It was not pretty, it was far from error free, but it was gripping stuff with the result in doubt right to the final whistle. In the end, Hornets ground out a morale boosting win for the first time in six outings to get their 2022/3 season underway. It was much needed after a dismal conclusion to the previous season and will go far in convincing a team that had lost its way that they can still be contenders in the new campaign.

Newly appointed DOR Chris Campbell reflected that feeling after the game. ‘Six months ago, we couldn’t find a win from anywhere. We had lost our confidence; we were in the wilderness. Today, we came here and ‘guttsed out’ a win under pressure. We could just as easily have lost the game, but we had the mental resilience to hold on for the win. Was it perfect? No - we have much to work on, much to improve but there is no substitute for winning matches and that’s what we did today. It was good to see the Povoas boys back on the field and I thought Henry in particular was outstanding in his first game for nearly twelve months after a very serious injury. Sam Everett had a solid first game and it was good to see Luke Hibberd score on his debut. I also thought Mitch Lamb looked much more like his old self.’

There is no doubt in the end it was a good start to the season, playing away on an unfamiliar artificial surface which traditionally does not suit Hinckley’s game against an opposition whose pre-season had gone well compared to the disrupted preparation that Hornets had had to endure. In truth though, it could have been better, particularly in the first half when the Bourneville pack had only reverse gear in the scrum. But Hinckley were wasteful with possession constantly kicking the ball away which only presented a lively Bourneville back three with numerous opportunities to counter. That they did not score in the first period was down to some outstanding Hinckley defence which rarely gave the Choco’s the opportunity to build on their possession. There were also issues with the line-out early on, and Hornets were penalised far too many times at the breakdown.

The second half was a little different. Changes in the ‘Choco’s’ front row shored up their scrum to some extent and whereas the Hinckley defence continued to look solid, Bourneville developed a little more fluency in attack. The result was a nail-biting finish after Hornets had snatched two tries in a five-minute period to regain the lead with just eight minutes left.
The Choco’s had opened the scoring after only two minutes with a simple penalty for Mark Coulson in front of the posts after Hornets had been penalised for handling in the ruck.

It wasn’t a good start, but Bourneville found themselves in trouble from the restart when they were bundled into touch on their own 22m. Hornets made a hash of the lineout but Bourneville knocked on and Hinckley won a penalty from the resultant scrum after they had twice shunted their opponents back.

Wilson found touch 10m out and Andy Weaver set the drive from the lineout. The ball found its way to Mitch Lamb on the charge who crashed over to touch down. Joe Wilson converted, and all looked rosy for the Hornets.

That was that though for Hinckley as Bourneville somehow hung on for the rest of the half thanks to Hinckley’s profligacy with the ball and their own determined defence. The Choco’s even pulled back to within a point when Hinckley were penalised for offside in front their own posts and Coulson notched the three points.

The second half opened with a shock for the Hinckley eight when they found themselves going backwards in the scrum on their 10m line for the first time in the game to concede the penalty. They recovered well to hold out and recover the ball, but it was a wake-up call.

A simple penalty for Joe Wilson in front of the Bourneville posts a few minutes later did calm the nerves a little but the Choco’s re-took the lead on the hour with a classically simple try from a scrum on the Hinckley 22m. The ball was fed wide, and the Hinckley wing was tempted to tackle the man on his inside leaving the Bourneville man outside the simple task of running in the try. When Coulson converted, Hornets found themselves behind for the first time since the second minute against a team gaining in confidence. When Coulson notched yet another penalty in the 64th minute, the situation did not look good for Hinckley.

Last season’s Hornets may not have recovered but this year’s edition set about their task with a renewed sense of urgency, resulting in perhaps their best period in the game.

First, Hinckley won a penalty 30m from the Bourneville line and Wilson kicked them to within 10m. Hinckley pressure resulted in two further penalties before a clever cross kick behind the Bourneville defence allowed Luke Hibberd to dot down for the try.
Wilson couldn’t convert but five minutes later he again kicked a Hinckley penalty deep into the Bourneville 22m to set up another attacking line-out. The line-out was won but some sloppy handling in midfield appeared to have ended the chance of a try before Rory Vowles collected and chipped to the wing where Wilson was lurking to take the call and crash over for the score.

That put Hornets 16-20 up, but the drama was far from over. Hornets were penalised from the kick-off in front of their own posts and Coulson again added the points to bring the Choco’s within one with four to go.

Those last four minutes seemed endless. Hornets could not close out the game, but Bourneville lacked the precision to take advantage of the opportunities that came their way and Hornets did manage to hold on… just! Not pretty at all but a win is a win!