Hornets enjoyed what in the end proved to be an emphatic win over Brunel University in their final pre-season friendly before the serious stuff starts next week. Hornets grabbed 8 tries, including a hat-trick for wing Josh Smith, against three from Brunel to seal the victory, although it was not without a struggle particularly in the first half when Brunel led for much of the time. The second half was a very different story with Hornets running in five tries which remained unanswered until the very last move of the game when scrappy defence allowed Brunel to grab a consolation try.

The game was not without controversy, however. Hornets lost their captain and talisman, Alex Salt to a red card after 12 minutes in circumstances that could only be described as extraordinary. A poor kick out of defence by Brunel found Salt on the halfway line seeming under no pressure. As he collected the ball in the air, the Brunel wing came out of nowhere with a horrendously reckless tackle to take the Hinckley captain out in the air. There wasn’t even a suggestion of a challenge for the ball by the Brunel man and Salt was fortunate not to be badly injured. Unfortunately, Salt reacted badly, punching his assailant on the ground, which meant that the referee had little option but to issue the red card.

The same cannot be said of his treatment of the Brunel player who only received a yellow card for one of the most disgraceful challenges ever seen at Leicester Road. Technically, it could be argued the referee was correct as Salt did not land on his head or neck and the law talks about outcomes, not the degree of recklessness or intent. The consensus amongst the crowd, however, was that in this case the laws of the game were proved an ass and never was a red card more deserved than for the visiting wing. Hornets are now facing losing their captain for up to 12 weeks while the Brunel man will face no sanction. Justice was not done!

Of the incident, Hornets Head Coach Chris Campbell commented, ‘Alex is very disappointed with his behaviour, but it has to be said it was a very bad tackle and his was an instinctive reaction. I didn’t see it clearly as I was on the other side of the pitch. We’ll have to see what the video shows but it does look like we’ll be without Alex for a while.’

To say the game was a game of two halves may be an old cliche but in this case it was accurate. Hornets were down by 7 points inside the first 10 minutes albeit a shade unluckily when Brunel took advantage of a loose ball in the Hornets 22m to hack through and win the footrace to the ball under the posts.

Hornets pulled one back at the end of the first quarter through Josh Smith, but Brunel pulled away again on the half hour when, following a quick tap penalty in the Hinckley 22, prop Dave Peck found himself out on the wing trying to catch the Brunel winger. It was no contest!

That seemed to goad the Hinckley men, however. A clever kick through from halfway by Rory Vowles saw Brunel having to defend a 5m lineout. They made a hash of it, allowing Henry Povoas to pick up a loose ball and score by the posts. Then, just on the cusp of halftime, a catch and drive 10m out from the Brunel line following a Hinckley penalty saw Andy Weaver drop over the line for the score.
17-12 at half-time but not a terribly convincing display.

It was not until 15 minutes into the half that Hinckley’s next score came but those 15 minutes saw Hornets gradually assume dominance and set up what became something of a points avalanche.

First, an interception by Joe Wilson in front of the Brunel posts saw Mitch Lamb eventually go over for a 22-12 lead.

Shortly, afterwards, a catch and drive set up by a Vowles’ penalty allowed Smith to go over for his second – 27-12.

With 15 to go, Hornets won a scrum penalty against the head 5m from the Brunel line and opted to scrum again. The ball was sent left and Vowles went over under the posts for the score.

Smith grabbed his hat-trick try when a clever inside pass from Leonard saw Smith running through unchallenged from short range. And the final score went to Luke Coltman when a short throw to the front of a 5m line-out was taken by Matt Fearne and returned to Coltman to go over in the corner. It only remained for Brunel to grab their consolation try as the referee blew for time.

Altogether, it was a good performance and set the team up well for their first League encounter against Barnes this coming Saturday. It will, however, be without Alex Salt.

Nick Robinson