A Hereford team short of half a dozen influential players made a bright start and got onto the scoreboard with a try within five minutes of the kick-off. Kidderminster responded quickly and took a 2-point lead with a converted try, an advantage which they held until just before the interval, when the Wyesiders regained the lead with a try against the run of play. In the first 20 minutes of the second period, Hereford again had to work hard in defence and the home team took a lead for the second time, with a second converted try. However, in the closing quarter Hereford ran in two tries, both of which were improved to close off the game with a 24 points to 14, bonus point win.
Coach, Luke Fisher said,” It wasn’t the performance we wanted today, but at least we came away with a bonus-point win. Had we been put under that sort of pressure last season, we would have folded and come away with nothing. It’s credit to the boys that we are progressing as a team and that we can come away to places like this and leave with a win. We were disorganised in attack and defence and often found ourselves in the wrong position. We therefore failed to put them under pressure, so they were able to turn the tables to put us under pressure instead. We had a lot of enforced changes this week and it was nice to see some boys raising their hands and turning pressure on for a first team jersey. Ollie Hutcheson led the team well as captain for the first time, in the absence of Tom Ewins. Our standout player was Luke Yarranton, who put his body on the line and upped our tempo, which was exactly what we needed. Next week, we’ll go back to training and focus on preparation for the game with Lichfield, looking for a better performance.”
Hereford started well, pressure forced a couple of penalties in Kidderminster territory, both kicked to touch and a catch and drive was forced over the goal-line for Matt Frost to claim the try. Kiddy replied promptly, with some handling movements which put pressure on the Hereford defence. A loose Hereford kick ahead was run back and the ball moved smartly to the left, for the home winger to run in for a try, which was converted from wide out. Kiddy had the better of play for the remainder of the first half, but Hereford defended well and against the run of play recorded a second try in the dying minutes of the half. Freddie Spencer made a break and off-loaded to debutant, Ewan Proctor who dived over for his first try, taking Hereford’s lead at the interval to 10 points to 7.
Kiddy continued to make the going in the second period and after 25 minutes they pressurised a Hereford attack, picked up a loose ball for their right wing to run the length of the field and beating several attempted tackles, touched down for the try. A successful conversion gave them the lead. The Wyesiders increased tempo for the last 20 minutes and a quick feed from Connor Sullivan to Freddie Spencer allowed him to dive over for a try, which Josh Jensen converted. As time was running out, Kiddy made great efforts to respond, but Mark Philo pounced on a sloppy pass to run fifty yards for the fourth Hereford try. Jensen again made the conversion which took the final reckoning to 24 points to 14.
This was not a pretty match, spoilt as it was by many unforced errors from both sides. Hereford had enough chances early on to have comfortably closed the game off, but lack of concentration allowed Kidderminster plenty of opportunities which they failed to take, often due to their mistakes. This should be put down as a poor day at the office for a Hereford team, missing the presence of influential players like Tom Ewins, Lewis Jordan, Gareth Jones and Callum Duncan. A couple of good training sessions during the week should put the team in good fettle to receive visitors Lichfield next week.
