Hereford U9s vs Luctonians U9s

Despite the heavy conditions the rain held off and we enjoyed a fine morning at Wyeside. Hereford had good numbers for this week’s squad and were not far off being able to field two sides. The game was started by Hereford who immediately took the ball to Luctonians to discover a good, strong and well organised defence.

Hereford were enjoying good territory at the start of the game but with a lack of commitment at the ruck and maul area Hereford started gifting Lucs turnover ball. Lucs began to turn these opportunities into good possession and the pressure was now on Hereford. Despite some slight concerns over the Hereford defence in training they stepped up to the mark and we saw some big hits especially by Owen Mathews, Alex Davey and Joseph Bellis .

Shortly before half time Hereford knocked on about 10 metres out and from the resulting scrum the Lucs scrumhalf broke down the blind side to score in the corner. Leaving the score 5-0 at half time and Hereford’s unbeaten run in danger.

After a few words at half time and the introduction of some fresh legs Hereford started brightly. They began to dominate at the ruck and mauls and were winning their own ball and most of Luctonians which was a total contrast to the first half. The big tackles continued to come in and Hereford began to break down the Lucs defence with powerful runs from Reuben Beamond and Cameron Terry. Following the power runs through the middle Cameron Hogg made a good run beating several defenders. Quick ball from the resulting break down saw Reuben Beamond break down the narrow side to evade the touchline and power his way over in the corner. The scores were now level at 5-5 with only a couple of minutes to play.

Hereford continued to attack for the remainder of the game and credit must go to Luctonians for a dogged defence denying Hereford a win in an extremely hard and close fought encounter.

The final score 5-5 and Hereford remained unbeaten!!

With enough time remaining we decided to play another slightly shorter game.

Hereford started just as they had finished. After the first game no-one would have thought the tackling could have been any harder but this game was not for the feint hearted. Hereford tackled like never before and on several occasion were even doubling up on a Lucs player for good measure. This was forcing knock ons and turnovers and simply denying Luctonian’s any possession.

Hereford did what they do best by breaking the gain line and keeping possession. Again credit must go to Luctonians as they never gave up and continued to run at Hereford when they had the ball even though they had been on the receiving end of some ferocious defending.

The final score in the second game was 20-0 with tries from Reuben Beamond , Cameron Terry, Freddy Kenyon and Oliver Cooper Hereford now look forward to defending their unbeaten record this season in two weeks time against Ledbury.

The man of the match this week went to Joseph Bellis although a relative newcomer to the side he never once shirked his responsibilities and produced an exemplary display in both attack and defence. The whole team deserves a big pat on the back and should be very proud of themselves (no more football celebrations!!!!).

Hereford 10 – 5 Moseley

Moseley started the game brightly with a big side who from the start took the game to Hereford through there powerful runners. Hereford defended superbly and had to for the majority of the first half. When Hereford did manage to get there hands on the ball they were unable to break down a strong well organised Moseley defence. Eventually Hereford missed a couple of tackles and the deadlock was broken with Moseley taking a 5-0 lead. The Hereford side seemed to pick there game up following this and realised that they could beat there opponents. From the restart Hereford took the game straight to Moseley with some fantastic running from Jake Ashford, Harrison Wells , Eiran David and Cameron Terry punching holes into the heart of the Moseley defence which led to quick ball being distributed to Owen Matthews who bought the scores level at 5 -5 just before half time.

After the half time interval Hereford came out as they had finished the first half with big tackles from Alex Davey and Freddie Kenyon keeping Moseley at bay. Hereford started to pass the ball and were more than equal to there opponents in every aspect in a closely hard fought encounter. Then with not long to go Hereford turned there pressure into points with a superb run from Owen Matthews who crossed for his second try of the morning and what was to be the winning try.

Hereford 35 – 0 Moseley

With time for a second game Herefords confidence was now high after winning the first game (and probably there hardest of the season so far!!). They looked to be putting into play what they had been practising with some good handling, tackling and straight running. It was not long before the ball was passed out to Jack Prosser who ran half the length of the pitch to score. Soon after the Hereford forwards continued to dominate and this led to scrum half Matt Hughes being able to pick the ball up and run through the Moseley defence to score the second try. The mood continued with Hereford hooker Cameron Terry scoring the next four tries thanks to good support play by his fellow forwards Alex Davey and Thomas Hodgeson to make the score 30 – 0 with only a few minutes remaining.

From a quick ruck Hereford decided to run the ball through the backs with centre Cameron Hogg sidestepping two defenders before evading the final tackle to score the last try of the morning taking the final score in game two to 35 – 0.

The Hereford Man of the Match award was awarded Cameron Hogg for his strong running, good hands and excellent defence. The whole Hereford side can pat themselves on the back after such resilience and sheer determination as well as good rugby saw them win both games against good quality opposition.

Hereford U9s had their first home game of the season against Malvern U9s.
On a warm sunny morning Hereford got off to a slow start with Malvern putting  us under pressure with some good passing. Missed tackles from Hereford letting Malvern well into Hereford’s half , but with a turnover at a ruck Hereford broke clear to score with a try from Owen Matthews. Hereford then dominated the match with turn overs at rucks and mauls with a 2nd Try from Owen. Hereford were 10 -0 up at half time. The second half we proceeded to pile on the pressure with some fierce tackling and a 3rd Try being scored by Cameron Terry , we finished the game 15-0
Match two saw a more even game with both teams playing some good rugby with a try coming from Cameron Terry. The game was still pretty evenly matched and with Malvern making a break with the last play of the game getting three quarters of the way up the pitch to be tackled into touch which resulted in a 5-0 result.

5/10/08 HRFC U9`s  travelled to Stourbridge RfC for their first game of the season . It was a wet morning to start our first contact match , with new rules to get use to ie tackling, scrums, lineouts and rucks to mauls so not much was expected from them.But what an amazing performance with some good running lines,good ball handling and support play .Hereford took the game to stourbridge with Cameron Terry exploding through the defence to score our first try of the match . Try number two came from a good break from Freddy Kenyon going half way up  the pitch to be tackled just short of the line ,with Cameron Terry picking up the ball and scoring the Try .Hereford were then put under pressure and got sucked in to concede a try from a good break down the right by Stourbridge. Hereford then put the pressure back on and with Rueben Beamond finding his way through on the left to score the third try of the Match with a 5-15 .win to Hereford.
 
Match two Hereford were put under a lot of pressure for most of the first half and soon went down 5-0 .

Alex Kalwaite on the charge

After losing at Bromyard in the rain early in the season the Hereford players were looking for revenge. With a Hereford squad of 20 players, Bromyard agreed to play three shorter matches.

Whilst in all three games Bromyard were the more controlled in the rucks and mauls, Hereford did well at stripping the ball in the mauls, found the gaps in the loose and had more speed and support in the backs. Most of the Hereford tries were long range breaks in the backs following good work by the forwards

Hereford won all three matches with tries from Alex Kalwaites, Callum Brayshaw, Tom King, Isaac Beamont, Bryn Goodall, Joel Middleton and Rhys Proctor

Hereford winning overall 45 – 15.

Playing our first home game of 2008 was a very cold affair, due to the biting wind. The 1st team pitch was very soft and muddy making fast running difficult, but the lads (and lady) did very well. Hereford had a squad of 20 players and 2 new boys turned up to watch. It was agreed to play two matches.
 
The first was against Malvern's best 9 players and it was a tight game with the majority of the play in the middle of the park. Whilst Malvern were good in the tight, we held them up with Dan and Alex K managing to rip out the ball several times, Calum, josh and Ewan drove over well in the rucks. It was in the backs that the damage was done. Tom, Alex H and especially Isaac broke through several tackles to gain long yards. The result was a 15 - 5 win for Hereford
 
Malvern brought on the newer/less experienced players for the 2nd game, and Hereford coach Malcolm Harris continued his policy of rotating every player in every game, win or lose. This time the plan worked and Hereford cruised to a 30 - 5 win. Alex K bulldozed his way through for more tries, Tom K ran the length of the pitch to score his. Alex H and Rhys P also scored. Newer players who shined were Jacob and Tom S,

It was a surprisingly warm and sunny morning at Wyeside considering it was the start of winter, The 20+ Hereford players were well warmed up and looking forward to a number of good matches, when the Kiddy coaches ask for the pitch to be made smaller and the number of games to be limited to two!!.
 
Hereford at usual started with the experienced team who cruised to a 15 - 0 win. Tries by Rhys Proctor, Bryn Goodall and Alex Harris. Kiidy were good in the ruck and maul, but were held up by the hard working Calum Brayshaw, Joel Middleton.
 
The second game had eight Hereford players who have only started rugby this season, whilst they lost 0 -10 there were excellent displays from Elliot Mullis, Tom Salter, Dan Powell, Issy Sheehay, Tom King supported by the experienced Bryn Williams and Ewan Duncan

In wet and windy conditions a smaller than usual squad of players visited Bromyard. Two matches were played on a short and narrow pitch. This did not help the Hereford players who are used to shifting the ball wide and jinking through a spread defence; at Bromyard it was all about a tight defence and good rucking and mauling. Whilst not enjoying the conditions the Hereford players gritted their teeth and performed as professionals. In the first game Hereford won 10 - 5 and lost the 2nd game 5 - 10. Experienced players to shine were Alex Harris, Rhys Proctor and Josh Bonn, new players who got stuck in were Tom Sayce and Isabelle Sheehay

Hereford u9s beat local rivals

After last weeks loss at Old Sils the Hereford players wanted revenge, Lux was the unlucky party. The game was played in good spirits and well refereed

The game was played in 3 x 15minutes segments. In the first session Hereford fielded their established players and never looked like they would lose. Joel Middleton and Ewan Duncan got stuck in at the rucks to keep procession leading to Bryn Goodall jinking past 4 or 5 players to score a try. Rhys proctor showed a good turn of pace to sprint wide to score another, Bryn Goodall set up Alex Harris who supported well to score from 5m, Alex Kulwaite charged over for his and Isaac Beamond raced down the wing for another. Hereford lead 25 – 5 at this stage

In the next session the newer players got their chance, along with experience pros like Josh Bonn and Bryn Williams. Tom Salter and Tom King again did well and Elliot Mullins scored his first try in rugby racing down the wing. Scores were 5 – 5 in this section.

In the final 15 minutes all the Hereford players got a turn keeping ahead on the try count thanks to Alex Harris and Rhys Proctor.

Hereford winning 45 – 15.

U9s taught a lesson at Old Sils

With 20 players and feeling in a confident mood after comfortably beating Stourbridge the week before, the 20 Hereford players were split into two groups.

The first team played old Sils more experienced players and well drilled, this showed. In the first half Sils harried the Hereford boys, rucked well and tackled non stop preventing Hereford from getting out of their own half, only last ditch defending from Rhys Proctor, Bryn Goodall, Alex Harris, Josh Bonn and Callum Brayshaw keeping the score respectable. This brought the Hereford boys back to reality and in the second half Hereford played a lot better, eventually losing 20 – 5. Isaac Beaumond being the lone try scorer.

The second team being our and their newer players was a much closer match, with both sides playing some good rugby and learning lots. For Hereford Thomas Hobbs led the forwards with Jacob Price and Thomas Salter defending well and Tom King scoring several tries and Eve Lovell got on the try sheet. Hereford eventually lost 35 - 30

The u9s with a squad of 25 players, many having only started playing rugby in the past few weeks, played their first 9 aside contact match against visitors Stourbridge on sunday. Coach Malcolm Harris split up the Hereford boys and girls into two squads of 11 and 14. The first eleven being players boys who have played rugby for the past 2 years.

In the first match the experienced team did really well; beating Stourbridge 4 tries to 2. The players to shine on the day were Bryn Goodall who chased everything, Isaac Beamond for his fast running and try scoring, Alex Harris, Rhys Proctor and Ewan Duncan showed their experience and willingness to tackle.

In the second match all the new players did exceptional well, only losing by 5 tries to 2. There were numerous outstanding performances however, Matt having only turned up that morning showed a great turn of pace and tenacity. Izzy in her first match hit the defence hard, Eve defended the wing well and Dan stole the ball several times in the rucks and mauls + scored 2 tries.

There was a short third match using the first squad with Izzy and Dan invited to join in following their efforts in the middle game. Hereford won 5 - 2