RUGBY UNION: KENILWORTH suffered another defeat on Saturday with visitors Hereford securing a 27-15 victory on a chilly afternoon at Glasshouse Lane, writes Sophie Freestone.
With just six minutes on the clock, Hereford gave themselves a five point lead through Callum Duncan who squeezed into the right corner for the first try of the afternoon.
The remainder of the opening quarter was largely dominated by Kenilworth who were determined to put their season back on track against a Hereford side sitting mid-table.
That period of dominance eventually paid off with 18 minutes gone with full back Josh Hickman on hand to finish a flowing move to take him past the 500-point mark for the Glasshouse Lane outfit. His conversion sailed through the uprights to nudge his side into a two-point lead.
Hereford responded well however, and regained the lead just six minutes later, this time with a try in the left corner through Lewis Jordan.
Throughout the match Kenilworth showed examples their strengths, none more so after 35 minutes when a scrum which was superbly won against the head. That work from the pack gave Kenilworth a superb attacking platform in the Hereford half, and they made the most of their opportunity with Mikkel Andresen scoring his side’s second try of the match before Hickman’s conversion sailed just wide.
It was Hereford who had the final say of the half however, with a converted try from Ben Osbourne as the visitors took a 17-12 lead into the break.
It took until the 58th minute of play for the first points of the second half to be scored, with Hickman slotting a over penalty from in front of the posts to close the gap to just two points.
Hereford cancelled this out just two minutes later, however, to restore their five-point advantage as the match entered the final quarter.
With just five points separating the two sides and ten minutes on the clock, an impressive driving maul from the Hereford pack allowed them to power over after 70 minutes to secure the try bonus point.
Luke Fisher’s try was successfully converted by Dean Powell to give his side a 12-point cushion that they held onto until the final whistle.
The defeat sees Kenilworth remain at the bottom of Midlands 1 West, six points adrift of Crewe & Nantwich, having won just two of their opening ten league fixtures. Their next match is away to Worcester on Saturday.
