Silhillians 33 Hereford 17
Looking at the scoreboard it would seem that Silhillians had an easy game, but no such thing. Hereford were competitive for much of the game, the teams managed three tries each and Silhillians winning margin came from four penalties and a conversion. Hereford were not out played and improved discipline and better composure might have taken the game very close.
“A disappointing day for all Wyesiders across the board,” said Head Coach, Scott Sturdy. “On Friday our social team, the Lions came up against a very strong Luctonians fourth team. They play much more regularly than us and the scoreline in their favour at the end was quite convincing. From our perspective though, it’s great that our new social team has played three matches already this season. We have four more games lined up, for once a month on Friday nights in the new year. If you live in Hereford and fancy a game of social rugby, please contact us and let us know.
On Saturday our 1870s played their last game of the year and came out losers to a strong Pershore team. A number of yellow cards did not help them and maybe the penalty count got away from them, putting the team under pressure and being unable to hold out. The HRFC team travelled to the high-flying Silhillians and it was a difficult day against a really good team. It was very pleasing to see improvements in terms of their patience when we got to the 22, building multiple phases and executing. Unfortunately, some of the parts of our game did not function as well today and we’ll need to address these as we move into the new year.
I do truly believe that all the parts are there and we just need to start sticking them all together on the same day. I wish everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. It has been a very decent 2023 for all of us at Wyeside and a really exciting 2024 to come. Thanks to our committee, the volunteers, the sponsors and everyone who puts time and effort into the club. It makes a huge difference, because community clubs could not survive without them.”
Silhillians started well showing their width and flair in attack and after 10 minutes they opened their account with a converted try. Hereford won a scrum on halfway, Silhillians turned it over, moved the ball wide and drove over from a ruck on the Hereford line. The Wyesiders responded strongly, chasing the kick-off well and putting Silhillians under pressure. They moved the ball wide, from Bryn Goodall and Josh Wright to Stephan Dyers and their lightening fast South African winger ran a great line, beating the defence into the corner. The conversion attempt from wide out was not successful.
Silhillians landed a penalty before Hereford took the lead with a second Dyers try. Silhillians moved the ball away from a mid-field scrum, Hereford made the turnover, Wright gathered the ball and fed Dyers who pinned back his ears and sprinted 50 yards to score in the corner. An excellent Goodall conversion took the Wyesiders into a 10 points to 12 lead. The game was finely balanced with 10 minutes to go until the interval and the hosts turned up the pressure. Hereford defended heroically but could not hold out and a brace of penalties and a converted try extended the Silhillians lead to a convincing 23-12.
From the kick-off, Silhillians maintained the pressure and increased their lead with a converted try. Silhillians formed a ruck on the Hereford line, the ball was released to their strong running number 8 who crashed over for the try. With a Silhillians lead now 30 points to 12, it was a big ask for the Wyesiders to come back with their opponents on form and playing some good rugby. Again, Hereford showed their resilience and from the restart built numerous phases. They were very unfortunate having created a good two-on-one opening, when the referee blew up for an injury just as they seemed certain to score.
The Wyesiders were not deterred, they went through a number of phases, put pressure on Silhillians and Scott Robinson crashed over from short range. The conversion attempt from the difficult angle was not successful. Silhillians added a further penalty to their tally and the final quarter was played out in mid-field. The ground began to cut up and although both teams had chances neither were able to score, leaving the final score at 33 points to 17, this despite a round of 3 under par from the Wysiders. Man of the Match was Stephan Dyers and a special mention is given to Ben Hyde, another graduate from last year’s Colts squad. Ben made his senior debut off the bench, he put in a 30-minute shift, scrummaging well and putting in some decent tackles.
The 1870s had a hard game with Pershore losing by 10 points to 27. The Hereford points were scored by George Russell and Sam Roberts with one try apiece.
