A POOR second half performance saw Hereford crash to a sorry 46-10 defeat against Bournville in Midlands 1 West.

Bob Stewart's side went into the half-time break level at 10-10, but the home side rattled in five unanswered tries in the second half to record a comfortable win.

The game started with end-to-end play and Hereford were close to scoring with a Connor Sullivan long range penalty.

But that was against the run of the play and it was Bournville who took the lead with a converted try.

The Wyesiders returned to the attack and won a penalty at the breakdown, which Sullivan slotted over to reduce the deficit.

Hereford were generally in control, but a number of dangerous breaks from the lively Bournville backs started to turn the tide in the home side's favour.

But after a Bournville player was yellow carded for illegally halting a rolling maul, Hereford opted for a scrum, which was rewarded when Simeon Mifflin was fed the ball to cross over for a try.

Sullivan duly slotted over the conversion to put Hereford 10-7 ahead.

Craig Rowlett then earned a yellow card for Hereford following a high tackle, but the penalty was reversed after a number of Bournville players started throwing punches, which in turn led to them being sent to the sin bin.

A Hereford lineout inside the home 22 was then won by Lloyd Willcocks and driven on by James Harris.

After several phases, Jock Welch crossed the Bournville line, only for the score to be disallowed for an earlier offence.

As the first period closed, Bournville forced a penalty in the Hereford 22 which they converted to level the scores at the interval.

But it was Bournville who turned the screw in the second half, with Hereford making too many errors and missing tackles.

Three of the home side's tries came as a result of well-directed kicked to the corner after pulling the defensive cover across field with some direct running.

The Hereford cause was not helped when skipper Ali McColl was given 10 minutes in the bin for throwing a punch in retaliation for being obstructed.

The Wyesiders are next in action on October 24 when they host Bridgnorth.

The newly-promoted Shropshire side have made a great start to the season and have only lost once in their six games.