On a day that had only Jammy rubbing his hands together at the thought of slogging it out in the mud and the rain, defence proved to be the key to victory for Walsall Colts.

The fixture was a must win game for the Colts to keep their league season on track and they did not disappoint. OK the weather meant it was never going to be an exhibition of flowing rugby and the ball was slippier than a bar of soap but these are the hard won points that will separate the teams at the end of the season.

Walsall's first try came after some intense pressure in the Walsall 22 from the larger visiting pack. Time and time again the larger Hereford team drove at the fringes of the ruck, trying to suck in defenders. The try seemed inevitable. Time and time again, Walsall put them down on the floor. Plan B. Spin the ball wide and out flank the Walsall cover and this, if anything, proved to be the chink as the ball inevitably got turned over the Colts were able to clear their line. The strong head wind limited any distance gained and back came the ball, usually with a large forward attached to it.

Walsall made a rare foray into the Hereford half and time to exert so pressure of their own. It’s no good having the lion’s share of possession if you don’t make good use of it and that was the difference between the two sides. From a 5m scrum (that really should have been a try; draw the man give the pass. Simples.) Robert Angel ’s cross field kick drifted backwards in the wind and the move looked dead. Up pops Jonathan Duckett to take the offload and cruise over for the try. Much against the run of play but it’s points on the board that count. Hereford continued their forward grind but the slippery ball and unnecessary penalties allowed the Colts to reach half time un-breached.

The second half had more balance to it as the wind worked in favour of the home team. Even so, Hereford continued to pound the Walsall defence and it looked like just a matter of time before they scored themselves. The tackle count rose and rose as Colts bodies went flying in. The game started to turn after 15 mins in as Walsall started to put pressure on the visitor’s line as they spent time camped in the away 22. From a scrum on the 22m line (but probably now somewhere in our half or so the story goes), Danny Poole picked the ball up from the base of the scrum and powered his way forward but landed a couple of metres short. Curse this blinking weather. But maybe not! The slippery top surface helped Danny slide over the line. Try scored and you felt the visitors resolve was broken and Walsall closed the remaining time out.

The old adage of “…it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog” jumps to mind. Two good teams playing contrasting styles on a day more suited to the forward game of Hereford showed how determined defensive tackles win matches. (And tacking your chances when you get them).

The above are my thoughts alone, feel free to disagree...

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