Hinckley crashed to a third successive home defeat against one of the likely title contenders in glorious late summer sunshine at Leicester Road on Saturday. Hornets were given a lesson in controlled, purposeful rugby by the men from Redruth who, despite a 566 mile round trip, looked fitter, fresher, and sharper then the men in black and gold. ‘The Reds’ are a class act and it would be a major surprise if they are not challenging for the championship at the end of the season.

Hornets on the other hand are currently a mere shadow of the side that finished third in the northern division last time out and look set for a long hard season unless something changes soon. Admittedly, they have had a tough opening few games playing three of the likely title contenders in succession, and the side has been ravaged by early season injuries, but this was still poor stuff. They were beaten in every aspect of the game, other than perhaps the scrum, and, whenever they did begin to build some momentum, error after error meant that chances went begging.

Hornets did manage to build some pressure in the early part of the second half but failed to breach the Redruth line and the Reds went on to claim an emphatic victory and in so doing became the only unbeaten side in the division.

It did not start well for Hornets. After just one minute, a Reds line-out in the Hinckley 22m was sent along the line and despite some scrappy handling, scrum-half Jack Oulton eventually went in for the score. Fraser Honey, who had an immaculate day with the boot, duly converted.

7 points turned into 14 with only 10 minutes gone after Henry Joule stepped into touch while collecting the ball in the Hinckley 22m to gift a line-out to the Reds. Hornets held the initial drive from the line-out but a series of pick and drives from the Reds pack eventually saw flanker Ben Fox force his way over for the try which Honey converted.

Honey extended the lead to 0-17 when he converted a penalty on the half hour and, with half-time approaching, Reds’ winger Kyle Bradley went in after a Reds’ scrum had set up a series of probing phases in the Hinckley 22m. The conversion made it 0-24 with Hornets looking ragged.

Hinckley did pull one back on the cusp of half-time when a lovely chip over the top by Mitch Lamb in the Redruth 22m was collected by Rory Vowles to score under the posts. Joe Wilson converted.

The try did seem to give Hornets some momentum and the third quarter was undoubtedly their best period of the match. There was even some optimism in the crowd that a comeback may be on the cards but Hornets could not breach a resolute Redruth defence.

The spell was broken when Honey added another penalty as the match entered the final quarter. The Reds gradually exerted their control and, with 15 remaining, set up a line-out in the Hinckley 22m. Despite initially losing the line-out, the Reds were still able to secure the ball and a patient, well-disciplined series of pick and drives resulted in Shaun Buzza forcing his way over for the bonus point try. Honey again converted.

Hornets almost pulled one back shortly afterwards but a long-range pass from Vowles to Joe Wilson on the wing was called forward by the referee with Wilson about to touch down. It pretty well summed up the afternoon for the home team.

The final nail in the Hornets’ coffin came with the last play of the game. Yet another Redruth line-out was set up in the Hinckley 22m and once more the Reds were able to go through the phases to open up a gap for second row Todd Prisk to go over. There was a sense of inevitability about the Honey conversion as Reds broke the 40 point barrier.

DOR Scott Hamilton was disappointed but not despondent after the game. ‘We came up against a good, well organised side today, perhaps the most organised I’ve come across at this level,’ commented Hamilton. ‘I didn’t feel they had too many outstanding players but they were a very well drilled outfit and a good benchmark against which to measure ourselves. They were by far the best of the three sides we have seen so far. It’s disappointing to lose by such a margin but I do feel that our performances are trending in the right direction. I felt we were a bit unlucky with some of the referee’s calls today and we did rather butcher a couple of line-outs close to their line which could have narrowed the score-line. We’re not a poor side and I’m confident that when we get back to full strength the results will come. Clifton next week are another top side but we’ll keep working to improve. Alex Salt is available again and he will make a difference.’

Hornets have recovered from worse losing streaks in recent years to achieve respectability but the sense of optimism that abounded at the start of the season is fast evaporating and a win is becoming essential. It may not come at Clifton but the coaching team will be targeting the following week at home to early season strugglers Westcliffe to finally kick-start the season.

Nick Robinson