Trailing by three points at 23-20, with five minutes to go, Hertford pulled out all the stops to get a positive results, and their sheer determination was rewarded when scrum-half Michael Sargent popped over the whitewash with an American Football type quarterback sneak as the final whistle beckoned.

Brentwood made their presence felt from the kick off and were rewarded with a penalty after just two minutes, which Brad Burr confidently slotted between the sticks.

Ed Hornby then went over the whitewash with a well worked try on seven minutes, seeing the ball go through hands across the pitch after the ball was recycled following a lineout, with Wilkinson supplying a neat pass back inside to his team-mate for a try in the left corner. Burr converted with a superb touchline kick.

With 20 minutes gone, Brentwood stretched the advantage as Hertford were penalised for a double movement rolling out of a tackle, and another tremendous kick from Burr made it 13-0 to the visitors.

Hertford were making few inroads but did pull back three points with a well struck penalty from Ben Lloyd after a powerful run through the defence from Tim Matthews.

Following a big kick to touch close to the Brentwood 22m line, Hertford had a good platform to launch an attack to the line.

They closed in on the Brentwood red zone, and moved the ball through hands before Lloyd touched down for a great try close to the posts. The fly-half converted and the deficit was cut to 13-10.

Hertford enjoyed the better of the closing stages of the half, but were unable to add to the score in a tight and entertaining battle.

A triple substitution by the hosts at the break gave them renewed impetus, with Geoff Hughes, Torran McDougall and Red Newberry’s fresh legs injecting energy into the team.

Brentwood found themselves on the backfoot and a great burst from Jack Mitchell ended with him going over in the corner and Hertford led 15-13.

Another excellent team try, this time rounded off Richard Streets under the posts, saw the hosts edge 20-13 ahead.

But Brentwood rallied and were now playing some of their best rugby of the match, going through the phases and camping in Hertford’s half.

A series of scrum re-sets on Hertford’s five metre line saw four penalties in a row, and it appeared a penalty try was beckoning.

Finally Hertford’s excellent defensive line won them a penalty as Brentwood failed to release in a tackle and the danger was cleared.

Another onslaught by Brentwood follwing a shove to the line this time did result in a penalty try and a yellow card for Hertford’s James Keens.

It was 20-20 and a grandstand finish ensued.

Burr slotted over a smart drop goal to make it 23-20 with just five minutes left.

Hertford weren’t done yet, however, and got the ball back deep into Brentwood territory, where they stayed, going through the phases until it was worked close to Brentwood’s left corner.

After winning a scrum but being held back, Sargent picked up the ball and dived over the line to seal a bonus point win for the hosts, with Lloyd adding the extras.