It was a welcome change for the Hornets to only have to travel a few miles to an away fixture this season and the spring sunshine seemed to bring something of a celebratory atmosphere to proceedings. In the event, however, Hornets lost local bragging rights to the Lions in what proved a tightly fought contest between two evenly matched sides. It was arguably the right result on the day, but it could so easily have gone the other way.
As so often happens in such games, the match hinged on two critical moments which could have turned the game. The first came early in the first half when, with Hornets on top, Callum Dacey, returning to action after having had to sit out most of the season with a knee injury, sprinted for the corner on the left and seemed to have grabbed a crucial try that would have given Hornets the lead. After initially giving the thumbs up for the score to the referee, the touch judge then appeared to change his mind and Dacey was adjudged to have been held up over the line. Commenting after the game Dacey said, ‘100% I grounded the ball, but as it bounced back up two defenders got a hand under it and that's what the linesman told the ref. It’s disappointing but these things can happen in rugby.'
The second key moment was ten minutes into the second half. A Hornets scrum just short of the Hinckley 10m line looked to be an opportunity for Hornets to launch an attack but, with the ball at Alex Salt’s feet, a second surge by the Lions’ front row caught their opposite numbers off guard and Hornets were pushed off the ball. Lions scrum half James Stubbs collected and, with the Hornets defence at sixes and sevens, ran to the line unopposed to touch down under the posts. The conversion took the score to 19-3 in favour of Lions and ultimately proved too much of an ask for Hornets to overhaul.

DOR Scott Hamilton was philosophical about the defeat after the game. ‘I felt we started well and to go in at half-time with just a six points deficit against a very strong wind meant we were in a good place. We were unlucky with the Dacey ‘try’ but we looked after the ball, managed to put pressure on them at the breakdown, and were looking good for the win. In the second half we wanted to put the screws on them in the scrum, but it didn’t work, particularly after they changed their front row. The turning point was when we conceded after being blown off our own ball at the scrum. They had their tails up after that and we were chasing the game. It didn’t help that we had a few guys coming back from injury and we seemed to run out of steam a little towards the end. We still scored two good tries, but overall Lions deserved the win. They were the better side on the day. We’re really looking forward to the return in a few weeks’ time though when the returning guys will have a few games behind them. It’ll be a different game then.’

Despite playing into the strong wind, Hornets had slightly the better of the early exchanges, but it was Lions who took the lead after eight minutes with a penalty in front of the Hinckley posts which was easily converted by Ben Young.

The Dacey ‘try’ came two minutes later but Joe Wilson and Young then exchanged back-to-back penalties to leave the score at 6-3 going into the second quarter.

Hornets fluffed the chance of their first try when they overthrew a line-out in the Lions 22m, but Lions too bungled a couple of chances when poor handling let them down after they had stretched the Hornets defence.

Lions did extend their lead with another Young penalty just before half-time but a 9-3 half-time score didn’t seem to reflect what had been an entertaining first 40 with both sides looking to play rugby. Hornets were though the beneficiaries of a let-off right on the whistle when Lions dropped the ball on the Hinckley line.

The match seemed evenly poised when the sides returned after the break with the wind now in Hinkley’s favour. Hornets were perhaps a little unlucky to concede another penalty for off-side on their 22m in front of the posts which Young converted but there was still all to play for.

However, when a few minutes later they conceded their own scrum and the try, at 19-3, Hornets had a mountain to climb to get back in the game.

But they did give it a go. A Hornets scrum on the Lions 22m saw Alex Salt pick up at the back and feed along the line to Rory Vowles to go over out wide. When Wilson kicked the conversion, at 19-10, there was still hope.

Lions all but killed off that hope 3 minutes later though. Young kicked a Lions penalty to within 15m, and from the resultant line-out, after the initial drive was held, the ball was released and carried over for the score. Young converted.

Andy Weaver pulled one back with 14 minutes to go after collecting a knock back from a Hinckley line-out on the Lions 5m line and bullying his way to the line under the posts. Wilson converted but it was all a little too late as Lions then sought to eat up time. Hornets had one last chance to salvage a bonus point when they won a scrum penalty 5m out from the Lions line, but it came to nought and Lions began their celebrations while Hornets retired to lick their wounds.

Nick Robinson