Hertford 25-10 Wimbledon
Head coach Nick Easter believes Wimbledon’s loss to a powerful Hertford side on Saturday will act as a good learning curve.
After Hertford sped into a 15-0 lead inside the opening 16 minutes, Wimbledon got to within five points at the start of the second half thanks to a Rhys Morgan try and five points from Bryan Croke’s boot.
But Hertford added another 10 points to inflict a second defeat in as many games on promoted Wimbledon following their opening-day defeat to Shelford last week.
“There is no panic whatsoever at the moment after two losses,” said England international Easter, who just missed out on selection for the World Cup.
“This group will get better and better each week, there is nothing to change but continue to work on what we have been doing but be more accurate and consistent with it.
“I have no doubt at all we have the players to do very well this season.
“But with quite a lot of new lads joining, new combinations and cohesion along with understanding certain systems takes time.”
When Josh Corcoran cut through Wimbledon’s defence to score a try under the posts in the 16th minute it gave Hertford a 15-0 lead.
It wasn’t until the final few minutes of the first half that Wimbledon began to break through the phases and were awarded a penalty, which Croke struck through the posts for 15-3 at half time.
At the start of the second half, Wimbledon looked dominant and pushed through the Hertford try line with full back Morgan touching down.
Morgan’s try was successfully converted by Croke to take the score to 15-10 but the ray of hope was soon extinguished.
Hertford held strong in defence and, with a series of powerful scrimmaging, they extended their lead and sealed the points.
Wimbledon host top-of-the-table Tonbridge Juddian on Saturday.
