Sent back to Coventry?

Two Hinckley Squads played a match each against the unknown & first encounter this season with Old Coventrians. Each squad also played 2 matches each against the well known challenging opponents Syston.

Squad 1: Middleton, Curless, Stockton, Dunne, Cooper, Kime, Deacon, Hicks.

Match 1 saw a well matched game between us and Old Coventrians. First half saw Curless taking the lion’s share of tags (5) but Hicks (3), Stockton (2) and 1 each for Middleton, Dunne & Cooper adding to fantastic defence from Hinckley. Tries came from Dunne (1) & an impressive hat-trick for Stockton who ran his socks off. The first half ended with Hinckley 4-3 up. Second half opened up for a hat-trick for Dunne with a fantastic solo run. Defence continued strongly from Curless who was on a roll with 4 tags, Dunne contributed an impressive 5 tags with Cooper & Kime adding 2 each & Deacon also registering a tag. Hinckley managed to keep the visitors good attacking to 3 tries during that half which left the overall score 7-6 to Hinckley. Curless showed fantastic sportsmanship during the game.

Match 2 saw Hinckley take on one of the Syston teams. The first half was an amazing show of furious tagging with some very impressive performances. After a few weeks absence Hicks returned on fire and showed everyone how it’s done with 10 tags! Stockton (6) and Curless (5) adding to that amazing performance with defensive support also seen by Kime (1) & Dunne (1). The visitors managed 1 try which was a testament to the defensive play and Hinckley had put 4 over the line, 2 each from Dunne & Stockton. The second half again only saw Syston scoring 2 tries with Hinckley passing well and an impressive run and pass by Kime. Middleton (1) had a great run and Dunne (1) & Stockton (2) continued their tally’s from the first half. Defensively very strong again this half from Hinckley with tags from Curless (5), Stockton (4), Cooper (3), Dunne (2), Kime (1). A very well deserved 8-3 win from the stronger side.

Match 3 watched a different and more “physical” Syston side line up to play. The overall score ended a close 9-7 to Hinckley. The tries were coming thick and fast from nearly all the players on the pitch! Stockton (3) picked up the ball well and had some fantastic runs, also taking 5 tags. Curless continued the defence with 8 tags and 2 well deserved tries. Kime was over the line for 1 try and a tag. Dunne had a fantastic run that culminated in Middleton going over the try line for Hinckley. Middleton logged 2 tries and 4 tags during the game with Dunne taking 5 tags and adding another to his try tally. Hicks and Cooper also contributing with a tag each, overall this was a physical game with Hinckley showing good spirit.

Squad 2: Simmons, Gamble, Fisher, Doyle, Marsden, Stokes, Biggs, Farrell, Billet.

Match 1 saw a very physical Syston team come out to win at all costs! The first half was evenly matched although Hinckley struggled to “get into the groove” as Syston made it difficult to play their normal game. Tries came from Simmons (2) & Doyle (1) with Syston also taking 3. A face plant from Simmons also logged! Tagging rate was below Hinckley’s usual level with Simmons taking 3, and 1 each for Gamble and Billet on his debut! The second half saw the defence improving and the tagging rate increase. Doyle & Simmons taking the lions share with 5 & 4 respectively. Singles also taken by Gamble, Marsden, Farrrell and Biggs. Simmons took the only Hinckley try for the half and as Syston put 3 over the line it left a loss on the score sheet 4-6. There were a lot of knocks and physical challenges during the game, well done to Hinckley all players handled it very well, a very tough start to the morning from a strong Syston team.

Game 2 saw Hinckley rally after the tough first match to face Old Coventrians. The visitors did not get on the score-sheet in the first half and Hinckley taking a 4-0 lead with tries and some fantastic runs from Doyle, Simmons, Gamble (who was struggling with a hip injury) & Fisher. Some good early passes and offloads by Hinckley. Tags were recorded as follows; Fisher (4), Simmons (4) & Doyle (2). The visitors came back at us in the second half taking 4 tries. Tags came from Fisher (1), Marsden (1), Doyle (1) and Simmons (2) but due to the good first half and the addition of 2 further tries from Simmons and Doyle, Hinckley finished 7-4 on top.

Game 3 was played as one long half against a second Syston side. Debut Sunday fixture for Billet ended up with him logging 2 on the score sheet (well done!) and another try from Biggs to add to the success of last week’s game. Gamble and Doyle also played well adding 1 each to their tallies. Tags were taken by Biggs (3), Billet (2), Doyle (2) and 1 each from Marsden, Fisher, Simmons, Gamble and Stokes. Despite the 5 tries from Hinckley, Syston clocked up 7 so came out the winners.