CHINNOR let Hertford off the hook as they fell to an agonising 34-30 home defeat in National 3 South.

Having recovered from 24-5 down at half-time to lead 30-24 with six minutes to go, they looked to have pulled off their second successive dramatic comeback.

But some sloppy play eventually allowed Hertford winger Richard Justice to cross over in the corner with stoppage time beckoning.

Full back Robert Colborne slotted the conversion from out wide and added a penalty to leave Chinnor feeling like Clifton had the previous week.

Defeat to a Hertford side that included two Tongan internationals and a former Premiership star, Mark Mapletoft, was no disgrace.

And by scoring four tries and losing by less than seven points, Chinnor picked up two bonus points.

There were also encouragements to draw from Rich Grimsdell's pace and effective debuts from Johan de Bruin and Anthony Pyers.

But they will need to improve on their first half defending, when they could have shipped 40 points, if they are to make a real mark in this league.

The warning signs were there in the first minute when Billy Johnson kicked the ball dead with the try line at his mercy.

When Chinnor finally calmed down, they immediately looked threatening.

Fly half Richard Williams missed a penalty, but on ten minutes a textbook catch and drive move saw de Bruin pile over to make it 5-0.

South African referee Calvin Zulu was blowing up at every opportunity and once in range, Mapletoft made no mistake with a 19th-minute penalty.

Johnson looked to have scored straight from the kick off after running through a static home defence, but he was adjudged not to have grounded the ball properly.

The respite was temporary as Tongan flanker Sione Onesi pounced for a simple try.

Mapletoft converted this and two more on 33 and 36 minutes as Hertford went on the rampage.

Left wing Gareth Lewis notched the first after a sweeping move and centre Luke Sloan finished off a break started by the irrepressible Onesi.

To cap a nightmare half, Chinnor saw lock Matt Hutchins sin-binned late on.

The pendulum swung dramatically after the restart and two Williams penalties saw Chinnor reduce the arrears to 24-11 with 20 minutes remaining.

Pyers found more space in midfield and when Grimsdell ran in a fine solo try and Williams converted, it was game on.

Chinnor gained an incredible 50 metres with a rolling maul.

And they led 25-24 when captain Paul Hennessy powered through a gap to score, Williams again converting.

Hertford had had flanker Craig Wilson and Mapletoft sin-binned by this time.

Sheer forward power led to a second try out wide for de Bruin on 74 minutes, but his wild off-load allowed Hertford to build momentum for their late winner.

Chinnor failed to stop Tongan lock Talite Valeti and he fed Justice for the killer blow.

Chinnor: Sutton (Cawston 43), R Grimsdell, Pyers, Oxley (Carter 25), Pritchard, Williams, Duder, Iosefo-Peni (Matthews 78), Phipps, Conlon, Hutchins, Burrows, de Bruin, Rixon (Jackman 68), Hennessy (capt).

Referee: C Zulu (SARU).

Chinnor man-of-the-match: Pyers.