HEREFORD RFC head coach Scott Sturdy rued handling errors in attack as A49 rivals Ludlow ran out 0-27 winners at Wyeside.

“A difficult day at Wyeside against a very strong Ludlow side,” said Sturdy.  “The Hereford team struggled to put anything together in attack which was constrained all day by unforced errors.

“This made it very difficult to keep the ball for more than four phases and stress the Ludlow defence.

“Ludlow were excellent in attack, they made very few errors and every time they had an opportunity, they made sure to put points on the board.

“By the time we got to half time, the game had stretched away at 20-0. The defence from the Hereford team was good throughout, only conceding seven points in the second half picked up following a handling error.

“It’s very difficult defending for 85% of the game, but the lads showed lots of heart and lots of dog on the pitch and we’re going to need that next week going into a massive local derby with Ledbury.

“There were some stand out individual performances, especially in defence. Mike Fleming made upwards of 30 tackles, which is an impressive statistic for any back row player and what we will need next week.

“There was a good display from Cal Duncan, despite his yellow card and a good performance in the back line from Tom Ewins, who carried the ball strongly and defended well.

“We have a huge game next week and a result would propel us significantly up the league table. It will be a massive day at Wyeside next week with Ledbury coming to visit.”

With just five minutes played Ludlow found good field position in the Hereford half and a handling error gave them a turnover.

The visitors moved the ball wide and outflanked the defence for a try which was converted to give them the lead.

There was some end-to-end football for most of the half, but indiscipline cost the Wyesiders dearly.

Levi Hughes was shown a yellow card and a plethora of penalties saw Ludlow building their lead to 13 points by converting a brace of them.

On the half-hour mark Ludlow added a second try from a driving maul. The conversion took the score to 0 – 20 which remained until the interval.

Hereford started the second half a man short, Cal Duncan having been shown yellow on the stroke of half time.

For long periods Hereford were penned into their own half, but met the challenge with some determined and skilful defence.

They held out until, with only five minutes to go, one of their rare attacks broke down on half way.

A Ludlow man picked up the ball with a clear run to the Hereford goal line and touched down under the sticks.

The conversion was successful and took the Ludlow lead to 27 points, an advantage they held until the final whistle.

During the last minute of play, Hereford’s Jamie Bullock was shown a red card.

The 1870s lost 12-25 to Woodrush. The Hereford try scorers were Lewis Jordan and Harrison Colgan, while Shaun Meredith kicked a conversion.