In addition to the 2 loanees from Coventry, Broadstreet made a number of changes to the poor showing against Hinckley with the back 3 of Ian Renard, 'Chemo' Phillips and Andy Funnell being replaced by Veebel, Pete Bicknell and Scott Harman. Colm Jones makes way for Matt Dearden at tighthead whilst Liam McCrea returns to the bench as front row cover after his injury scare at South Leicester. Eddie Simkiss packs down in the backrow at short notice to compensate for Stewart Hendry's inability to put oil in his car which caused him to arrive at the club just 20 minutes before kick-off. Hereford also brought a familiar face in the form of ex-player Perry 'Pudsey' Pudge who would surprisingly have to bide his time on the bench for the most the match.

 

TEAM: Ben Dawes, James Taberer, Matt Dearden, Tom Greevy, Rich Chaplin, Eddie Simkiss (C), Chris Zutic, Chris Dodd, Jordan Simpson, Danny Richards, Luke Veebel, Gary Challis, Todd Freemantle, Pete Bicknell, Scott Harman SUBS: Liam McCrea, Stewart Hendry, Andy Funnell

 

Broadstreet started the game well and straight away pressured the Hereford 22 with attacking play which earned 'Street a penalty for offside and 3 points to Scott Harman who kept the kicking duties after working his way up to 3rd in the League's top points scorers list. Unfortunately as has become the habit for Broadstreet this season, they were unable to maintain concentration after a score and Hereford took their opportunity to punish Broadstreet for their ill discipline not long after with a penalty from fly half Luke Cross. This was compounded when Broadstreet's bright start was completely undermined by a spell of good play from Hereford which demonstrated their intent to condemn Broadstreet to probable relegation fodder. Hereford forwards carried well and their relentless barrage at the Broadstreet line was rewarded with a try for centre Martin Roberts, but unconverted from the corner by Cross. 3-8

 

However, the lead did not last long for Hereford either and some excellent positional kicking from Danny Richards allowed the Broadstreet line-out into dangerous territory which they made good use of. Some incisive interplay down the right flank allowed a series of pick'n'goes close to the Hereford line and Tom Greevy smashed over for his 4th try of the season. Scott Harman added the extras in very windy conditions. 10-8

 

The game evened out for a large proportion of the 1st half with a number of clear penalties from both sides chopping up the flow of the game, despite the referee's attempts to let the game go. Either the persistent infringements or ridiculous orange tan of one Christopher Zutic was definitely catching the eye of the official and after giving away a penalty on for handling in the ruch which handed Hereford back a one point lead, he was sent to the sin bin shortly after for committing an almost identical offence on the Broadstreet line. Luckily Scott Harman made good use of the time without Ziggy on the pitch and managed to take Broadstreet in at half-time in the lead after bagging 2 tricky penalties of his own after Hereford captain Jamie Bullock committed a Ziggy Zutic and was also sent to the naughty chair. 16-11

 

HT 16-11 Too close for comfort after showing enough ability to win the game much as we did against Hinckley 7 days ago, crucially this time it was 'Street going in, in the lead this week.

 

Broadstreet gathered pace almost immediately from the restart with substitute Stew Hendry combining with Chris Dodd as the pair went on long range charges through a series of attempted tackles which gained a number of metres and had Hereford over committed to the breakdowns. Quick passes across the pitch from Simpson, Richards and a cheeky pop from Todd Freemantle allowed Scotty Harman to break the line at terrific pace and attack the covering backs by unleashing the flying Veebel down the wing. Unfortunately a last ditch tackle from the visitors pulled Veebel down just short of the line but the Hereford players lay all over the ball and prevented what would have been a certain try from the next phase. Ben 'The Penguin' Dawes pounced on the loose ball and as soon as the referee set the mark he tapped and headed straight for the cluster of defenders on the line, a pirouette, 4 broken tackles and a surprisingly long reach for the line later and Dawes was up and celebrating his 7th try of the season. Another good kick from the corner in difficult conditions allowed 'Street a 12 point lead. 23-11

 

Broadstreet's 3rd try of the game came from a great bit of individual brilliance from scrum half Jordan Simpson who took the lead from Dawesy and took another quick penalty, this time just inside 'Street's half. His quick reactions meant that he was through the Hereford defensive line and onto the fullback almost before they had noticed the whistle had gone, his skip, step and acceleration ensured he got on the outside of the full back and would have seen him head for the corner and a score of his own. Unfortunately for Jordan, the far-side winger for Hereford cut him off with an angled tracking run and looked likely to bring him down, however just before he was tackled he lofted a ball backwards over the fullbacks head and into the waiting arms of Luke Veebel who had worked extremely hard to follow Jordan's break and was rewarded with a canter under the posts for a try on his Broadstreet debut. Harman eased over the conversion. 30-11

Broadstreet continued to pressure throughout the half and they gained good field position by using the boot to expose some of Hereford's weaknesses. Finally the pressure boiled over and some more good forward work allowed James Taberer to score a try by powering over from the base of a ruck and claiming the 4-try-bonus-point. This seemed to be the straw that broke the camels back and from then on Hereford played without the tenacity that had previously provoked a few 'out of sight' incidents, namely an airshot from Zutic which was fortunate to neither connect nor be seen by the referee. 35-11

DotD - Alluded to it throughout the report but Chris 'Ziggy' Zutic earns another DotD for responding to provocation and losing his rag with his opposite number by throwing a terrible terrible haymaker very very wide of the mark. 

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