It was a brave effort but ultimately Hinckley fell short against a Camborne side who, even at this stage of the season, are being touted as odds-on favourites to take the title this year. They now stand four from four with maximum bonus points and have now established clear water between themselves and the chasing pack. Hinckley, on the other hand, are now languishing in eleventh place with a solitary win to their name after a disappointing start to their campaign.

In fairness, Hinckley have struggled badly with injuries and are yet to field what many would consider their strongest side. Of the three games they have lost, both the Hornets and Taunton games could easily have been wins so there is no reason yet to panic. But on Saturday there was no doubting the better side.

Few actually expected Hinckley to get close to the table-toppers before the game so it was something of a surprise when the teams went in at the break with Hinckley having their noses in front. Hopes of a surprise result were high amongst the home support but the second period was a different story as the visitors ran in five tries and left Hinckley for dead.

The turning point came ten minutes after the break when Oscar Harper was unlucky to be carded for an innocuous looking high challenge, particularly when viewed against a number of earlier tackles that had not been penalised by the referee. With Hinckley down to fourteen, Town ran in three tries in ten minutes to take the game away from Hinckley. A spectacular solo effort from Ben Pointon that he had simply no right to score closed the gap to ten points with fifteen to go but Camborne were not seriously troubled after that.

There was disappointment but pride in their charges from the coaching staff after the game. Defence Coach Ben Avent summed it up well. ‘The lads put in a fantastic effort in the first half against a Camborne team that I believe will be champions in April. Unfortunately, we weren’t clinical enough in the red zone during the first half and made too many errors both in possession and defensively in our own half after half time. That said the boys stood up to the physical challenge that playing Camborne brings. We need to be more rugby smart and find a way to win these tight games. October is a massive month for us now and we are all looking forward to the challenges it will bring.’

It was a bruising first quarter with neither side giving ground. Hinckley were unlucky not to take first blood after a catch and drive from 15m out was driven over the line but was judged to have been held up. Instead, it was Camborne who put the first points on the board when Ben Priddey, their prolific try-scoring hooker, eventually forced his way over on 18 minutes after Hinckley had initially held a short-range catch and drive attempt. The try was converted.

Hinckley went close again shortly afterwards, knocking on just short of the line but a penalty against Camborne at the resultant scrum gave Vowles the opportunity to pull three points back.

Five minutes later, Hinckley took the lead when a cross-kick from Vowles just outside the Town 22m sat up nicely for the on-rushing Will Callan to collect and cross the line unopposed. Vowles slotted the conversion to make it 10-7. And so it remained for the remainder of what continued to be a brutally physical half. Hinckley were proving more than a match for the visitors.

The spell was broken somewhat however immediately after the break. Will Callan failed to field a high ball just outside his 22m and presented the Camborne with a scrum. From the scrum, Town worked the ball towards the line with clinical efficiency and wing Alex Ducker crossed the line for the score as Hornets simply ran out of defenders.

The lead was short-lived, however. Camborne held their own ball at a line-out 15m from their line and sent the ball down the line for the clearance kick, but Josh Kent managed to pick off the pass and ran in under the posts for the score as a stunned Town looked on. Vowles converted to make it 17-12 and the game looked set for a dramatic finish.

But frustratingly Hornets then failed to claim the ball from the restart and poor defence allowed Ducker to cross the line again and the conversion gave Camborne a slender 19-17 lead.

Then came the Harper yellow card and, with the extra man, Town showed just why they are favourites for the title. First, Priddey grabbed his second try from a ruthlessly efficient short-range catch and drive. Then Ducker recovered a chip ahead after a scrum just inside the Hinckley half to cross in the corner for his hat-trick. And finally, it was Ducker again going over at the end of a delightful sweeping movement that left the home side floundering. That took it to 17-34. It was clinical, it was ruthless, and Hinckley were left shell-shocked. The game was effectively over.

Pointon did close the gap from a quick tap and go penalty on the Hinckley 10m line. There seemed nowhere for him to go but, somehow, he wriggled his way through the defensive line as only Ben Pointon can do and just made it to the line as the cover defence closed in. It was an uplifting moment after the earlier trauma and when Vowles added the extras the gap was down to ten.

Hinckley did almost grab two bonus points with a fourth try at the death when a break from halfway saw Hinckley clear and away. But Ducker got a hand to the final pass and deliberately knocked the ball on. It was a highly cynical move and did earn him a yellow card but had it happened 10m closer to the line it may well have been a red and a penalty try. With time up Hinckley did still have the opportunity to salvage something but after some debate as to whether to go for the points or for the corner, Vowles went for goal but pushed the ball wide to leave the Leicester Road men pointless. They deserved better for their efforts but in the end, they were beaten by a better team.

Nick Robinson