This has to go down as one of the best performances by a Hinckley side for many years. The score suggests that the home side were in total control throughout but that is misleading to say the least. Luctonians were their usual combative selves taking the fight to Hinckley throughout and enjoying at least an equal share of possession. Their scrum was solid and their line-out competitive. The difference was defence. The Hinckley defence was simply outstanding. To nil a team second in the league who had lost only four times this season prior to this game and had scored on average over 30 points per game was a stunning performance that left the travelling support shell-shocked.

In retrospect, the critical period in the game came when Hinckley scored three converted tries within a devastating five-minute spell early in the game and then withstood a period of relentless pressure from the visitors before adding the bonus point try with the final move of the half. That probably ended the game but there was no let-up from either side as both continued to battle until the end.

Hinckley still trail the Herefordshire men by 10 points in the league but this was a statement win and has opened up the race for the promotion play-off place. A bonus point win next week against fourth placed Taunton would leave Hornets just five points in arrears with both teams having five to play. The odds still favour Lucs but Hinckley have them looking nervously over their shoulder and the momentum is with the Leicester Road men.

At the end of the game defence coach Ben Avent was delighted with the performance and the result. ‘The lads were fantastic today. They executed the game plan in both attack and defence brilliantly. Defensively, they were outstanding. They put their bodies on the line for 80 minutes and never took a backward step. The resilience and physicality was the best I’ve seen in a Hinckley shirt for a number of years. To not allow one of the league’s best sides to score a single point is unheard of. That said, we now shift our focus onto Saturday’s game against Taunton.’

The early exchanges were brutal with neither side able to find a way through the opposing defence. But the deadlock was broken in the eighth minute. Hinckley secured a line-out just outside the Lucs 22m. The catch and drive broke down but Hornets were able to retain possession. The ball found Tom Addison who spotted a gap in the line and delivered a sweet pass to Travis Bennett-Allcock lurking on the wing. He needed no second invitation to go in in the corner and Rory Vowles converted.

Two minutes later Hinckley were back. From a scrum on halfway, a poor pass from Evan Carey gave Addison little option but to kick to the wing. Bennett-Allcock claimed the ball and went for the line. He was pulled down short but recycled ball found Oli Bee who charged over for the score by the posts. Again, Vowles converted.

And with just 3 minutes more minutes added to the clock, in a replay of the earlier move, Addison kicked from a scrum on halfway, Allcock-Bennett again claimed the high ball and this time made it to the line unchallenged for his second try. Vowles added the extras to make it 21-0 with less than 15 minutes on the clock.

Lucs though were not in the mood to lie down and came back hard. They got over the line but the ball was adjudged to have been held-up. From the kick-out, Hinckley were only saved when a final pass out to the left wing was deemed forward by the referee.

Lucs continued to press but Hinckley stood firm. A series of penalties by the home side attracted a lecture from the referee and an outbreak of handbags on the Hinckley 22m looked likely to attract a card. The referee found no reason to take action but did card Callum Dacey for a high tackle on the other side of the park.

With a man down, it looked ominous for the Hinckley men but it seemed to galvanise Hornets and it was they who scored next. A period of sustained Hinckley pressure reminiscent of the earlier action at the other end eventually yielded a try from a short-range catch and drive attempt. The initial drive was held but a series of pick and goes eventually saw George Patten touch down and Vowles put over a simple conversion to send the home side in for the break 28-0 to the good.

The second half was a real arm wrestle. Both sides continued to batter away with little reward. The scoreboard did not change until the 61st minute when Vowles slotted a penalty from 25m after Lucs had been caught offside.

The final quarter was much of the same with Lucs becoming increasingly desperate to break their duck but unable to break through a resolute Hinckley defence and it was Hinckley again who grabbed what was to be the final score. A Hinckley penalty on halfway for a scrum offence was despatched by Addison to set up a line-out 10m from the Lucs’ line. Jack Ramshaw duly took the catch but the forwards weren’t able to batter their way over. When the ball was released to the backs, a wonderfully quick take and pass from Vowles set up a try for Sam Read in in the corner to complete the scoring.

It was a victory that will be long remembered by the Leicester Road faithful.

Nick Robinson