HEREFORD Rugby Club's season hit a new low when they crashed out the Intermediate Cup with a 25-12 defeat at lowly Aston Old Edwardians.
The Midlands Three West (North) side dominated the third round match up front and their Midland One counterparts found themselves 15-0 down at half time.
The defeat comes in the wake of coach Andy Douthwaite's decision to quit after citing the players' lack of commitment and with Saturday's league clash at rivals Luctonians coming up, Hereford face a tough test of character.
And for skipper Jason Lewis, Hereford got exactly what they deserved out of the cup clash.
"It was just a bad day," he said. "They have a big pack and some very experienced players. It is always difficult playing there because of the slope. They know exactly how to play at home and it is very difficult to get out of a corner when they keep on kicking the ball there. To be fair, they deserved to win because they were the better team on the day. It was just a bad day for us but now we have to get back to the league."
Finbar Heavens and Cieron Griffiths bagged the second half tries for the visitors plus one Heavens conversion. The game, though, was won tactically and physically by the powerful Aston side but Hereford did not help themselves by having Gareth Miles and Jeremy Wheadon sin-binned in the first half.
"It's always difficult playing teams from the lower leagues," added Lewis. "They do spoil the ball quite a bit and we never really were able to get any possession.
"I don't think there are big problems with the club at the moment. Our league form has been pretty good and if there was a problem with the players' commitment, I think that has been sorted now. It was just a bad day."
Looking ahead to Saturday's Herefordshire battle royal, Lewis was full of praise for Luctonians' coaching set up.
"They are flying at the moment and deserve a lot of credit. It will be a tough game but we know what to expect."
The Mortimer Park outfit, meanwhile, warmed up for the clash with a 24-0 win at Edwardians to secure an Intermediate Cup fourth round spot. It was another professional display by the visitors who handed debuts to colts wingers Peter Reed and James Connolly. However, the home side kept Lucs out until just before the break when Anton Pilli raced in on the blindside and touched down. A minute later, flanker Andrew Morris crashed over to make it 10-0 at half time.
Skipper Will Crawforth, having moved into the centre for the match, then scored the try of the game as he side-stepped three challenges before sprinting in on the left. Mark Panniers converted and Lucs led 17-0. The final try was a result of a move worked on at training as Mark Chandler set up second row forward Charlie Turner for the score and a Panniers conversion ended a fine day's work for Lucs.
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