Worcester 20 Hereford 26
Hereford made hard work of this narrow victory at Worcester. Periods of total control were sandwiched with others littered with indiscipline and unforced errors. Both sides showed the effects of the three-week holiday break. Worcester opened with an early try and built up an interval lead of 13 points to 5 and they held a lead until midway through the second half. The Hereford pack took control in the final quarter, but play was end-to-end until an individual try saw them through to a bonus point win.
“A solid start to 2024 for the Wyesiders playing away at Worcester ” said Head Coach, Scott Sturdy. “It was a challenging game, in a poor first half we gave away a lot of penalties. It allowed Worcester to gain good field position, score the opening try and build a lead going into half time. We responded well and after twenty minutes got a score on the board ourselves, but 13 points to 5 down at the interval was a bit of a hill to climb.
Right from the restart, in a much improved second half performance, we made numerous line breaks and put pressure on the Worcester defence. Jake Cheshire and Dean Powell had come off the bench and had a significant impact on the game. The Hereford scrum and lineout were particularly strong today and we capitalised on that which led to the second and the third tries. Unfortunately, again, some ill-discipline saw us pick up two yellow cards which put us under pressure. A penalty try awarded to Worcester took the score to 20 points to 19 with eight minutes of normal time to play. Hereford though, showed resilience and scored an excellent and well worked try to seal the win and the bonus point away from home in the first game in 2024.”
“Not a great start to 2024, but after no activity for three weeks. The ground being flooded prohibiting training this week, we’ve got the five points and a valuable away win. We do know though, that we’ll have to be better next week at home when we play Cheltenham, who are riding high at the moment. The flooding at Wyeside has receded and the pitches will be starting to dry out. We are very hopeful that that game will be on next week, so please come down and support. The 1870s game was postponed due to the floods, but they will be back in action again next week when they travel to Worcester, where they will play their second team.”
Hereford received the kick off and made early inroads into Worcester territory, but it was the hosts who took the lead with a converted try after six minutes. They found a good touch from a penalty inside their own half and the catch and drive took them over the line. It took nearly twenty minutes for Hereford to reply, a period during which several excellent passages of play were spoilt by handling errors. Eventually Hereford were awarded a scrum near the Worcester line and Gareth Jones crashed over in the corner, the conversion attempt, from a difficult angle was just wide. During the final minutes of the half Hereford conceded a succession of penalties, two of which were converted to give Worcester a 13 points to 5 half time lead.
Hereford started the second half well and an accurate touch from a penalty gave them a lineout inside the Worcester 22. From the lineout, a perfectly executed catch and drive enabled Scott Robinson to drive over for the try, which was converted by Iwan Holder. The Wyesiders then camped in the Worcester 22 for several minutes, before a scrum on the line gave Jake Cheshire the opportunity to charge over the line, Holder slotted the conversion.
With just twenty minutes of normal time remaining, this gave Hereford a lead for the first time at 13 points to 19. Worcester responded and exerted pressure on the Hereford line for a period. This culminated with the referee, who had penalised Hereford several times, awarding a penalty try. With Worcester now leading by 1 point, the scene was set for a final twenty minutes of real competitive local derby football. Hereford took the lead and played most of the attacking rugby, whilst Worcester defended with determination. A surging break by Gareth Jones carried on by Iwan Holder, took play deep into the Worcester half, but ended, as with so many other attacking moves, by shanking the ball out of bounds, and a knock on. In a very well-crafted move across the back line, Iwan Holder accelerated into space, fed Levi Hughes who beat three players to go down the touchline to score the winning try. Iwan Holder who kicked excellently off the tee, converted with his third successful kick. Hereford may not be pleased with the quality of performance, but will be happy with the bonus point win.
