South sink Hereford on Wyeside

Bale hat trick caps off fine return for Lordy as South prosper at Hereford

Hereford 8 South Leicester 40

After the disappointment of a home draw last week, South took a game management lesson from the French to the Welsh borders and put on the display we have been craving. Injury limited Kris McFedries and James Stapleford to the bench but the return of Mark Lord after a long lay off meant that Rickie Aley moved to scrum half and Dan Robson started in the fromt row, along with Rhoddy McNaughton in the absence of injured talisman and skipper Luke Coltman. Chris and Stuart Bale were also back after missing last week and their power was to prove too much for the home side.

Early arrivals at Belvedere Lane observed a very focussed warm up with Steve Booth and Harry Ellis leading the backs and helping Lord and Aley to build what would prove to be a devastating partnership, whilst Mick Holford, fresh from his enconter with the Cornish Pirates on Friday night, ran the forwards' drills. Somehow one felt that things were going to click today.

From the outset South looked sharp and within five minutes the pressure was rewarded as Sam Greasley finished off a satisfying phase of attacking play orchestrated through a very quick and cohesive midfield. Aley, whose magic boots were out of tune last week, made no mistake, slotting the first of a five from six return.

Conscious of referee Maxwell-Keys keenness at the breakdown,South by and large managed to keep on the right side of the laws but the occassional transgression saw their free flowing play interuppted by penalties, one of which resulted in the only score of the first half for the home side.

The new half back combination was sparking well for South with Mark Lord close to his absolute best, calling the shots and getting the well oiled backs machine in motion. Slick handling resulted in wave after wave of South pressure. On the quarter hour Chris Bale went over for South's second.

Hereford struggled to come to terms with the South dominance, their scrum was going backwards and South looked great with ball in hand, like France on a good day! There was a champagne moment when Chris Bale cut loose from within South's half and broke away with such force that when he bounced the oncoming winger like Harinordoquay on Shane Williams, there was a sharp intake of breath from the home faithful who were packing the club house terrace. Thankfully the defender lived to fight another day but his involvement in this encounter was soon to end, he must have felt that he'd run into a juggernaut, such was Bale's power.

Mark Lord continued to run the show and soon put in the nimble footed Keeling for the third try. The raids continued with searing breaks from Griffin, Greasley and Culpin following great platform from the forwards, whilst Aley and Lord gave quick and accurate ball to the back five and Keeling and Smith remained strong and resolute in defence, killing off any threat that Hereford could muster. All this pressure culminated in Culpin crossing for a well deserved touch down just before the break to leave South 28 3 ahead and the bonus point in the bag.

Whilst the backs remained solid throughout, the second half belonged to the South forwards. Chris Bale was mennacing at every scrum, Simon Johnson was a thorn in the Hereford side and hooker Rhoddy McNaughton led the pack like Braveheart. A typical schoolmaster, he even found time to lecture the opposition on their views about certain South players' waist lines, articulating beautifully the correlation between those measurements and the scoreboard. Stu Bale subsequently went on a blistering charge like a French stallion through the floundering Hereford defence which left the home crowd wondering if he was being ridden by Christophe Soullimon with his over active whip!

Referee, Maxwell-Keys was kept busy as the home side realised that last season's seventy point rout was not going to be repeated, and opted for a more direct approach which resulted in several stoppages whilst the hand bags were removed. Disappointing cheap shots were raining in and but for the timely intervention of the official and the diplomacy of Braveheart and Sam Badham, things might have got out of hand.

South remained disciplined though and Chris Bale secured his hat trick with two more tries off the base which earned him a well deserved rest and an opportunity for patient bench warmer Rich Foster to enter the fray along with Stapleford and McFedries who replaced Robson and Lord respectively.

With a job well done, and the second half won for the first time this season, South contained the remainder of the match whilst the cheap shots continued and eventually the referee had no choice but to issue the yellow card to Culpin and the Hereford number 12 after a frank exchange of views saw the latter hit the floor like Didier Drogba. Sam Warburton would have appreciated the referee's discretion as his swift decision making brought an end to the hand bags and we saw some more spirited attacking play by Hereford which resulted in them getting a consolation try.

Final score Hereford 8 South 40

All in all a long awaited but very praiseworthy performance as the South Leicester machine clicked into gear with execellent performances all round. Of most note were the control and leadership in midfield of Mark Lord, the aggression and strength of "Braveheart" McNaughton and the hat trick of tries from Chris Bale. Boothy smiled, we all went home happy! More of the same next week please.

South: Robson, McNaughton, Bayley, Bale S, Badham, Miller, Johnson, Bale C (3T). Aley (5C), Lord, Griffin , Keeling (1T), Smith, Greasley (1T), Culpin(1T). Subs all used:
McFedries, Stapleford, Foster

Match report courtesy of Mark Fletcher from sunny Wyeside.