Refereeing a rugby match is a tough job. The laws are complex and often open to interpretation. 360-degree vision is a job requirement, and it is guaranteed that at least one side will be left feeling disgruntled at the end of the day. No-one expects a referee to be infallible and players accept mistakes will sometimes be made.

That said, what those same players do expect is consistency in decision making. This was a game where that consistency was less than apparent, and it was Hornets who seemed to bear the brunt of that inconsistency throughout the afternoon. Scrum dominance was not rewarded, the breakdown seemed something of a lottery, and sanctions seemed to be imposed randomly. Perhaps the most glaring example of inconsistency was when Rory Vowles was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on, early in the second half, but two other later deliberate knock-ons against Dings, the second of which prevented a certain try for Hinckley, attracted no more than a penalty. The irony was that Vowles had been red-carded and a penalty try awarded against Hinckley for a similarly adjudged deliberate knock-on only a few weeks earlier against Clifton.

That said, this was not a great day at the office for Hornets and it would be highly disrespectful to a battling Dings side to suggest that the referee lost the game for Hinckley. True, the team did have to be reshuffled at the last minute when Joe Glover pulled out injured in the warm up, and injuries elsewhere meant that the back-row selected did not have quite the mobility that the coaches would have liked on what was Hornets’ first outing this season on an artificial surface, but the bottom line is that Hinckley did not play well until the last 20 minutes when it was too late. They were 10 points down before the team had mentally got off the bus and their first up tackling was way short of what was required. Joe Wilson had an uncharacteristic off day from the tee, and there were again issues with on-field discipline.

‘It was disappointing,’ commented DOR Scott Hamilton. ‘The officiating wasn’t helpful, and it took us a long time to adapt but we didn’t play well enough today. Our defence let us down – we gave them two tries that they didn’t really have to work too hard for – and the two yellow cards meant we had to play 20 minutes with only 14 men. There were some very frustrated players in the dressing room after the game. I didn’t feel that Dings were any better than other sides we have beaten recently; we just didn’t play as well.’

‘I was pleased though with the way we stuck at it, and we did come out with a bonus point. We have two massive games now before we break for a much-needed rest but, with a big crowd expected next week and then the local derby against Lions, I don’t think we will have any problems getting the lads up for the challenge.’

Hornets had the worst of starts. A penalty on the Hinckley 10m line was kicked to the corner, the line-out taken, and Dings lock Danny Hodge barged over for the score. Tom Price converted and followed it up with a penalty from the restart when Hornets Matt Fearne was penalised for not rolling away – 5 minutes in, 10 points down.

Hornets did then start to wake up and pulled one back through skipper Alex Salt picking up from the back of a penalty scrum deep in the Dings 22m to force his way over the line. Wilson missed the conversion.

Price added a second penalty 6 minutes later and Dings further extended their lead after 25 minutes when centre Matty Smith forced his way over for an all too easy try following a penalty line-out eight meters from the Hinckley line.

The Price conversion took it to 20-5 which was how it stayed until half-time. By that time, however, Hornets had lost Matt Fearne to a yellow card and, with only 14 men on the pitch, it looked a long way back for Hornets.

No sooner had Fearne returned, than Vowles was carded, and Dings soon took advantage of the extra man when they span the ball wide on the Hinckley 22m. Hornets simply ran out of defenders, and Smith went over for his second, again converted by Price.

Hornets were still not out of it though and, on 52 minutes, from a penalty line-out 5m from the Dings line, Josh Smith forced his way over after Ben Pointon had gone close. With Hornets finally restored to a full complement, they did begin to compete and a possible fightback looked on.

But it was Dings who grabbed the next score to effectively put the game out of reach when replacement scrum-half Waylon Gascon muscled over from close range to make it 32-10 on the hour.

It was all about bonus points from thereon, but the score did herald what was Hinckley’s best period of the day.

Dings went down to 14 when the referee yellow carded a Dings man after a kick to a prone Hinckley player which many would argue deserved greater sanction, and Hornets began to turn the screw.

A Hinckley line-out just inside the Dings half was driven to the 22m line, released right then returned left for Toby Baldwin to go over for the score.

5 minutes later Rory Vowles grabbed the bonus point after Hornets had opted for a penalty scrum five metres the Dings line, and, with a few minutes still to play, Dings did begin to look a little nervously over their shoulders. But it was all too late and, as the referee blew for time, Hornets were left to rue what might have been.

Nick Robinson