DUDLEY Kingswinford made it a hat-trick of wins by battling to victory over Hereford last Saturday.

DK secured a narrow 20-12 win at Heathbrook thanks to Liam Marshall's late score.

The close contest was evenly poised at 13-12 to the hosts heading into the final 10 minutes after Stef Shillingford had crashed over to add to an early penalty from Duncan Tompkins.

The home side made sure of the win after scrum dominance under the posts led to a yellow card for Hereford. DK wasted no time with the second scrum and quickly fed Marshall to wrap up the points.

The victory also makes it an unbeaten February for Neil Shillingford's men.

The director of rugby is pleased with the desire his players have shown to end the campaign on a high despite the set-back of seeing their promotion ambitions halted.

He said: "It was another step in the right direction for us after we managed to work out what was needed to win the game.

"Hereford are a nice side now and that is credit to their coaches. They are not like the Hereford of old, they are a young side who like to throw the ball around but have a good defence as well.

"They are a side that could improve a lot with more experience.

"From our point of view everything was good. We enjoyed good possession but just didn't turn that into points.

"Hereford tried to play a slower game than we wanted and again we had to work that out. When they last a man late on it was then about identifying where the gap was making it pay.

"The attitude of the players has been great. The desire to end the season as strong as possible is very much player led."

DK don't have a game this Saturday but will return to action with a trip to Kenilworth on March 4.

"The week off should help the players a little after a hard couple of games," added Shillingford. "The challenge now is to stay focused and pick up where we left off when we go to Kenilworth."