Derby 46 pts Hereford 0

HEREFORD found Powergen Midlands 2 leaders Derby formidable opponents at their splendid new headquarters but, to their credit, the Wyesiders battled hard to restrict their hosts to a single try after the break.

Forced to make several changes due to injuries and unavailability, Hereford fielded a mixture of experience and youth.

They took a while to sort themselves out but the strong and well-disciplined Derby showed little mercy as they ran in five tries, four of which were converted, and kicked a couple of penalties to open up a 39-point interval lead.

It looked as though the onslaught would continue in the second half when Derby scored a converted try in the first minute, aided by what appeared to be off-side as Hereford fielded the kick-off and tried to run the ball.

Undaunted, the visitors rolled up their sleeves and proceeded to take the game to the leaders with some spirited play.

Teenage scrum-half Billy Grisman, making his first start after a long injury lay-off, and the equally youthful number eight Ben Collier led the way as they first used limited ball well and then expanded their game to bring in the lively Hereford backs.

They spent a lot of time in the home 22-metre area but could not break down the well-organised home defence.

When Derby tried to counter they were met by much stiffer and determined tackling as Hereford kept them out.