Hereford were the under dogs going into the match today having not beaten Lucs for three seasons but following the magnificent England win over France last night in Paris they threw the form book out the window and opened the scoring in the first five minutes with a well worked try after absorbing some early pressure. A series of good kicks from defence by Ben Osbourne and Fin Ralph set up a lineout to Lucs just inside the Lucs 20m line, Hereford then stole the ball and drove the 5m before the very promising newcomer Jamie crashed over for the
try. Lucs response was almost immediate with a series of crash balls and good work in the loose using the big men the drove first up the left and then inside the 20m used their backs score through their winger out wide on the right. In the ten minutes to half time the game hang in the balance with good scrimmaging and loose play by both sets of forwards however Hereford started to get the edge in the set piece winning their own ball comfortably and starting to pressure Lucs on theirs. Shortly before half time Hereford were able to capitalise on
good defensive work by the backs and new recruit Frenchy scooped up the ball and sprinted all the way to the tryline untouched. Lucs responded in the last minute of the first half through more good work in the loose and rove up the centre of the park using pick a drives to eventually go over under the posts and convert to end the first period up 10 v 12. The second half was a tale of who wanted the win the most and it was clear that Hereford were not going to go without a fight. Hereford made a decisive score after taking a quick penalty just inside
the Lucs half and the ball went through all the backs hands until the hard working Brad Talbot popped up on the wing with one man to beat and choose the Samoan side step and scored just inside the corner post to give Hereford a 15 v 12 lead. Having now clearly now got dominance in the set piece some desperate and committed defence kept Lucs out even though they were camped on the Hereford line for the last 10 minutes of the game However Lucs could not get good ball and living on scraps they could not penetrate the Hereford resolute defence.
Worthy mentions should go to all the Hereford team but notably Niall Owen sterling - work round the edge of the scrum ruck and maul, Alex Hickenbotham -leading the pack with his best performance to date, Ben Osbourne for controlling the backs and making the big tackles and finally Ewan Brown - biggest hits on the park and being a beast all round the park.

Hereford 15 Luctonians 12

Hereford 20 v Droitwich 14
 
Always a close game possible made closer by the ‘tired’ outlook from a number for players who had partied to late into Saturday night when they should have been getting there pre game kip. Droitwich dominated the first half and had scored all three tries before Hereford had woken up. Missed tackles and a of lack of defensive organisation being the main reasons.
Second half Hereford came out ready to win the game and new recruit Ky scored a classic crash ball outside centre try that set the scene for the rest of the half. When some good linking play began to emerge between forwards and backs and the ball was kept alive allowing 3 further tries by Jamie, Connor and ?

Malvern 5 Hereford 39
 
In a stop start game that was never really allowed to flow Hereford put in a good performance against a less than organised Malvern. After a close first 5 -10mins Hereford took control through quick hands and getting the ball wide. Try haul was 2 for Perry Reece, his first was another crash ball were he was hardly touched all the way to the line and second the result of good hands in the centre to get him the ball early and then break a tackle to go over. Danny Walker also had 2 tries by showing his pace on the outside after good recycling by both backs and forwards and the ever present try poacher Fin Ralph showed his usual good footwork and strength to score twice by going both round and through the defence. Callum Neal also scored the long range effort of the day which started behind Herefords try line and by quick hands in defence Callum showed a clear pair of heals for the entire length of the pitch.
The end of the game was marred by some hand bagging which was unfortunate as it tainted and otherwise good game.
Worthy mentions go to Niall Owen for being all round the park, new man Sam Sais for tackle and work rate, and Brad Talbot for being the clearout monster.

N Midlands Cup
Dudley Kingswinford 27 v Hereford 5
 
Injuries and last minute cry offs lead to Hereford taking the long drive in the thick mist to Dudley with a bare 15 for this second round cup clash. Dudley started well and put Hereford under sustained pressure with a fast and open style of play which left Hereford scrabbling in defence after a high count of missed first tackles. Hereford absorbed the pressure (just) and kicked well out of defence leading to the first try of the game when Callum Neal was able to collect a kick after pressurising the full back to drop the ball and went over for an unconverted try which is how the half ended.
The second half was a different story as the Hereford missed tackles really started to tell and Dudley used their pace and fresh legs from the bench to run in 5 tries against a now flagging Hereford.
Good things and worthy mentions
1. Lineout – probably the sternest test so far this year, stood up well
2. Backs moves  - crash ball worked well when we had very limited ball
 
Things we need to work on
1. Getting full team to training and at games!
2. Defensive organisation and tackling – particularly 2nd and 3rd + phases
3. Securing the ball at ruck and maul – we were to loose and allowed them to steal our ball
4. Fitness – to many tired legs and people hiding from work
 
See you all at training on Thursday

Hereford U16s 27 Worcester U16s 19
Sunday 18th November 2007
 
Hereford started well and for the first five minutes were camped in the Worcester half eventually leading to Hereford getting over the tryline but were unable to ground the ball, Worcester were able to clear their lines and after a series of kick and chases were in the Hereford 20m. Hereford defended desperatly around the fringes but after a series of pick and drives Worcester crashed over under the posts to go 7 nil up. Stalwart Ewan Brown had to be subbed off shortly after with damaged ribs and after a quick shuffle round Willis Skyrme took his first out at Number 8 (front row to flanker to No 8 in less than a week!) and Sam Sayce came on as flanker. The rest of the half was a tight affair not helped by the wind and heavy rain and leaving the half time score at 7 v 0 to Worcester. Playing into the wind Hereford started well after going through a couple of good phases Fin Ralph crashed over from 10m to score just wide of the posts and Jamie converted to level the score. Hereford caught well from the restart through Ed Mifflin (hooker) and after a series of drives the ball was pushed wide through the backs but stopped just short. The forwards cleared out well and after a couple of short range attempts Lewis Jordan barged his way over.
Worcester rallied themselves and came straight back with some good close work and then a kick and chase leaving them just short of the line when Hereford infringed giving a penalty from 5m which there big no 8 crashed over after some poor tackling the conversion leaving the score at 12 v 14 to Worcester. Hereford determined not to go down without a fight scored one of the best tries of the afternoon after some solid driving and rucking by the forwards Perry Reece took a good crash ball up the centre sucking in defenders and Ben Osbourne and Fin Ralph linked and looped well eventually setting Callum Neal free out wide to go over in the corner. Fin Ralph scored his second try after another crash ball by Perry and good work by Harry Morgan Fin skirted the last man in defence to score out wide left. Worcester not to be outdone and with strong travelling support kicked well and Hereford unable to gather the ball allowed Worcester to regain the ball and after the good distribution from the 10, scored out wide leaving the score at 22 v 19 to Hereford with five minutes to play. Hereford stepped up their game an after a series of good drives and from the forwards the backs linked well and put Callum away on the right who was able to round the defence leaving the score at 27 v 19 to Hereford.
 
Worthy mentions go to:
Willis blistering game at No 8 Ewan and Brad watch out
Miffo solid hands, good running and offload
Gus good to see you back
Aaron did well in his first real game
 
Good aspects
Attitude particularly after we went behind
Lineout and scrum particularly given we made lots of changes
 
Areas to work on
More variety in out lineout by the second half the have twigged all our moves
Defending the kick through and the back three working as a unit
Defence agianst the quick tap and go

With wins in previous weeks against both Luctonians and Worcester, Hereford U16s completed the local hat trick by beating Ledbury 17 - 5. Ledbury started strongly and scored a try within 5 minutes after an excellent run by ex Hereford player Greg Wills. Hereford determined not to lose to their local rivals were struggling in the set piece against a strong Ledbury pack but had more penetration in the backs with both Connor Sullivan at scrum half Ben Osborne at fly half snipping away at the fringes and fin Ralph releasing the Perry Reece on crash ball to very good effect in the centre of the park.
Poor handling in defence led to Herefords first try after a lineout to Ledbury on their line was won and then fumbled and the strong chase by Willis Skyrme collected the ball and fed Jamie Humphries went over to score.
The second try came through the use of Reece as the battering ram at centre sucked in the defence and then third phase Callum Neal at wing was able to round the defence to score at wide. Ledbury realised they had a game on and came back strongly but excellent defensive work by Willis Skryme and Sam Sayce on the flanks kept the Ledbury pick and drive to small yardage and when they did go wide good tackling by Harry Morgan wing and Alex Cleghorn at full back kept them out during 15 mins of pressure when a score could have changed the course of the game.
Hereford scored the try to seal the win after good work again by the backs set Harry clear on the left only to be scragged by the full back, but ball was recycled through forwards and back and Alex Hickenbotham rounded the defence on the right to score under the post and Connor Sullivan converted to round of a well deserved victory
 
Good Stuff
Backs worked well and handling was better
Back three and defence against the kick through
Tackling (apart from the first 5mins)
Pressure after set piece on 9 and 10
 
Areas to work on
Scrum we went backwards to much
More variation in the backs
Not conceding a try in the first 5 mins!!!!!

Hereford U16’s 26 v Cinderford U16’s 5
 
Hereford try scorers were Harry Morgan, Connor Sullivan, Frenchy and Alex Hickenbotham and conversion were by Connor Sullivan (3).

Lydney U16s 17 v Hereford U16s 21

Hereford took the long drive into the 'Forest' this week to Lydney who they
had not beaten in the last 2 meetings. After a pitch move to the local school due to frozen ground play started in beautiful sunshine and quickly warming day. The long xmas break took its tool on the Hereford team who started in a very lacklustre manner barely managing to get out of their half for most of the first period. Lydney were very strong in the loose play and dominated winning turnover ball on far too many occasions which then fed a strong running game by their back row which Hereford seemed to have no answer to as they kept missing first up tackles. Hereford leaked two tries the first after a catch and drive from a 5m lineout and the second after the large Lydney flanker crashed through the line again after to many missed tackles, leaving the half time score at 10 nil to Lydney
Lydney started the second half in the same fashion using a kicking game to get them down field and then strong forwards working the hard yards. Hereford made a couple of tactical changes and brought Kai into the outside centre, and in almost his first touch of the ball he broke his tackler and went through to score under the posts, Connor converted. Agrippa at prop did well in his first full game for the club and kept up well and working with Aaron to slot into the scrum and give Hereford secure ball in their own put in. Hereford still living off scraps of ball and having run off the xmas excess finally got themselves into gear and after a good break by Alex H, Fin stepped the full back and went over under he posts and Connor converted again, leaving Hereford 14 v 10 up.
Lydney now realising they had a game on strangely kept kicking ball away when running looked a better option but eventually Lydney camped on the Hereford line eventually again went over after a catch and drive and for the first time they converted leaving the score at 17 v 14 with 10 mins to go. Hereford showed their grit and did not fold under pressure with some better tackling keeping Lydney's backs out and pressurising the tackle area. With almost the final play of the game Alex H stole the ball at the fringe of the breakdown handed of the defence and sprinted clear to score under the posts. Hereford then just hang on for the last 2 minutes to win 17 v 21 against the odds.

Honourable mentions
Harry came on second half and didn't put a foot wrong
Sam tackling well and being about the park
Ben and Fin for leading the second half charge

Good aspects
Second half performance
Good handling skills and running game

Areas to work on
First up tackles
Ruck - driving past the ball or bridging to secure
Maul - moving away from the tackle area and stopping the drive
Fitness - lots of people really puffing out there!!!!