The hosts started the brighter of the two sides, quickly establishing territory and possession. After working patiently through multiple phases, clinical poacher Steff Jones powered over from close range to open the scoring. Fly-half Sam Little added the extras to give Hertford an early 7–0 lead inside the opening five minutes.

Shelford responded immediately. A clever blindside move from a lineout created space for hooker Harry Bellamy, who crashed over for the visitors. It was a tricky first attempt from the tee for Lewis Cracknell, whose conversion drifted wide, leaving the score at 7–5.

The early try-fest continued moments later. Jones grabbed his second of the afternoon in trademark fashion, latching onto the back of a driving maul before grounding over the whitewash. Little was unable to convert from a tight angle, but Hertford extended their advantage to 12–5.

Shelford stayed firmly in the contest thanks to the boot of Cracknell, who slotted two penalties to reduce the deficit to a single point at 12–11. The closing stages of the first half mirrored the frantic start. Joe Robinson crossed for his first try of the afternoon to stretch Hertford’s lead, but Shelford hit back almost instantly as full-back Theodore Aubrey finished well to keep the visitors within touching distance.

Robinson soon struck again to complete his brace before the break, with both sides converting their tries through Little and Cracknell respectively, leaving Hertford 26–18 ahead at half time.

The opening exchanges of the second half suggested the contest might continue in the same back-and-forth fashion. Sonny Swift crossed for Hertford, only for Shelford to respond with another score to keep themselves in contention. However, from that point onward Hertford seized complete control.

Playing with increasing confidence and intensity, the hosts ran in five unanswered tries to put the result beyond doubt. Alex Kay, Jack Johnson (Pictured.. and there is no truth in the rumour that he saw the camera and looked to pose!), Faz, Brayden Karangaroa, and Dom Merrett all crossed the line as Hertford’s attacking momentum proved too much for Shelford to contain.

By the final whistle, the scoreboard reflected Hertford’s dominance, the home side running out convincing 71–23 winners after a blistering second-half performance.

This result made it 4 wins in 6 games for Hertford, emphasising the significant improvements made in 2026 following a challenging first half of the season.

After this weekend’s rest, the team will face a stern test away to 3rd place Tring when they return to action next weekend.

With just 3 remaining games, two of which are at Hoe Lane, we need every bit of support we can to try and maintain our mid table position...... or maybe even push on a bit.

There are a few fixtures where the lower sides are playing each other so points will be picked up by sides in the relegation zone.

Dependent on other results, it is possible we could still require two wins to avoid the play off slots. So let's make sure we all do our bit to bring the boys home.