Boston 7 - 41 Stags

Hinckley Stags visited newly-promoted Boston for the first Counties 1 league fixture of the
season after an unbeaten pre-season, including two victories over teams from higher divisions.

The Stags, of course, only lost one game on their way to winning this division last season, but
were denied promotion by the RFU. However, Boston hadn’t lost since December 2022, so any
thoughts of a routine victory would be misplaced and a tough encounter was on the cards.

Hinckley kicked off with the beating sun behind them on a rock hard pitch. The Stags dominated
the early encounters, but were unable to turn their possession into any points as the home side
defended resolutely and threw everything into the breakdown. Boston also proved more than a
match at scrum time and it took Hinckley awhile to work out how to break them down.

The deadlock was broken, however, on 13 minutes when the ball was moved wide and Sam Racklyeft
offloaded for left winger Tyler Moseley to dive into the corner. The difficult conversion was missed
by full-back Joe Wilson for a 5-0 lead.

The game continued as it started with the Stags spending significant time in the Boston half
without reward.

The half looked to be fizzling out, but three tries in three minutes woke up the
crowd. First, Stags stalwart George Marsden burst through numerous would-be-tacklers to open
his account for the season - easily converted by Wilson. Then, after dropping the kick-off into
touch, open side flanker Jacob Drabble took the overthrown line out and scored an early
contender for try of the season. He set off 60 metres from the line, outpacing his opposition backrow
and side-stepping the covering defence for an outstanding individual score. Wilson again
added the conversion for a 19-0 lead.

The first half scoring wasn’t done yet. In truth, Hinckley struggled with their kick-off receipts all day and another mistake gave Boston an attacking lineout just outside the Hinckley 22. Poor defence allowed their centre to break the line and score
under the posts. With the conversion added the half-time score read Boston 7 Hinckley 19.

Hinckley were marginally better in the second half and our superior fitness levels shone through.
However, it was disappointing that it took us 50 minutes to up the tempo of the game. Drabble
added two more tries, one at each end of the half, for an opening day hat trick. Wilson walked
over the line after the home defence ran out of numbers and converted his own try. He also used
his sizeable right boot to relieve any pressure that Boston tried to exert.

The pick of the second half tries was scored by Racklyeft. Scrum half Josh Leonard took a quick tap penalty on the
halfway line and the ball travelled through numerous hands before Garin Standing was brought
down in the 22. The ball was recycled and quick hands from Wilson and Dylan Weddle, playing
out of position on the wing, put Lewis Gardner through a gap. Gardner drew the last defender
(before falling over a stray football that had made its way onto the pitch) to put Racklyeft into the
left hand corner.

Final score: Boston 7 Stags 41

Ultimately, a disappointing team performance which fell short of our normal standards. However, a
bonus point victory on the road is not to be sniffed at.

It’s also worth noting that we lost our first game of last season, so we’ll take the positives, work hard in training this week and look forward
to hosting Birstall next Saturday in our first home appearance of the season.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Tom Robinson with an all-action display. Excellent defence and some
superb ball-carrying.