Stags v Lincoln

A dull and blustery day greeted this 1st versus 2nd clash in Midlands Counties 1 East and, as expected, it was a tough game for both teams that could have gone either way until the final 10 minutes.

The Stags took the lead within 5 minutes thanks to an unconverted try from Luke Johnson after a dynamic rolling maul, which Lincoln failed to defend. Lewis Gardner saw his conversion attempt blown wide - one of many in the blustery conditions. The Hinckley coaching staff were hoping that this would settle the home side down, but from then on it was all Lincoln, as they were camped in the Stags 22 for a series of drives off line outs and expansive play in the backs. A combination of a determined Hinckley defence and Lincoln mistakes kept them out. However, Lincoln No 8 Wilson eventually broke through on the half hour mark to score, with Cooke adding the conversion for a 5-7 lead. Hinckley haven’t been behind in many games so far this season, so a reaction was needed. The reaction came courtesy of flanker Joe Gaffan, making his Stags debut. Gardner fed Gaffan who hit an excellent line at pace and sped into the Lincoln 22. He promptly beat the cover and ran around the opposition full back for a well taken try off first phase line out possession. Gardner’s conversion was again unsuccessful.

Half time was reached with the Stags leading 10-7.

Lincoln fly-half Cooke kicked straight into touch from the restart gifting Hinckley a scrum in the centre of the field. The ball was moved to centre George Marsden who was able to run over the Lincoln 13 and offload to Tom Lewis. Lewis took the ball on and found full-back Euan Kelly in space who cantered in to score against his former club. The conversion was held up in the wind, but the Stags lead was extended to 15-7. Lincoln hit back 10 minutes later with an excellent individual score from long range by centre White. The conversion was missed, but the gap was closed to 15-12. Lincoln had the chance to level the scores, but Cooke missed a routine penalty to let Hinckley off the hook.

Hinckley introduced their subs and this seemed to sway the game in the hosts favour, although Sam Greening was sent to the sin bin for coming in at the side of a maul and half backs Dylan Weddle and the aforementioned Gardner were replaced after taking knocks to the head. This prompted a reshuffle and Shaun Hubbard and Tom Lewis moved to 9 and 10 respectively. This could have derailed Hinckley’s performance, but the players showed a lot of character to push on with 14 men and several players playing out of position. When the Stags fitness started to show and the referee started to penalise the away side at the breakdown, a bonus point began to look like a possibility. With 6 minutes to go, prop forward Ewan Bartlett found himself in space and was stopped short of the line. Luke Johnson was again the right man in the right place and picked up the ball to dive over the line. Tom Lewis took over the kicking duties, but suffered a similar fate to Gardner in front of goal. With little time on the clock George Marsden picked a trademark line, sat down another defender and flung himself over the line to settled the tie.

Final score: Stags 25 Lincoln 12

This was probably the hardest game the Stags have experienced so far this season, but a great collective credit must go to the players for weathering the early storm and dominating the final quarter. The game was probably closer than the final scoreline suggests, but Hinckley were far from their best and allowed Lincoln too much territory and possession in the first half. Good teams still win when they are not performing at 100% and we were certainly happy to take another 5 points and extend our lead at the top of the table.

Another tough game this coming Saturday with a trip to Market Rasen and Louth.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Joe Gaffan - strong work at the breakdown and an excellent individual try right when we needed one.