THE local Midlands Three West (South) derby with Hereford was always going to be tough, with the senior squad suffering from injuries.

HEREFORD 47PTS, Ledbury 0

With Rob Collins starting with an injury and nearly the entire back line being reorganised in the Hereford RFC car park, it was always going to be a long, hard day.

After five minutes, things were not going well, with the first backs move of the game resulting in a Hereford try under the posts.

This forced an early change in the Ledbury back line with Tukia Muli coming on after 10 minutes to replace Jack McCarthy, who was found wanting in the centre.

Another try was awarded to Hereford when the referee missed an accidental offside. This was converted superbly from the touchline for 14-0.

Although Ledbury's heads were down, they still showed determination. The set-piece scrum was working very well and did so for most of the afternoon, taking three balls against the head.

Jamie Williams then received a yellow card for deliberate obstruction after a chip ahead from a loose defensive kick could have resulted in a try.

With only 14 players on the park Hereford scored again and the game was over before half-time. Hereford's Bill Sparry was then sent to the sin bin and both teams finished the first half with 14 players.

The second half saw Hereford pour more points on to Ledbury, who by this time had used up all of their substitutes and were now down to 14 men with an injury to Denver Rollins. The final score of 47-0 was a fair reflection of the game.

Darrell Williams, director of rugby, said: "We are not playing wilfully and we missed tackles again. When the injured players become available for selection things will improve.

"Our set pieces are coming together which at the start of the season was a major weakness. When things are going well everyone wants to play. We now need to see who is really committed to the club."

Tomorrow (Saturday) Ledbury are at home in the second round of the Intermediate Cup against Midlands One side Walsall.