Hinckley bounced back after last week’s disappointing result at Redruth with an emphatic win at Loughborough Students which saw them restored to fourth position in the division and Students fall further into the relegation mire.

On a dark, cold and murky midwinter day on which few had ventured out to observe proceedings those that did were treated to a feast of running rugby that both sides contributed to. In truth, Students looked a highly effective attacking force with some slick handling and purposeful running but the Hinckley defence proved resilient and, on the day, it was only a couple of late Students’ tries when the game had already been lost that gave an element of respectability to the scoreline. Hornets, on the other hand, were clinical in seizing opportunities when they presented themselves and the fact that the list of try-scorers included nine different names was testament to the all-round effectiveness of their play. It was a highly satisfactory way to end the first half of the campaign and go into the winter break.

Hinckley’s attack coach Tom Wheatcroft was beaming after the game. ‘The squad produced an excellent response following last week’s game against Redruth, showing real intent and togetherness from the opening exchanges. The reaction from the boys was exactly what was needed, with energy and physicality setting the tone early on.’

‘One of the key areas highlighted for improvement was being more clinical, and that certainly showed in our performance. We took our opportunities well and converted pressure into points. That said, there is still room for improvement in the red zone, as we left further points out on the field that could have put the game beyond doubt earlier.’

‘This victory places us in a fantastic position moving forward. Securing this win gives us real momentum and provides a positive platform heading into January, which we know will be a challenging month with a tough run of fixtures.’

‘Loughborough University always present a unique challenge, as you never quite know what type of side you will come up against. Their attacking threat was evident throughout the game, asking questions of our defence on numerous occasions. Credit to the group for the way they handled this, dealing with the pressure well and defending strongly for long periods of the match.’

Arguably, Students had the better of the opening exchanges but it was Hinckley who put the first points on the board. A penalty on halfway for offside against Students allowed Hinckley to set up a line-out on the Loughborough 22m. The ball was released left and Tom Addison put a cheeky grubber kick behind the Students’ defence and followed through to win the race to the line. Rory Vowles added the extras.

But within a minute, Students were level when Hinckley failed (not for the first time in the afternoon) to deal with the restart kick. The ball fell to Loughborough flanker Will Peart-Smith who collected and simply ran in for a gift of a try. The conversion levelled the score.

Bizarrely, Students then also failed to deal with the restart at the other end. Hinckley recovered the ball, sent it down the line and Will Callan ghosted through for his twelfth try of the season with Vowles again adding the extras – 14-7 after just 11 minutes.

Sam Read went close shortly afterwards but the recycled ball was dropped with the line open but Read got his reward a minute or two later when some delightful handling on halfway released him to run for the line as the first quarter came to an end.

It looked like Hinckley might be about to pull clear but Students responded with a try of their own on the half hour. Loughborough won a penalty for crossing just inside the Hinckley half and set up a line-out 10m from the Hinckley line. The drive was held but the ball went down the line and, after a few phases, wing Ben Roberts went in at the corner. The conversion brought the Students back within a score.

Four minutes later, Hinckley hit back again, this time through Callum Dacey who went in at the corner for the bonus point try after the pack had driven deep into the Loughborough 22m with a catch and drive.

And five minutes later, another short-range catch and drive attempt from the Hinckley pack went down just short but Andy Muirhead picked up and drove over the line. Vowles converted and the referee sent the players in for the break with Hinckley in a comfortable 14-33 lead.

The killer blow came immediately after the restart when Hinckley went in for two tries within six minutes. First, Devon Coulson turned over the ball at a ruck on the Loughborough 22m and went rampaging through a stretched defence for a try. And then Henry Higginson was the beneficiary after an overthrown Loughborough line-out on halfway was recovered by the men in black and gold and worked to the line. With Vowles adding one of the conversions the score stood at 14-45 with over half an hour to go.

Students were not lying down though and were given a chance when Dacey was carded a few minutes later. An opportunity was missed when, from the penalty, the ball was dropped over the line.
Redemption came a couple of minutes later, however, when good handling from a line-out on halfway created a two man overlap against the stretched Hornets defence and fullback Louis Callow was able to run in for an unconverted try.

That led to a sustained period of Loughborough pressure but the Hinckley defence stood firm and when Evan Carey pounced on a ball that had shot out of the back of a Students scrum for yet another try to take the score to 19-50 with 13 minutes left, the game was done.

With Hornets relaxing a little, Loughborough secured a bonus point through Peart-Smith, arguably the pick of the Students side, who then popped up four minutes later for his third when Hinckley again messed up a restart kick. In between times, Dacey had gone in for his second after Coulson had secured turn-over ball also from a restart. It was all a little frenetic but the hard work had already been done and Hornets had secured another 5-point win.

Nick Robinson