Syston Festival

Two Hinckley squads travelled to Syston for the County Cup Festival this weekend.

Squad 1 comprised Simmons, Dunne, Cooper, Middleton, Doyle, Stockton, Palmer, Curless and Causon.

First fixture for squad 1 was against Ashby. Hinckley made a strong start, scoring the first try and making a 4-2 lead at half time. Curless made an unselfish pass to Middleton to run in a superb try in the corner. Second half carried on the good work with Dunne and Cooper scoring without reply from Ashby. Hinckley made two 7-tag turnovers and cemented a solid 6-2 win.

Second fixture was against Vipers. Simmons in attack took four tries in quick succession while in defence Palmer and Curless kept the Vipers in their tank. Second half and Vipers came out biting. Stockton, Causon and Cooper carried on the tagging work, making a further 7-tag turnover, whilst Dunne, Doyle and Stockton took tries. Final score 7-3 to Hinckley.

Third and final "pool" fixture was against Harborough 2. Hinckley won the toss and Cooper rapidly opened the scoring for Hinckley. But this was to be no walk-over. A 7-tag turnover from Simmons, Cooper, Doyle, Causon and Curless was necessary to stop Harborough keeping pace. Half-time score was 3-2 to Hinckley. Second half saw an excellent crash ball attack from Curless followed by a rapid pass to Middleton to score. Middleton added a further score this half to match Harborough's tries, leaving the final score 5-4 to Hinckley.

Next up was the cup semi final, versus Syston 1. With a reputation for being a tough fixture, the coaches prepared the team well. Unfortunately Syston won the toss, but thanks to Simmons, Cooper, Doyle, Curless and Palmer, Hinckley held them at bay. Half time score 2-2. Second half was a physical, stop start affair, with Simmons knocked to the ground on 3 occasions and Cooper coming away with a lovely shiner. Small price to pay for gaining the final, vital try to win 3-2.

In the final, Hinckley 1 met Market Harborough 1. Harborough won the toss and took first blood. Not taking it lying down, Simmons quickly took a try in reply. Precision tagging and running by both teams led to a 4-3 scoreline in Harbooughs favour at half-time. Second half and Simmons and Palmer were stretched to breaking tying to keep Harborough off our try line. Harborough added two more tries to our one. Final score 6-4 to Harborough, but the players were pretty much all happy to have played so well and progressed so far through the season.

Hinckley2 match report for County festival at Syston by Louise Simmons;

Team 2:

Alex Gamble, Jo Fisher, George, Joe Hicks, Anabelle Marsden, Jayden Kime, Adam Stokes, Trifon Halka & Jack Billet

Hinckley2 found themselves drawn in a tough group with Leics Forest, Coalville & Syston1. We had played all but Coalville before. Syston would be our toughest opponents. Syston was the first match and prepared ourselves for a battle! The first half was close and saw Syston1 tagging well. The first half saw Fisher get the scoring started for Hinckley but Syston put 2 over our try line. Tags came from Gamble (1), Fisher (2), Hicks (3), Moore (2), Billet (2). The tagging rate revved upped for the second half with some really solid defending. Gamble taking 4 tags, “hat-trick” tags from Fisher, Billet & Halka with Stokes and Marzi supporting with (2) & (1) respectively. It was realised that Fisher is either confusing rugby with gymnastics or the secret service (call him Blonde – James Blonde!!) as his rolls down to the floor and straight back up on his feet were a regular feature for the rest of the day! He added another try to his tally with Billet also going over the line. Unfortunately Syston put 2 more over which finished the match - Hinckley2 3 – Syston1 4. A great match against good opposition.

The next match found us facing the yet unknown Coalville. The first half was fairly evenly matched and finished 3-3. Moore taking an impressive flying tag with Halka (2), Hicks (1) & Stokes (1) supporting. Fisher (aka Blonde) was over the try line again, Marzi showed them what Hinckley girls are made of adding to the total and a fantastic quick offload from Stokes to Halka helped him over the line. The second half saw Hinckley2 kick it up a gear! Tagging went viral and saw a great 7 tag turn over and repeated pressure put on the opposition. The tries came from Halka (2) with one of them being a great run down the pitch, Fisher “Blonde” also added another. We had Gamble pulling an “Ashton” and although the spectators judged his finesse and time in the air as a 9.5 – he over dived the end of the pitch and had his try disallowed! Tagging was a lesson to all us spectating with Halka (6), Fisher “Blonde” (5), Hicks & Billet (3), Gamble “Ashton” (2) & Moore (1). The overall score was 6 – 4 to Hinckley2.

The third pool match saw us play Leics Forest. It was a close game seeing Hinckley2 coming out on top 7 – 6. There was some great offloading and passes were definitely moving more quickly. Loose balls were picked up well and Moore was spotted making a run in the middle of the pitch rather than his usual impressive tightrope running of the touch lines. Tries came from Halka (1), Marzi (1), Fisher “Blonde” (1) Moore (2) & Gamble “Ashton” (2). Tags came from Halka (3), Hicks (4), Kime “Bear” (2), Moore (2), Stokes (1) & Gamble “Ashton” (2). A good win by Hinckley2.

The 2 wins and 1 loss left Hinckley2 coming second in the group and into the Semi-finals of the Bowl. There was a nervous wait to see if they would play Hinckley1 (if H1 they had lost their 3rd match it would’ve happened!) but after watching their team members play a tough game and win against Mkt Harborough2 they knew they had them next.

The saying “a game of 2 halves” definitely summed this match up. Hinckley2 had an amazing first half and came out on fire. Fisher “Blonde” had an amazing run and put 2 tries over their line. Moore also added 2 showing some great running and Gamble “Ashton” put the ball down with no doubt to the try this time! There was some brilliant tagging which put the opposition down 3-5 at half time. Single tags from Marzi, Halka, Hicks, Fisher, Moore added to by Gamble “Ashton” (3), Billet & Kime “Bear” (2) showed brilliant team work with everyone doing their bit. The second half lacked some of the sparkle seen in the first half, they had some balls turned over which allowed the opposition back in the game. We saw tagging from Fisher “Blonde” (3), Gamble “Ashton” (2) and 1 each for Halka, Hicks, Billet & Moore. Mkt Harborough2 scored 3 which left us down 6-5 at the finishline. It should be pointed out that the enthusiasm of the coach was left in no doubt and now we all know that Stuart is light on his toes and is good at celebratory jigs, the man can dance!! Disappointing, but they worked really hard and were a credit to both themselves and the club. Well done all who played and supported.