Emphatic start for Chuter’s men
THE season’s opening match saw the hosts share a 12 try spectacular with North East visitors Blaydon, who were making their first ever appearance at Leicester Road.
On a bright sunny day, Hinckley ran out winners by 52 points to 26.
It was a result few of the faithful would have predicted earlier in the day against a club who until last season had spent many years in the higher echelons of the National Leagues.
In the event, the match proved a showcase for the new look Hinckley under George Chuter with both backs and forwards excelling with a scintillating display of fast, open rugby.
With just two minutes gone things did not look so hopeful when Blaydon were awarded a penalty in front of the posts.
A poor kick from the Blaydon 10 Ryan Foreman seemed to lift Hinckley spirits though, and within a minute a catch and drive at the other end saw new boy hooker, Jack Dickinson, go over.
Joe Wilson converted to put Hinckley 7-0 in front.
Not to be outdone, three minutes later the Blaydon pack responded in kind following a Hinckley infringement on halfway.
Hames was the scorer with Foreman converting. 7-7 with half the crowd still finishing their pre-match pint in the bar!
On 15 minutes, a series of Hinckley scrums in the Blaydon 22 resulted in wing Callum Dacey darting over for another try, also converted by Wilson.
For the rest of the half, Hinckley utterly dominated the game with Blaydon seemingly unable to stem the tide.
A driving run from the Hinckley 22 by Jack Dickinson eventually saw Gaz Clarke going over for a try, again converted by Wilson.
Soon after, Wilson again got on the scoreboard with a brilliant solo run from halfway which he then proceeded to convert. 28-7
Hinckley Times Sport: Call 01455 891965 or email hinckleytimes@ trinitymirror.com £1 and the bonus point secured after 28 minutes.
On 35 minutes, desperate Blaydon defence saw Dacey stopped on the line but could not stop veteran Scott Hamilton going over from the resultant breakdown.
Next it was the turn of the Hinckley forwards. With the Blaydon eight struggling to hold a rampant Hinckley pack, captain Alex Salt went over on 38 minutes following a pick-up and drive from the rear of a 5m scrum. 38-7 at half-time.
If Blaydon were hoping for some relief after the break, they were to be disappointed, with Salt again going over on 44mins with Wilson converting to take the score to 45-7.
That was the end of the scoring for a while though as Hinckley failed to maintain the frenetic energy of the first half.
Despite continuing to pressure and creating a number of further opportunities, the home side failed to convert.
With the coaching team looking to give the bench their opportunity and with the game won, Hinckley seemed to relax.
A game Blaydon side saw their opportunity and slowly came back into the match.
A try scored and converted by Foreman on 65 minutes was fol- lowed by further tries from Hames and Marshall to give the away side a bonus point and bring an air of respectability to the score at 45-26.
Hinckley though had the last score with replacement full-back Josh Smith breaking through from a scrum on halfway in the last minute to score.
Joe Wilson’s conversion left the score at 52-26.
This was undoubtedly one of the best performances we have seen from a Hinckley side over the last few seasons and augurs well for the new campaign.
The pack were dominant, particularly in the tight, and were well supported by a back division that looked as sharp as any seen at Leicester Road for some time.