UNDER 16s
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Hereford Reports Under 16's
NEWS
SUNDAY 11 DECEMBER 2005 - OLD HALESOWEN 0 - 29 HEREFORD
Hereford Under 16s wrapped up their pre-Christmas matches with a convincing away win at Old Halesowen.
Nick Scott, Hereford’s centre, opened proceedings with a spirited individual break, side stepping his opposition to score Hereford’s first try. Making the most of this early initiative Hereford’s number 8 Alex Kelso ripped the ball from his opposing number and after circling the lineout he ran a full 30 metres to score Herefords second try.
Old Halesowen responded with an attack of their own when their flanker peeled off from a driving maul and fed their fullback a crash ball however Hereford just managed stave off the impending try when Murray Bartlett dived under the ball preventing it from making contact with the ground.
Hereford’s fly half Chris Fisher made a quick tactical decision to chip over Halesowen’s flat defence; Halesowen’s attempts to thwart the attack were frustrated by Tom Makin who, playing his best game of the season, fell on the ball and from the ensuing ruck Steve Williams ran in Hereford’s third try.
Hereford maintained the pressure by quickly adding points with Hereford’s full back Pete Wood sprinting 40 metres and linking with Hereford’s winger Tom Steer to score under the posts.
Hereford's final try saw Murray Bartlett carrying the ball over the line when he joined the running back line. With Fisher converting two of the tries the game ended with Hereford winning 29-0.
SUNDAY 4 DECEMBER 2005 - CINDERFORD 5 - 10 HEREFORD
Hereford Rugby Club Under 16s visit to Cinderford was a close encounter and for the most part contested equally by both sides.
Cinderford were in a determined mood and were clearly set upon reversing Hereford’s previous win against them at Wyeside 5 weeks ago. Their initial onslaught kept Hereford on the back foot for a full 20 minutes and in the confines of their own half their powerful set of forwards managed to gather most of the loose ball and feed their backs with a plentiful supply of scoring opportunities. Unfortunately for Cinderford their backs failed to capitalise on their hard won possession and with a series of knock ons and other handling errors Hereford could content themselves with some secure scrummagging and a reciprocal response from the backs.
Hereford’s early decision to play their entire squad for this match meant that 9 player’s were interchanged during the course of the game. This policy was bound to lead to a lack of continuity but Hereford’s belief that this strategy would create increased depth in the squad seemed to pay dividends. Just 10 minutes before half time Nick Scott who had produced an outstanding performance throughout timed his offload perfectly feeding Hereford’s winger Charlie Loftman to score near the corner flag.
Cinderford countered with a try of their own when their centre who had threatened on numerous occasions touched down near the posts. With the score at 5-5 and tension rising, Hereford mustered another effective backs' move. With play switching left and right Cinderford's defence failed to react in time, forever the opportunists Hereford made the most of the disorganised defence when the movement ended with Murray Bartlett pass to Hereford’s winger Louis Hedley crashing over for Herefords second try.
The second half mirrored the first with both sides vying for possession and territory. On balance Hereford were fortunate to hold on to their lead and with a disallowed try for each team the game ended with the score at Hereford 10 Cinderford 5.
SUNDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2005 - STROUD 7 - 36 HEREFORD
After a disappointing and below par performance against Dudley Kings last weekend when Hereford conceded the game 29-7 Hereford returned to form when they met Stroud on Sunday.
Hereford’s flyhalf Chris Fisher who had played a key role throughout the game with his tactical kicking and quick decision making opened the scoring within 5 minutes when he chipped over the fullback collected the ball and sped towards the try line to score Hereford’s first try. It took another 15 minutes for Hereford to add to the score when Hereford’s fullback Charlie Loftman joined the running back line to score just inside the corner post. Hereford’s forward’s scrummaged well against their heavier counterparts and for the most part managed to hold the Stroud pack in contention. Stroud’s infringement at a scrum 30m from their try line led to a penalty which saw Charlie Bennett Hereford’s scrum half wasting no time in feeding a quick ball to the forward’s and with effective inter-passing Murray Bartlett stormed over the try line to score Hereford’s second try. Stroud seemed to awaken from their earlier malaise and countered with a succession of attacks against Hereford. With Hereford missing several tackles and poor defence they deserve to concede a try successfully converted by Stroud bringing the half time score to 15- 7.
Hereford’s return from the break saw Dan Leader making a strong run on the wing however this attack was stalled by Stroud’s winger who brought him down just 3m from the try line, with Matt Anstey close in support collecting the ball from the offload he crossed the line to score Hereford’s third try. Chris Fisher who’s kicking boots had eluded his first half attempts at goal were found when he successfully converted. With further tries scored by Hereford’s Scrum half Ethan Davey and Chris Fisher both converted by Fisher the game was concluded with a final score of Hereford 36 Stroud 7.
SUNDAY 6 NOVEMBER 2005 - OLD SILHILLIANS 0 - 10 HEREFORD
Hereford played an away fixture against Old Silhlillians on Sunday. Relentless rain in the first half caused a number of unforced errors with both sides struggling to effectively handle the greasy ball. With the wind against them Hereford found themselves defending against a variety of attacks from the Silhillians and Hereford defended for the majority of the time in their own territory. Hereford also made the mistake of kicking away too much ball and the loss of possession was instantly capitalised upon by the Silhillians.
With the rain holding off in the second half Hereford began to regain the initiative the Hereford pack secured some useful possession at the breakdowns and with Sam Rowlands constantly scourging for the loose ball the Hereford backs were assured of some attacking options. Hereford's first try came from a line out after a well caught ball from Murray Bartlett, the ensuing driving maul put Silhillians on the back foot and created the perfect conditions for Hereford's centre Nick Scott to cross the try line. Silhillians seemed to become frustrated with Hereford's focused pack and were penalised on many occasions for killing the breakdown ball. During one such penalty Scott did not need a second invitation to take a quick tap and go to sidestep the opposition and score Hereford' s final try.
SUNDAY 23 OCTOBER 2005 - HEREFORD 26 - 5 CINDERFORD
Hereford Under 16s entertained Cinderford on Sunday at Wyeside. With an early try from Steve Head Hereford quickly gathered momentum as full back Pete Wood marked his debut with two tries of his own after outpacing Cinderford’s defence. Hereford's Chris Fisher successfully converted both of Wood’s tries leaving the half time score Hereford 19 - 0 Cinderford.
Hereford failed to maintain their first half pressure as Cinderford responded with a barrage of attacks in the second half and Hereford spent a large amount of time tackling and holding out in their own territory. Finally Cinderford’s determination paid off when they scored an unconverted try near the posts.During the closing minutes Nick Scott made one of his trademark runs when he ran a full fifty metres to sidestep and weave his way through Cinderford's defence to score under the posts. With Fisher successfully converting this try the final score ended with Hereford winning 26-5.
SUNDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 2005 - HEREFORD 48 - 19 MALVERN
Hereford Rugby Club Under 16s had ambition written all over their faces when they met Malvern on Sunday for Hereford's first fixture of the season. Malvern promised formidable opposition having beaten Hereford last season and arriving with the reputation as last years North Midlands Cup semi-finalists. In sharp contrast Hereford U16s fielded a team formed only last year and comprising solely of players from the non-Horner rugby schools in Hereford. With the odds stacked against them Hereford enacted sweet revenge when they commanded proceedings for the majority of the game.
Like a horse fresh out of the stalls Nick Scott opened Hereford’s balance sheet when he caught Malvern’s defence napping after a penalty near Malvern’s try line. His solo stomping run towards Malvern’s try line produced Hereford’s first try and acted as an inspiration to the entire team. Scott’s try was converted by Chris Fisher.
Hereford's early initiative seemed to pay dividends and their surprise attack meant that Malvern's defence was slow to materialise. Once again Scott crashed over the line from a well rehearsed backs' movement to score Hereford's second unconverted try.
Hereford's flying start slowed a little as Malvern began to reorganise and gain in composure. Malvern scored their first unconverted try when their winger exploited a gap in Hereford's back line. However Hereford soon responded with another try of their own this time when Chris Fisher collected a well timed pass from Luke Merriman to cross the line.
Hereford's pack although lighter in weight than their Malvern counterparts were sharply focused and controlled their game with precision. Breakdowns at rucks and malls were closely supported with the forwards managing to retain valuable possession and pressurise with their formidable rucking. Sean Lyons collected the ball at the back of one such ruck to charge over for Hereford's fourth try converted by Scott.
Hereford were also able to win plenty of line out ball with Alex Hill predominant in the proceedings. During a lineout 10 metres from Malvern's touchline Alex Kelso collected the ball to pierce Malvern’s defence with a stomping run to score Hereford's fifth try converted by Chris Fisher. As half time beckoned Malvern returned fire with a fine try . The half time score stood at 31-12.
The second half saw Hereford in a determined frame of mind to retain their lead. Although Hereford failed to maintain the fast pace set in the first half, they opened the second half with a try from Charlie Bennett (Hereford Captain), which was unconverted. Driving mall near Malvern line saw Hereford next score when Murray Bartlett touched down to score an unconverted try.
Malvern responded with a barrage of phrased plays in the forwards and whilst Charlie Loftman executed a crunching tackle on the ball carrier, the Malvern flanker managed to offload the ball for their No. 8 to score under the posts, successfully converted. Hereford's forwards soon came up with the goods once again and from a winning scrum the ball was passed to winger Tom Steer who, having side stepped two of Malvern’s players, spilt the ball just three feet from the try line.
Hereford's hooker Curt Edwards made one of his familiar punching holes in Malvern’s defence with close support of the ensuing ruck were Steve Williams and Sam Rowlands who ensured the ball was secured and well placed for Scott to collect and chip over his opposing player Scott then caught the ball whilst Malvern gave chase Scott won the race to Malvern try line to score another well earned try for Hereford and finishing the game where he began on Malvern try line, this try successfully converted by Nick Fisher.
The final score, Hereford 48 Malvern 19.
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