On paper the result looks like a relatively comfortable victory for the Hornets. Five tries against two and another bonus point victory for Hinckley is perhaps somewhere approximate to what the pundits may have predicted before the game and the result would have been dismissed by those perusing the division’s scores as ‘predictable’.
The story behind the game was somewhat more dramatic, however. It was about a shell-shocked Hinckley side, still haunted by last week’s hammering at Leicester Lions, gradually rediscovering their confidence and form to overcome an Old Red’s team who made it far from easy.
Reds led from the first minute and were still seven points clear at half-time. It was not until deep into the third quarter that Hornets finally took the lead. By the end, however, there was only one team in it, as the Hornets pack dominated in the tight and bulldozed their opponents into submission. It was due reward for a side that had looked disjointed and out of sorts in the early part of the match but who stuck to their task and by the end looked much more the side that we saw in the early part of January.
The victory was, however, marred by a sickening injury to fly-half Archie Heard. Heard’s leg was trapped awkwardly in attempting a tackle and he suffered an ankle dislocation and broken leg. It was a pure rugby accident but one that no-one would wish on anyone. The referee immediately suspended the game, an ambulance was called, and, with Heard in the care of both senior medics, the game was concluded on the old 1st XV pitch. Both clubs wish him a swift recovery.
Despite losing Heard, possibly for the rest of the season, DOR Chris Campbell was more than happy with the outcome. ‘Although we have had bigger victories, I was delighted with the way we went today. Old Reds posed us some significant questions with their defensive set ups and we had to work out how to overcome them. As well as the 5 tries, we got over the line on three other occasions (2 held up and 1 dropped in the act of scoring) and showed we are capable of scoring from any part of the field.’
‘Losing Archie is a big blow for us and our primary concern at this point is his health and wellbeing. Tom Hames, Georgie Visser and the Old Reds medics did a fantastic job of the initial care on the field and it won’t be long before he is back with us. However, we have an excellent squad with a wide range of fly–half options available to us which means it won’t halt our development.’
‘It was a unique challenge having to move over to the training pitch to complete the game. It’s a very different surface and very different size but we managed the game out superbly on there and I felt we were getting better and better as the game went on.’
When the action started, Reds were ahead in less than a minute. Hinckley’s kick-off was collected, fed left, and winger Sam Rees, who was a handful all afternoon, was able to slice through a groggy Hornets defence for the try. Ash Groves converted and Hinckley were seven points down before many for the crowd had emerged from the clubhouse.
Seven became ten a few minutes later when Groves punished the Leicester Road men with a penalty from the 10m line and for much of the first quarter, Hornets were looking distinctly second-best.
There was almost half an hour gone before Hornets registered their first score after Joe Wilson had set up a penalty line-out 15m from the Reds line. Harry Bower took the catch at the back of the line, the pack drove to within a couple of meters, and Ben Pointon was able to snipe the try from close range.
Reds though soon extended their lead. With Hornets under pressure in their own 22m, a knock-on by Hinckley gave Reds a scrum 5m from the line. The ball was released quickly from the back of the scrum and, with the Hornets defence stretched, was touched down under the posts to present Groves with the simplest of conversions and a 17-5 lead as halftime approached.
There was time though for Hornets to peg one back. Reds were forced into a goal-line drop-out after Hornets were held up on their line. From the drop-out, Hornets ran the ball back into the Reds 22m and won a penalty for not rolling away. Wilson set up the line-out 5m out, the pack almost made the line but it was Calum Dacey on the wing who eventually rounded the Reds defence for the score. Wilson hit the post with the conversion but Hornets were at least able to go in at half-time just one score down.
On the return, Hornets began to assert themselves. Ramshaw was held up over the line, and then, on 51 minutes, Hornets pushed the Red’s pack off their own scrum ball on halfway. Pointon made the break and Archie Heard was on hand to finish the move. Heard though couldn’t make the conversion, but Hornets were within two.
Reds made that 5 from a penalty 25m in front of the Hinckley posts but found themselves under pressure from the restart and a lovely break from Mitch Lamb on the Reds 10m line was fed to Shae Nixon to carry over for the score and the bonus point. When Heard converted, Hornets were in front for the first time.
Shortly afterwards, Heard suffered his injury and after a lengthy delay the game was transferred to the alternative pitch for the final quarter.
Perhaps fuelled by the emotion of the situation, Hornets took control. From a ruck 30m from the Reds’ line, Pointon fed Lamb who majestically broke the defensive line and ran in for the try. Wilson converted to give the Hornets a 29-20 lead with fifteen to go.
With the Hinckley pack now pushing the Reds eight off the ball almost at will, Hornets turned the screw. Wilson opted to kick a penalty from 30m to extend the lead and repeated the act from a similar distance five minutes later with time virtually up. Hornets ended the game well on top. It was quite a turnaround from the first quarter.
Nick Robinson