Hinckley Stags welcomed Ashbourne for the first game of 2023, having had two games postponed prior to Christmas due to the frozen pitches. It was slightly over a month since the Stags last game and we sat at the top of the table, so this game was a good opportunity to consolidate our league position and blow away the cobwebs of an extended Christmas break.

Ashbourne kicked off with Hinckley playing with the wind and sun on their backs. The sunshine didn’t last long and was replaced with periods of torrential rain which made the pitch heavy underfoot. It didn’t take long for the home side to assert their dominance with George Marsden going over for two tries in the opening 5 minutes, both converted by Kristian Powell for a 14-0 lead. On both occasions Marsden picked excellent lines of running to cut through the Ashbourne defence almost untouched, taking his tally this season to 8.

Six minutes later and Hinckley scored again, this time through Luke Johnson. Spotting the edge of the breakdown undefended, Johnson picked the ball up at the base of a ruck and ran through the guard position to dot down over the line. This caused some consternation for captain Ricky Moran, who had also spotted the gap and was looking to open his account for the season. Powell’s conversion was dragged wide.

The try-scoring bonus point was secured before the 20 minute mark when Shae Nixon, making his first appearance for the Stags this season, found himself on the end of a flowing move that had taken the ball through several pairs of hands. The move was started deep in Hinckley territory and some slick handling found Connor Nixon on the left hand touchline allowing him to showcase his kicking skills with a smart chip and chase. When that phase had been stopped the ball was quickly recycled and moved to the opposite touchline finding prop forward Ewan Bartlett in the wide channel to execute the final pass to Shae. This wasn’t the last time that Bartlett would find himself close to the touchline. Powell struck an excellent conversion for a 26 point lead.

More good handling would lead to Hinckley’s sixth try of the afternoon with Shae Nixon this time being the provider. Looking for work off his right wing he popped up in the backline close to the left hand touchline and executed a sublime basketball style hook shot to find Alex Norris in space. Norris still had a bit to do and held off the last defender to score in the left hand corner. Powell’s conversion was well struck but flashed across the face of the posts. 31-0 and an excellent first half hour.

Ashbourne grew into the game at this point and were able to put several phases of possession together as Hinckley fell foul of the match official, giving away numerous penalties. The remainder of the half belonged to Ashbourne and on reflection they deserved to cross the whitewash. They did so just before the half-time whistle when they got outside the Hinckley defence to score out wide. An excellent conversion followed for a half-time score of 31-7 in the Stags favour.

Hinckley rung the changes at half-time with Craig Bresland, Jacob Drabble and Will Spiers entering the fray for Ewan Bartlett, Luke Johnson and George Marsden respectively.

Spiers was straight into the action, diving over the Ashbourne line, but the referee inexplicably disallowed the try for a double-movement. Johnson and Marsden returned to the field within 10 minutes of the break, replacing Adam Jordan and Euan Kelly. Another Stags debutant, Tom Cox, was the next to get on the scoresheet after running an excellent support line, which Powell converted, then Bresland celebrated his return to the team with a try of his own, again converted by Powell.

45-7 with 25 minutes left to play. Bartlett and Jordan returned to the field in place of Moran and Tom Robinson, who was experiencing a particularly bad case of cramp.

Bartlett was straight into the action finding himself on the end of a Hinckley counter attack on the right hand touchline. A neat offload put him in space with a clear run to the try line. The only problem was there was still 50 metres of ground to cover, which isn’t an easy task for a prop forward. Showing speed and balance that belies his front row position, Bartlett completed the task by holding off the covering defence to score an excellent try. Powell’s difficult conversion was missed.

Ashbourne scored the next try, which was unconverted, but Hinckley had the last word when Joe Barnes scored a deserved try in the left hand corner, which went unconverted, taking the final score to 55-12.

The Stags played some excellent rugby at times, displaying outstanding handling in tough conditions, but these passages of play were too infrequent. Long periods of the game were littered with errors from both sides which made the game quite stop-start. However, another 5 points on the board and a good run out to ease the rustiness associated with a month without competitive rugby.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Alex Norris had a very good game, as did Shae Nixon and Luke Johnson, but it’s a toss up between flanker Tom Robinson and centre George Marsden. Robinson gave the all-action display that we have come to expect of him - he carried well, tackled everything that moved and was a nuisance at the breakdown, which went unrewarded by the referee. Marsden had an excellent first 40 minutes, scoring two trademark tries and showing deft handling to bring the outside backs into the game. He probably would have added to his tally if he hadn’t been replaced at half-time or returned to the field in a unfamiliar position on the wing.

UTS