Hinckley U14s pitch perfect on the road at Stourbridge
HINCKLEY U14s travelled to Stourton Park to play an opening game curtain raiser before Hinckley RFC’s first XV top of the table clash against Stourbridge writes Andy Duggins.
This was the inaugural match on Stourbridge’s new “4G” pitch which was officially opened just before kickoff by the local Mayor and other dignitaries.
Hinckley kicked off in their black and amber shirts against a team who also hadn’t lost a game this season, knowing this may be one of the most challenging games of the year so far. Stourbridge applied some early pressure which Hinckley absorbed, A. Whittingham making a solid tackle in midfield resulting in a Hinckley turnover.
Hinckley maintained possession and muscled their way into the opposition 22 with a notable break from Barnes.
The ball was recycled and Drakeford bounded over to score Hinckley’s opening try and break the initial deadlock. He then slotted a huge conversion from out-wide to give the visitors a deserved 7-0 lead.
Stourbridge counter attacked from the re-start but Hinckley turned over the ball following a thumping tackle from Allen.
The ball found A. Whittingham who crashed through but was held up on the line. Stourbridge cleared their lines but the high kick set up Moore in space who made good ground before offloading to Allen in support to power through for Hinckley’s second try. The conversion was missed but Hinckley’s lead was extended to 12-0.
Stunned Stourbridge re-started the game but Hinckley launched their next attack through runs from Toon and Jacques.
The home team regained possession but an excellent steal from Drakeford and kick through by Smith forced a scrum on the opposition’s five metre line.
Hinckley continued to pressure the Stourbridge defence with further runs from Goodwin and Miller.
Stourbridge came away with the ball and tried to counter-attack but were met by a solid Hinckley defence, Buckler, Drakeford, Toon and Burton all making notable tackles.
Hutton made a superb steal from a maul and a Jacques run took Hinckley back into Stourbridge’s 22.
The ball was then shipped out wide to Smith who darted down the left wing to score Hinckley’s third try of the match. The conversion sailed just wide of the uprights, taking the score to Hinckley 17-0 Stourbridge.
Hinckley were now starting to dominate the match and a break from Drakeford after the game re-commenced took them back into Stourbridge’s half.
Stourbridge launched an attack from a line-out but were met by thundering tackles from Buckler and Allen.
The game was then stopped following an injury to a Stourbridge player and the referee blew his whistle to call half-time, Hinckley leading 17-0 much to the delight of the travelling away fans!
Stourbridge kicked off the second half and were immediately on the back foot after runs from Drakeford and Allen took Hinckley over the halfway mark.
Another crunching tackle from Allen in midfield forced the ball to be spilled and Jacques was on hand to pick up and steam roller his way through for Hinckley’s first try of the second half.
Drakeford was unlucky with the conversion but Hinckley’s lead had increased to 22-0.
Stourbridge couldn’t cope with Hinckley’s pace and power, and runs from Buckler, Allen, Toon, Duggins and Burton took the black and ambers back into Stourbridge’s 22.
The ball was recycled and shipped neatly through the hands of Allen and Moore to Smith who was tackled five metres short of the try line.
Hinckley attacked from the ensuing scrum, the backs combining brilliantly to create space for Moore who sprinted through for try number five for Hinckley under the posts.
Drakeford’s conversion split the uprights, taking the score to Hinckley 29-0 Stourbridge.
Stourbridge kicked long from the restart and Hinckley counter-attacked from their own try line through breaks from Moore and Allen. Hinckley launched their next offensive from a line-out on their own 22m line and a sublime break from Allen took them over the halfway mark.
The ball was passed to Fountaine who showed his lightning pace to round the opposition and score a brilliant try in the corner.
The conversion fell short but Hinckley’s lead was now 34-0.
Hinckley’s seventh and final try came shortly after the game re-commenced as Toon gathered the re-start before offloading to Drakeford, who made a typically dazzling run but was taken down two metres short of the line.
The tackler couldn’t hold on, allowing Drakeford to pounce over for another fantastic Hinckley score.
The conversion drifted wide and the referee sounded his whistle to end yet another magnificent all-round team performance by Hinckley U14s to make it a perfect 10.
Next up it’s South Leicester in the County Cup quarter finals on Sunday 10th December.