A first half, during which Hinckley utterly dominated their West Country opponents, was enough for the Leicester Road men to record their third straight victory and climb to equal fourth in the table. With a game plan designed to restrict Reds attacking potential, Hornets proved ruthless and efficient in that first half, racking up 28 unanswered point with no reply and securing the bonus point before the break. Callum Dacey again showed what a difference he can make to the Hinckley side, Mitch Lamb made some storming runs in the centre, and Will Callan was as predatory as ever. The pack were efficient, the back -row, with Josh Kent outstanding, were relentless. It was good to watch.

With the game effectively won, however, Hinckley faded somewhat during the second period, giving Reds the opportunity to stage something of a comeback. They outscored the home side by 19 points to 8 in what was a 40 mins of missed opportunities for the home side. Reds did come out after the break with renewed vigour and a greater willingness to take the game to Hornets which had much to do with their change in fortune, but Hinckley fell short of the excellence they had achieved before half-time.

That said, the net result is that Hinckley move on to Chester next week as the form team in the division, their early season travails becoming a distant memory.

Defence coach Ben Avent was a happy man at the end of proceedings. ‘I thought we managed the game really well today, especially in the first half. We controlled territory, looked composed, and stuck to our plan. In the second half we definitely took our foot off the gas, and a bit of ill-discipline together with our own errors halted any momentum we were trying to build. That’s something we have to tidy up.’

‘That said, the lads got the job done with a five-point home win, and that’s three victories in a row now after what was a difficult start to the season. Credit to the boys – they’ve worked incredibly hard, stayed tight, and the improvement is showing.’

‘Defensively we’ve taken real steps forward over the last few weeks, and we’re going to keep pushing that area. Training has been excellent, the attitude has been spot-on, and we’re already looking forward to the challenge of Chester away on Saturday.’

Hornets were out of the gate taking just three minute to register their first score. A high tackle by Reds on their own 22m gave Rory Vowles the opportunity to set up a short-range catch and drive. The pack were held but the ball found it’s way to Callum Dacey who crashed over for the try and Vowles added the extras.

The second score took some time, however, but with Reds struggling to get out of their half, there was a sense of inevitability building. Kent this time was the beneficiary. With the half hour approaching, Dacey made a break on halfway deep into the Reds’ 22m before being brought down. The ball was recycled, and Kent was able to force his way to the line for the score. Vowles again converted.

Hornets did then escape with a let-off when Reds worked their way close to the Hinckley line but the final pass went to ground and the danger passed.

Jamie Dutton then set up an attacking line-out with an outstanding 50:22 kick from his own 22m. From the line-out, Hinckley won a penalty 5m from the Reds’ line and a quick tap and go from Ben Pointon saw him wriggle over for the third try. Vowles slotted his third conversion.

Reds then kicked the restart dead to give Hinckley a scrum on halfway. With the scrum rock-solid, Pointon sent the ball left, Dacey put in a teasing grubber kick, Callan hacked on and then beat the final defender to the touchdown despite a blatant attempt to hold him back. That was the bonus point and, when Vowles added the extras, Hinckley went in with a 28-0 lead and the home support were purring in contentment.

But Hornets have developed a habit of conceding shortly after the break and so it was again. A knock-on in their own 22m, a penalty conceded, a catch and drive opportunity for Reds, a kick to the corner, and wing Renico Bailey collected to go over. Zac Tomlin then put over an excellent conversion to make it seven points.

Reds then dropped the ball over the Hinckley line (another let-off) but Hornets then quickly worked their way downfield with a couple of penalties to give themselves a line-out chance 25m from the Reds line. But the line-out was lost.

Another catch and drive opportunity from 5m ended with Hornets being penalised for crossing, and a few minutes later, when it looked like Hinckley had found their mojo again, they were called back after they had crossed the line when the final pass was adjudged forward.

A Reds’ penalty on halfway gave them a line-out on the Hinckley 22m but when the ball was knocked on the danger seemed to have passed. But Hornets conceded a penalty from the scrum and a quick tap and go saw Reds somehow wriggle through for the score to make it 28-12.

With just nine minutes left though, Vowles did manage to break the Hornets’ duck adding a penalty to finally end what had proved a frustrating half hour for the Hornets. And then a rampaging run 40m from Kent took Hornets to the Reds 22m before a no-arms tackle on Callan ended the move and earned Reds’ flanker Jalen Curry a yellow card. The inevitable short-range catch and drive attempt was held but Matt Browne was on hand to go over for a well taken try.

That made it 36-12 with seven minutes to go. Reds threw everything into those last seven minutes and did force a score at the death from Ethan Gaynor but the match had been lost long before that point.

Nick Robinson