This was ugly rugby, anything but the end of season festival of running rugby between two sides with nothing to play for but pride that many spectators might have hoped for. Instead, it was nasty, niggly stuff with one team looking to run the ball while the other did all they could to kill the game as a spectacle. The game was not helped by a referee who failed to keep control, whose interpretation of the offside law meant that the Luctonians’ backs often seemed to be lining up alongside their opposite numbers, and who had seemingly never heard of the concept of a deliberate knock-on, but he could not be blamed for the abrasive negativity adopted by the home side after they had established a 21-point lead in the first 30 mins of play.

That is not to say that Hinckley did not contribute to their own downfall. Their line-out was again far from secure, the scrummage looked shaky early on, and their kicking game, particularly in the first half when they struggled to get out of their own half, was not of the calibre required. The early departure of Billy Pasco to injury followed in the second period by Will Callan were unfortunate and Luctonians, to their credit, had done their homework, but their gameplan seemed to be simply to do everything possible to spoil, particularly in the second period, and thereby eliminate any possibility of Hinckley’s backs running the ball. It was not a game that will live long in the memory.

Defence coach Ben Avent was somewhat sanguine after the game. ‘It wasn’t a great game to end the season but I was pleased with the way the lads stuck to their task and came back well after going 21-0 down but we’d just left ourselves too much to do. If you look back at the results since just before Christmas though you can see how hard the lads have worked to turn round what had been a very poor season to that point. I think we now have a team that can challenge next season and we’re already looking forward to it.’

The first few minutes of the game actually promised much in the way of entertainment as both sides had opportunities to open the scoring but Lucs slowly began to get the upper hand, and Hornets found themselves penned in their own half with little idea how to break the Lucs’ stranglehold.

The Hinckley defence was impressive throughout the first quarter but, as the game entered the second quarter, from a Lucs’ scrum 30m from the Hinckley line the ball was sent wide to wing George Bennett who made ground into the Hinckley 22m before returning the ball inside for centre Rob Bengry to touch down under the posts. It was a little too easy and perhaps had something to do with the fact that the Hinckley line was still adjusting after the departure of Pasco immediately beforehand.

Six minutes later Lucs doubled their lead Hinckley were penalised for handling in the ruck on their own 22m. The ball was kicked to 5m, the catch and drive set up, and Hinckley could do nothing to stop it. Seb Robinson, in his final first team appearance, got the touch down and Randell again converted.

Lucs’ third came from a similar situation a few minutes later. A scrum penalty on the Hinckley 22m was again kicked to 5m to set up the catch and drive. This time though the drive was held but a few phases in and scrum half Randell was able to snipe from the base and score under the posts and then convert his own try.

It was not looking good for Hinckley with half-time approaching but there were signs that they were beginning to break the Lucs’ stranglehold. Matt Guilfoyle made an outstanding break from deep inside his own half but wasn’t able to offload. A minute or so later, Hornets had a scrum 10m from the Lucs’ line and when the ball came back a delightful long miss-pass from Rory Vowles found Jamie Dutton unmarked out wide. Dutton ran in for a relatively easy score but Vowles couldn’t convert.

That was half-time. Lucs had undoubtedly had the better of the half but there were promising signs at the end that Hornets may yet turn it round.

The second period didn’t start well for the Leicester Road men when Tongauiha was penalised for not rolling away on the Hinckley 22m in front of the posts and Randell, unsurprisingly, opted to take the points.

There was though little to recommend the rest of the half with constant stoppages, much niggle, and little constructive rugby on offer. Hinckley were by far the more positive but were constantly thwarted by the home side. There were a couple of bouts of handbags as tempers frayed, the second of which at last saw the referee take some action in a belated attempt to retrieve control as Vowles and Randell were both handed yellow cards.

The one highlight was an outstanding effort by Rafe Witheat as the game entered the final quarter. From a scrum on the Hinckley 10m line, the ball was released to Mitch Lamb who broke the line before offloading to Witheat just inside the Lucs’ half. Witheat rounded his man and ran for the line, easily outpacing the cover defence to score under the posts. Vowles converted.

That made in 24-12 and that’s how it remained. There was some satisfaction for the Hinckley pack in the final few minutes as they twice pushed their opposite numbers back 10m but in the end it made little difference. When the referee blew for time, it came as something of a relief.
Hinckley therefore finish ninth in the table which will be seen as a bit disappointing given that a few weeks a top four finish was achievable. However, the Leicester Road men can hold their heads high after turning round a campaign that in the early days looked likely to end in disaster.

Nick Robinson