WORCESTER Wanderers travelled to Hereford for their much-anticipated Midlands One West derby and slipped off the top after a 10-3 defeat.

In recent seasons, the games have been keenly contested with nothing much between the sides.

It proved to be the same again as Hereford ground out a tight victory in driving wind and rain.

Hereford adapted quickly to the weather conditions and held territorial sway for the opening 15 minutes, scoring a converted try by driving over from close range.

Wanderers plugged away into the wind and gradually worked their way upfield, getting their reward with a Tom Biggs penalty.

The rest of the half was dominated by the weather as both sides made a plethora of errors.

Each side had a reasonable penalty opportunity to boost their points tally but both failed.

The second half was more of the same. Both sides’ commitment was unquestionable but neither were able to retain possession for long and defences were in the ascendancy.

Hereford broke the deadlock with another penalty to extend their lead to 10-3, which proved to be decisive.

The day was summed up for Wanderers when a penalty awarded with time up was quickly taken and unfortunately knocked on to bring the game to a close and allow both sets of players to seek the refuge of the changing rooms.