LEDBURY ran in a whopping 12 tries with Matt Hallett scoring four of them as they hammered struggling Burbage 74-0 at Ross Road.

Despite the atrocious conditions over the past month, Ledbury had managed to string together a series of hard-fought wins in Midlands Three West (South).

And with the more clement weather favouring the home side’s style and with a huge crowd in support on Saturday, running rugby was on the cards.

It did not take long for Hallett to cross the whitewash after latching onto a stray pass.

The dry conditions helped Ledbury immensely, enabling them to compete at the scrum and launch number eight James Porter into numerous bullocking runs right into the heart of the visitors’ territory.

Jamie Rayfield came off injured after 20 minutes to be replaced by Dan Smith, but this did not affect the flow of the Ledbury team who thrived with plentiful possession.

The hosts were able to build a highly respectable score and by half-time were nearly 40 points ahead and well out of sight.

Hallett tallied four tries in all and Ed Bennion, Charlie Barber-Starkey and Chris Simcock all crossed. Having overcome a serious leg injury sustained earlier in the season, Toby Rogers made a welcome return to the fray and also managed a try.

Despite the barrage of scoring against them, Burbage were determined to break the duck and never gave up.

But they were denied by a Ledbury side as resolute in defence as emphatic in attack.

It was a red-letter day in the club’s calendar with legendary former England captain, British Lion and past RFU president Budge Rogers speaking to a capacity 180 guests at the Marston’s sponsored Christmas VP lunch.

The assembled throng were also honoured with a pre-lunch address from the Mayor of Ledbury Councillor Phillip Howells.

The club’s charitable efforts saw junior coach Bruce Allcock’s Movember challenge raising £1,668 for the Little Princess Trust and Ledbury generate in excess of £2,400, which is being shared between the local Air Ambulance and the West London Zone.

Fifth-placed Ledbury visit Coventry Welsh on Saturday before a final pre-Christmas home match against Woodrush seven days later.