Match Report

Playing on the 1st team pitch in front of a large Sunday morning crowd, Hereford entertained Droitwich in an under 14s clash.  Conditions were sticky under foot and this hampered both teams handling ability.  From the kick off, Droitwich exerted pressure on Hereford and that pressure told after 10 minutes when, from the base of the scrum, Droitwich executed a back row move that ended with a try in the right corner.  Their kick was unconverted.
 
From the restart., Hereford contained Droitwich well.  Handling was made difficult by the conditions and both teams forcing errors. However, Hereford dominated in the scrums and gave a solid platform in which to move forward from. 
 
After 23 minutes, a fine break by Kurtis Laing saw the scores even when he ran 40 metres to score on the right corner.  The scores remained even after Billy Greasley failed to convert a difficult kick.
 
After half time, both teams locked horn and Hereford showed some grit and determination by soaking up sustained pressure from their opposition.  In the last quarter of the game, Hereford nosed in front when some fine continuity play by both forwards and backs, saw Gareth Jones go under the posts for Herefords second try. The try was converted by Greasley.
 
Droitwich hit back immediately and Hereford were camped in their own 22 for longer than necessary but Herefords dogged defensive play kept Droitwich at bay.  Hereford made yet another fine break when Man of the match Kit Goldman went over the Droitwich line, after showing some fantastic open play on his part. 
 
After Greasly converted, the score finished Hereford 19 Droitwich 5.

On a very wet Herefordshire Sunday morning, Hereford U14 entertained Stourbridge in the first match of the season. After 10 minutes of pressure, that saw some good link up play between forwards and backs, Hereford went over for their first try after a ruck on the right side of the pitch saw the ball going through several pairs of hands before Billy Greasley went over for the try in the left corner. 
 
Hereford were solid in both defence and attack .  Scrum half Liam Shaw exerted pressure around the base of the scrum forcing errors from his opposition Scrum half. Pressure from the Hereford backs forced further errors that were capitalised on and a further 2 Hereford trys were awarded. 
Stourbridge came back with a converted try before the break and showed some great determination.
 
After the break, Herefords pressure continued and the Stourbridge back line was breached once more by the explosive power of Kurtis Laing and the good support running of Rory Clarke.  A breakdown in communication let the visitors in for a second try after Hereford  were pinned in their 22 and Stourbridge went over. Hereford showed great character and hit back with an immediate try, after our re-start was retrieved and a score awarded under the posts.
 
A fantastic team effort saw Hereford the eventual winners 42-10

There was no problem getting the lads focused for this local encounter , a bit of extra added spice being the fact that trio of the Ledbury line up were ex Hereford team mates.
Coach Mick Reidy was spoilt for choice , as I think every player who had trained this year was available (I wonder why).
Whistle blow , game on. Hereford started off to mean business and were able to stifle a well organised Ledbury team. It took until 15mins before the deadlock was broken by Ledbury scrum half evading some poor Hereford tackling to score under the posts , also converted.
Hereford then started to show their dominance especially in Line outs and scrummaging , this against a much heavier pack. It looked as is Hereford were going to force their way back into the game , but a darting break from Ledbury's Jordan McDonald scoring in the corner made the score 12 - 0.
Hereford were not to be sunk that easily and fought back to see Man of the Match , Jake Rooke wriggle his way over in the corner , this try being converted by Sam Bolt. HALF TIME. (12-7)
Although Hereford were now playing up the slope an against the wind , Ledbury were unable to exert prolonged pressure, mainly due to the hard tacking Hereford pack and quick thinking backs.
Prolonged pressure from Hereford's forwards , especially strong running from Rory Edwards , Jack Fletcher and Elliot Williams enabled the backs to make space for Blakey to score under the posts, converted again by Sam Bolt. (12-14)
With the clock ticking Ledbury were going to chuck the kitchen sink at Hereford , but to a man all the Hereford players tackled like demons. Only 5 mins left on the clock , another great bit of rucking by the Hereford forwards gave Sam Bolt the time to chip the ball into the corner, this caused confusion in the Ledbury backs which enabled Elliot Ford to snipe in and score the decisive try in the corner. (12-19).
One minute left and not a sniff of an opportunity for Ledbury, final whistle and Hereford's great team work had paid dividends , winning 19 - 12.
As with the previous week , it was an absolute pleasure to see all the players put in a great team performance , but this week the result was right as well.
Credit must also go to Coach Mick Reidy who has pulled the team up by the socks since taking over the reigns.
This team could really do things if they have the same work ethic and attitude as today , great game for all.

Bredon U14's Vs Hereford U14's - Sunday 6th January 2008

The first outing of the new year for the U14's , hoping that the lads could follow on from the surprisingly successful season so far.
The first big problem is that the majority of the parents with they're new Nat Sav's all ventured to park outside a private house in the quaint village of Bredon.
Second problem , no bacon butties or hot coffee, Oh we are spoilt at Hereford.
Now onto the game. With a full squad and subs Hereford U14's coach Mike Reidy was full of confidence with the lads bursting with enthusiasm after the Christmas break.
Although Bredon fielded a big side it was the Hereford forwards who dominated nearly all aspects of the game.
Man of the Match Rory Edwards epitomised the forwards dominance with bullocking runs breaking though the Bredon defence at will.
The forwards hard work paid dividends when Sam Bolt shimmied his way across the line for the first try which he then converted. Hereford then missed several clear chances to score but had only another fine try from Elliot Ford to show for all the fine play in the first half , again converted by Sam Bolt.
Utilising all the players available Coach Reidy rang the changes at half time. The second half was much the same as the first half with Hereford winning the forwards battle but Bredon managed to stay in the game through indifferent refereeing , the penalty count being Bredon awarded 36 Penalties and Hereford zero.
The Hereford players kept they're discipline and eventually turned possession into points with two fine tries from Winger Harley Robinson and a second from Elliot Ford.
Sam Bolt put in an exemplary kicking display , converting all the tries.
Final Score Bredon - 0 . Hereford 28.

 

Hereford U14's Vs Worcester U14's

With the parents full of Bacon Rolls and Hot Coffee, off we all trotted to the Cathedral Pitches to watch the lads against Worcester Ulf's .
To say it was slightly damp and chilly was a bit of an understatement , 3 degree's and hissing it down was more like it.
Considering we played Worcester U13's last year and were lucky to get zero, confidence on the touch line wasn't exactly overflowing . This was further diminished by the fact the Simon"Sheep Farmer" Bolt was supervising his son Sam as the kicking coach.
I didn't exactly see what happened for the first try as was still finishing coffee and pig, but apparently it was a fine effort by Elliot Ford.
Now on the touch line I did witness the next try , again a fine solo run from Elliot Ford. This was actually the last action by Elliot as he then had to leave the field due to illness.
The crowd were now getting warmed up as Hereford were playing extremely well considering conditions , further tries by Tim Brown and Elliot Williams rounded off the first half.
Hereford were put under pressure early in the second half , but had the handling and speed of the backs to run their way out of trouble, scoring some lovely tries by Henry Jones and Jack Fletcher .
With advice from his dad totally ignored , Sam Bolt was able to convert 4 of the tries , just hope that Sam's mum turns up next week.
Another great all round team performance, with Man of the Match going to Jacob Rooke at Scrum Half
Credit must go to coach Mick Reidy as the team are now unbeaten in 4 games and also Richard Rooke for refereeing.
Thanks to the lads for warming up all their supporters on a thoroughly awful day.Roll on Ledbury

With the added confidence of a win the previous week , Hereford set about a big Bromyard side with added gusto .
Although the Hereford and Bromyard forwards were evenly matched early on, it was the pace and enterprise of Hereford backs who started the brighter with centre Elliot Ford scoring after 10mins , converted by the eventual Man of the Match , Sam Bolt.
More good work by the backs , enabled the back row for Hereford to get on the score sheet with tries from Jack Fletcher and Tim Lindup, the second being converted by Sam Bolt.
With the aid of the referee, Bromyard were let back into the game when an obvious crossing move was missed and Bromyard were able to cross the line in the corner for an unconverted try.
Hereford heads could have gone down , but with halftime looming , Hereford settled down and played possession rugby to end the first half 19 -5 up.
Hereford dominated the second half and should have scored more but, due to handling errors and selfish forward play the score stayed at 19 - 5 until the middle of the second half.
It was only when the ball was spread wide that Hereford opened the scoring with a try in the corner from George Eynon. Debutant Henry Coombs scored his first try for Hereford after good handling and support play from all of the Hereford forwards, converted by Sam Bolt.
The final try came from Jack Fletcher who had another strong game at No.8.
Final score was 36 - 5 in Herefords favour, next a stern test against Worcester .
Thanks to all parents for the support much appreciated by the players and coaches. By the way the referee was not allowed expenses following a poor performance, a collection was made to enable him to have a shandy after the game. Thankyou, I did enjoy immensely.
Thanks,
Rod, the ref, reporter and assistant something.

Kidderminster U14's Vs Hereford U14's

Even though it was Hereford's 3rd away game on the bounce , the journey didn't seem to affect the Hereford team who started brightly and scored the first try of the game after 5 minutes , scored by Harley Robinson and converted by Sam Bolt.
A fine display of rucking by the forwards and handling by the backs resulted in 2 more tries by Jack Fletcher and Elliot Ford, with one converted by Sam Bolt .
Kidderminster started the second half the better team but through strong running and ineffective tacking Hereford ran in 4 more tries in the second half , scored by Elliot William, George Eynon , Elliot Ford and Jack Fletcher , one conversion by Sam Bolt.
The game ended with the final score being Hereford 41 , Kidderminster 0.
This was the definitely the best display of the season by Hereford and with the next 3 games at Wyeside , confidence is high.

After a successive string of defeats, a very even contest culminated in a 12 all draw. Hereford dominated the first half and with the wind and slope in their favour , opened up a 12 point lead with tries from Jack Fletcher and Elliot Williams , one try being converted by Sam Bolt.
It was a different story in the second half with Malvern scoring all the points. Hereford tackled bravely towards the end of the game to keep Malvern out . A 12 all draw being a fair result for both teams.