereford had the upper hand
for the first ten minutes and scored an unconverted try after good
handling put Steve Amos over out wide. The game then lost any shape
and turned into a high penalty count for small technical errors at the
breakdown and a kicking competition which Camp Hill won leading to a
quickly taken penalty and a try scored out wide after Hereford were
caught napping. Shortly after Camp Hill took the lead after an
infringement in front of the posts. This score galvanised Hereford who
responded immediately with a well worked try by the forwards. Alex
Hickinbotham broke a tackle and at full stretch got the ball over the
line. Alex Lane converted. Hereford then began to dominate play and
scored again through an excellent crash ball by Tom Ewins, leaving the
score at the interval 17-8. Hereford came out and dominated the second half scoring six tries through some excellent interplay between the backs and forwards. Caleb Thomas after a good break and then a return of his off load, followed by 3 well worked tries for the wingers Chris Bradford, Aaron Tregasus and a second for Steve Amos. Connor Sullivan playing out of position in the back row scored two tries through good support play. Fin Ralph converted 2 of the tries. Hereford get a bonus point for four tries. |
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