Letchworth picked up a second successive victory as they put old derby rivals Hertford to the sword.

The 27-6 win made it three for the year and lifted them out of the bottom two in Regional One South East.

It was a performance that was excellent from start to finish at Hertford's but especially in the second period at Hoe Lane.

Letchworth had been busy recruiting and new boy Llewelyn Jones was to the fore in a strong forward effort.

Prop Ben Wilkinson went over for the first score which Josh Sharp converted although the restart was not dealt with, allowing Lewie Kendrick to kick three for the hosts.

Hertford almost went the length of the field for a try until Charlie Parkhouse, another of the new faces, got in the way.

Kendrick did kick another three to put Hertford to within a point but that was where Letchworth sprung back into life after a quiet spell.

Oscar Robinson set-up Parkhouse for try number two, Sharp adding the extras to take it to 16-4 at the break.

The second half saw Letchworth continue on the front foot.

Another penalty from Sharp was drilled deep into the hosts' 22 and the forwards proceeded to drive over the line, Robinson on the end of it.

And still the pack, with another new boy Max Heathman to the fore, came forward.

They drove Hertford back and Harvey Howman made the most of good ball to break through the line before Parkhouse beat three tacklers to add try number four and the bonus point.

Hertford tried to rescue something from the game but were repelled at every turn, and Sharp then rubbed salt into their wounds with a drop goal to end the contest.

Hitchin shook off a poor performance against Welwyn one week earlier to beat Hackney 13-12 in Counties One Herts Middlesex.

The Hedgehogs started poorly on home turf and conceded a scrum penalty after five minutes.

Hackney let them off then by missing the shot at goal and after a tough battle, Hitchin finally got out of their half thanks to an excellent kick from Greg Ranson.

Hackney did get a second chance to land a penalty but this too missed the target.

However, Hackney would not be denied a pick and go brought about the first points of the match at 30 minutes.

The final 10 minutes of the half though saw a shift in momentum.

After a couple of drives for the line fell narrowly short, Hitchin elected to take a shot at goal from a penalty, Ben Wiggins landing a well-struck kick.

Then poor discipline around the ruck resulted in a 10 minute sin-bin for a Hackney forward, and presented Wiggins with another shot at the sticks.

Again he was successful meaning Hitchin turned round 6-5 in front.

 

Hitchin received a yellow card of their own early in the second half but prop Tom Brown made an immediate impact, winning a penalty on his side of the scrum and allowing Wiggins to kick it deep into Hackney territory.

It led to a home penalty but this effort struck the outside if the post.

Poor Hitchin discipline allowed Hackney to work their way up the pitch, and it was another maul from a five-metre line-out which yielded their second try, converted for a 12-6 lead.

Two minutes later though, a bit of improvisation led to Hitchin's first try.

Wiggins fly hacked a spilled Hackney carry, chased down the receiver and forced a five-metre scrum.

A subsequent infringement brought a penalty and quick thinking from skipper James Bolter saw him go over unopposed.

Wiggins' conversion gave them a one-point lead with less than 20 minutes to play.

The Hitchin man did miss a shot at goal from nearly 40 metres out but they managed to contain Hackney well enough to see the game out and lift them up to fifth.