Scunthorpe 10 Hinckley 28

Hornets travelled to old friends and rivals Scunthorpe somewhat buoyed by the England v New Zealand result earlier in the day, but knowing that no less than a bonus point victory against a winless Greens side was going to satisfy their support after an inept performance against Fylde the previous week.

In conditions more suited to water-polo than rugby, they duly delivered. Scunthorpe fielded a big pack of forwards and dominated possession throughout much of the game but had little to offer behind their pack. It was bludgeon against rapier, and an outstanding defensive performance, with the Povoas brothers in particular revelling in the mud. The lighter but more mobile Hornets pack was able to hold out well against their lumbering opposite numbers and when the opportunities came the backs were able to take advantage. Ben Marshall, returning from injury, and Sam Greening, in his first start for the Club, were both prominent, and it was frankly difficult to think of any individual who didn’t perform well. Four tries, two in each half, from Joe Wilson, Ben Marshall, Tom Wheatcroft and Rory Vowles, all converted by Joe Wilson were enough for the Hornets to carry off the spoils.

After the travails of last week, Director of Rugby Scott Hamilton was more buoyant. ‘That was good for us, particularly after last week. The conditions meant that we had to dig in, get dirty, and do all the basics right if we were to challenge their pack. We did just that and I thought the first 20 minutes were the best of the season to date. We were disappointed to concede two tries and there were still mistakes which let Scunthorpe back into the game but it was still a positive step forward after the Fylde game. Scunthorpe have been struggling since their promotion so it was a game one would have hoped we could win, but you can only beat the team in front of you and we did just that. With their big forwards, they will surprise a few teams during the season so we are pleased to have come away with the victory.’

To be frank, it was questionable if the game should have been played at all given that there was standing water on just about every area of the pitch and rain continuing to fall. But with both sides keen not to build up a fixtures backlog this early in the season, the match was allowed to go ahead and it was a credit to both sides that the game was a much more entertaining affair than could have been expected in the conditions.

In contrast to previous games this season, it was Hinckley who drew first blood. The game was only four minutes old when from a line-out on the Scunthorpe 22m, Ben Pointon collected the ball from Ollie Ashworth, ran across the pitch and flipped a neat reverse pass to Joe Wilson coming in off his wing at pace. Wilson touched down under the posts and then converted his own try… 0–7.

Hornets doubled the advantage just a few minutes later after a poor pass from the base of a Scunthorpe scrum was dropped and Hornets were able to pounce on the loose ball. The forwards carried the ball to the line with a series of pick and drives, allowing Ben Marshall to force his way over by the posts. Wilson again converted.

Thereafter, the Greens built a sustained period of pressure but a combination of solid defence and poor Scunthorpe handling meant that Hornets were able to sustain their lead.

Scunthorpe did manage a try just before the break to give themselves some hope for the second period, when, after Ashworth had been shown a yellow card, the Greens pack were able to barge their way over from a tap penalty around 15m from the line. No. 8 Ben Hyde came up with the ball but Cook could not convert.

With Scunthorpe hanging onto Hinckley’s tail at 5-14, both sides were aware that the first score after the interval was likely to be crucial. Hornets had the better start to the half and after 50 minutes the score duly came.

From a Hinckley scrum 15m from the Greens line, Pointon fed Wheatcroft who sold an outrageous dummy to ghost through for the score which Wilson again converted.

Thereafter, the Greens kept battering away at the Hinckley line for much of the half but it was more or less a repeat of the latter part of the first half with the Hinckley defence being aided and abetted by some poor handling from the Greens.

When the score did come after 68 minutes, it was pretty much a carbon copy of Scunthorpe’s earlier try. The Greens won a penalty some 10m from the Hinckley line when Hornets failed to release in the tackle. A tap penalty with the pack lined up to drive the ball over eventually saw flanker Jacob Hardy wrestle his way over.

That, however, prompted an immediate response from Hornets. A lineout 30m from the Scunthorpe line gave the Hinckley pack the chance to work their way towards the line with a series of pick and drives before the ball was released to the backs and Rory Vowles, who had another lively game with ball in hand, was able to wriggle his way to the line under the posts for the bonus point try.

Wilson added the extras to take the score to 10-28 and that was how it stayed as Hinckley managed to contain the Greens largely in their own 22m for the final few minutes.

The win sees Hornets climb to climb to 11th place in the League. Next week, Preston Grasshoppers, who lie two places and one point ahead of Hornets in the table, visit Leicester Road. Another win could see Hornets climb into the top half of the table for the first time this season.

Nick Robinson