They say that good teams will find a way to win even when they don’t play well. It that is so, then this match was proof indeed that Hinckley are becoming a very good team. This was far from being a vintage performance by the Leicester Road men (they were behind for much of the game) but three tries in the last 15 minutes saw Hornets finally pull away from a University side that belied their lowly league position with a performance that perhaps deserved at least a point. The bonus point win gave Hornets their fifth victory in succession and further consolidated their fourth place in the league.

It was not pretty and Hinckley failed to reach the heights they have attained in recent weeks. The defence was outstanding but, in attack, the precision that been so evident recently simply eluded them. There were too many speculative kicks through when keeping the ball in hand might have been the better option, too many breaks where the support was too slow to arrive, and too many passes that failed to reach their target. It was more than a little frustrating for those watching in the stands.

Nevertheless, Hinckley walked away with yet another five points. The match will not live long in the memory, with good reason, but the Hinckley men will take heart from the fact they can still win when not at their best and will take the long drive to Redruth next week in good heart.

Defence coach Ben Avent was happy to take the points while recognising that it was a struggle. ‘Today was one of those games where we really had to show our character. We dug deep for long periods, absorbed a lot of pressure, and ultimately found a way to win what was a very tight contest, and to come away with a bonus point as well is a huge positive for the group. What pleased me most was the collective effort. Everyone stuck to the plan, stayed patient, and trusted the system.’

‘The impact from the bench was outstanding. Every player who came on added something meaningful, They helped shift the momentum at a crucial time, and that made a big difference in getting us over the line. It was a real squad performance, and one we can definitely build on moving forward.’

With two of the highest scoring sides on the field, the festive crowd were expecting something of a points landslide but the opening exchanges were hardly promising. Indeed, Hornets spent much of the quarter struggling to get out of their own half but, for all their pressure, the Students never looked likely to breach the Hinckley line either. Hornets did suffer an early blow when Jamie Dutton had to be replaced early on by Tom Addison after suffering what seemed a serious shoulder injury but other than that little of note occurred.

The first serious threat to either line did not materialise until the 22nd minute when Hinckley secured a penalty line-out 10m from the Exeter line, took the catch and drove over the line with some ease only for the ball to be adjudged to have been held-up. A break from halfway by Evan Carey was hacked on shortly afterwards but the ball went dead before the chasers could get to it and the chance was gone.

Surprisingly, it was Exeter who secured first blood from a penalty in front of the posts on the Hinckley 22m, comfortably slotted by Ben Mills. But Hinckley hit back almost immediately. From a scrum on the Exeter 22m, the ball was picked up at the back and some delightful back row interplay finally put Oli Bee through for the try. Vowles added the extras.

That made it 7-3 which is how it remained until half-time but Hinckley did have to survive a scare as the half was drawing to a close. An Exeter line-out on the Hinckley 22m saw centre Frankie Jefferies clean through on the line but a miraculous tackle on the line by Matt Browne saw the Students denied and a knock-on led the referee to send the players in for the break.

The second period started in much the same way as the first and again it was the Students who scored first, again from a Mills penalty on the Hinckley 22m in the 53rd minute, and 10 minutes later they took the lead with a well taken score by wing Josh Golden-Clark from a line-out on the Hinckley 22m. Mills converted.

Hornets closed the gap to just one point with a pushover try for Matt Browne from a 5m scrum but when Vowles could not convert the home support were getting somewhat twitchy with just ten minutes left on the clock. But then it came good.

Callum Dacey broke the Exeter line on halfway to get deep into the Students’ 22m. The recycled ball was sent wide and the ever-predatory Will Callan swooped for the try. The conversion again went wide but Hinckley were on top.

Six minutes later, a scrum penalty just inside the Exeter half was kicked to 15m. The catch and drive was set and took the ball on before being released for Dacey to crash over for the try. When Vowles added the extras with just three minutes left the match was over.

The Students threw everything into those last three in a desperate search for the try that would have given them a bonus point but Hinckley held solid until the referee finally blew for time. It had not been memorable but it was another solid win for the Hornets.

Nick Robinson