Hereford 22 pts Whitchurch 8.

HEREFORD followed up their away success at Walsall with a good home victory in Midlands 2 West against a strong Whitchurch outfit albeit in a game with a frustrating lack of continuity.

Although Hereford conceded a successful penalty after five minutes to go 3-0 behind, they dominated the early exchanges but tended to fritter away some good possession by committing knock-ons and other infringements.

But, on 20 minutes, the home team took the lead when, following fourth-phase ball, hooker Gareth Miles showed great hands to send Dan Thomas over for an unconverted score.

After a couple of missed opportunities, right-wing Adam Gwynne eluded several tackles in a powerful run to the line to touch down to give Hereford a 10-3 advantage at the interval.

The second half resumed in a stop/start manner before a break by Nick Harrison and Will Watkins gave centre Des White the opportunity to go over under the posts for a third try.

Keiram Hallam added the points with his conversion.

Whitchurch responded with a lengthy spell of intense pressure which Hereford managed to repel by defending in depth, close to their own line.

Good defence became the platform for the backs to break clear again and Ceiron Griffiths helped Gwynne to score his second try to give Hereford a 20-3 lead. The last move of the game saw Whitchurch score a deserved consolation try.

Hereford’s head of coaching John Watkins was pleased with successive victories for the team but bemoaned the lack of fluidity in the overall play.

He felt that the referees for the first two fixtures had perhaps displayed different interpretations to the Experimental Law Variations and that this had caused some confusion among the players.