Hinckley RFC squad has high hopes for their season in National League 2
HINCKLEY RFC are setting their sights on a top half finish in their National League 2 campaign.
The Leicester Road side were promoted from National League 3 last season, gaining promotion through the play-offs after losing a final day fixture against Scunthorpe, who leap frogged them for the automatic promotion place.
As well as playing Scunthorpe again, next season will also see local derbies against South Leicester and the Leicester Lions.
Paul Walsh, Hinckley RFC director of rugby, said: “We’re not just aiming to survive, we really think we’re a lot better than that.
“We want to really establish ourselves and get a top half finish.”
The ambitious statement comes as Hinckley’s pre-season preparations are well underway, with their first games com- ing in August.
Their pre-season campaign starts away to National Two South division team Clifton RFC, before playing last season’s opponents Syston and finishing with former National 1 team Cinderford.
The season proper gets underway at Harrogate on Saturday September 3.
Despite the difficult fixtures, Hinckley were beaten by Syston last season and the other two teams were at least one league above them, Walsh is confident Hinckley can get a few good results.
He said: “I organised it accordingly to challenge us. They’ll be really hard games but we think we’re very capable of doing well against them.”
Several new signings have been made for the forthcoming season, including former All Black and Leicester Tiger Scott Hamilton.
The 36-year-old full-back has joined the club in a player-coach capacity for the forthcoming season, and Walsh was quick to praise how he has settled into the team.
He said: “He’s settled down well and is making a big impact. He’s got a great attitude and is a total professional.
“Off the pitch he’s very person- able and popular with the other players.
“It’s the insights and the finer details that he’s bringing to training through his experiences that is making the difference however. He’s really buying in to what we’re trying to do here.”
Hinckley RFC play Cinderford at Leicester Road on August 27 with kick off at 3pm, with their first league game against Sale FC on September 10 at 3pm.