Hereford had to exercise patience to grind out a win against Worcester and maintain their unbeaten home record, in a game which was won by hard work rather than flair. Hereford opened with a penalty goal followed by a try before Worcester reduced the deficit with a penalty. Near the interval Hereford scored a second try and conversion, which closed out the first half at 15 points to 3. In the second period the Wyesiders placed Worcester under more pressure and eventually their attack was able to become more fluid and in the final quarter they registered three further converted tries to end worthy winners by 36 points to 3.
Head Coach, Sean Lynn was pleased with the performance and said,” A great result, especially to bounce back from the loss at DK last week. We talked all last week, about having a positive reaction and that’s something we had today. The nice thing is that the squad absorbed the key message, to be patient in attack and defence and the boys came up trumps. To get a bonus point win against Worcester is excellent. Harri Williams made his debut at 10 today, he played a very good territorial game in both attack and defence. It is also a great help when you have forwards like Josh Bell, Ollie Hutch and Jamie Hodges, who were outstanding, always giving us that go-forward. Then we had Levi Hughes and Tom Starkey, very good, hunting down the ball from the kick-chase. It is really looking positive with 20 points from 5 games, but we know that next week we have another big one. We take on Kenilworth at Wyeside, this week they have beaten DK, so next week’s will be an interesting game.”
Both sides tested each other during the opening ten minutes before Hereford took the lead with a Harri Williams penalty. Josh Bell, who had another outstanding game, made a strong drive into Worcester territory. When the drive was stopped, Ewan Duncan picked up the ball in broken play and beat the cover defence to cross in the corner. Harri Williams’ conversion attempt was just wide. Worcester responded and won a penalty at the breakdown which allowed them to reduce the deficit to five points. A strong break from Tom Starkey ended in touch, from the lineout Worcester created an opening, which was frustrated by a try saving cover tackle by prop, Neil Clark. As the half came to an end, a Hereford driving maul close to the Worcester goal line allowed Lewis Jordan to touch down for a second Hereford try. Williams’ successful conversion took the Hereford lead to 15 points to 3, which they held until the interval.
The Wyesiders put the Worcester defence under constant pressure in the second half. Levi Hughes followed up a Harri Williams kick to corner, caught a defender in possession and won a scrum near the Worcester goal line, then Josh Jensen following up his own kick, won another attacking scrum. The Hereford pack drove into the Worcester in-goal area and claimed the try, but the referee adjudged the ball to have been held up. Shortly after, the pack set up a maul and drove to the try line for Neil Clark to claim the third try. A Harri Williams kick to the corner was gathered by Levi Hughes, who threw off two defenders to race in for the bonus point try. For the final score, Levi Hughes and Josh Jensen combined to take play into the Worcester 22 and Blane Pannell picked up from broken play to score the try. Harri Williams converted all three second half tries to make the final score 36 points to 3.
This Hereford team is beginning to mature nicely, today they had the patience to stick to their game plan and wear a stubborn Worcester outfit down before sealing off the win. Harri Williams looks as though he may well fill the playmaker role filled for the last couple of seasons by James Stubbs and earlier this season by Bryn Goodall. Bryn has left to play in Portugal and we wish him every success. Next week we have another home game when we entertain Kenilworth, who are as yet unbeaten and if the boys are on form, we will be confident of getting a result.
