Hinckley Break Nuneaton’s unbeaten record

Hinckley Under 12’s haven’t faced Nuneaton for over four seasons, so were walking into the unknown. Hinckley’s large squad took on the 20 available Nuneaton players. Three 20 minute periods were played with rolling subs to keep the game moving on a cold Sunday morning. Mutual respect from both sides meant an excellent morning of rugby was enjoyed by all.

Both teams were fired up for the game and started how they meant to continue, with crunching tackles and fast flowing Rugby. Hinckley took an early lead after excellent recycling by the forwards and the ball moving through all the backs and finished off in the corner by Giles. Nuneaton soon equalised with a lovely grubber kick through Hinckley’s defense. Hinckley went into the first break 2-1 up after strong running by the backs and Salisbury finally penetrating Nuneaton’s defense.

The second period saw a change of personnel by Hinckley bringing on fresh legs and ensuring equal game time for all registered players. A lovely 20 minutes of Rugby followed with neither team able to break through each other’s strong defense, Nuneaton mastering the choke tackle and winning turn over by holding the ball carrier up. Hinckley winning numerous turnovers by ripping the ball in the maul. An equally contested period resulted in no scores for either side and Hinckley remained 2-1 up.

The third period enabled Hinckley to bring on more fresh legs and their large squad proved to be decisive, as a tiring Nuneaton defense could not hold Hinckley at bay any longer. Constant pressure and recycling resulted in 3 trys by the whole team which were grounded by Salisbury(2) and Barnes. Nuneaton managed a late consolation try during the last play of the game, to finish off a great morning of rugby played in excellent spirit by two very competitive teams.