‘We showed improvement but discipline let us down’
THERE were signs that Hinckley Rugby Club could still mount a promotion challenge this season, despite a 34-29 away defeat to Sedgley Park Tigers, writes Nick Robinson.
Against a team sitting third in National League 2 North who will undoubtedly be “in the mix” at the business end of the season, Hornets outscored their opponents five tries to four and dominated the second half.
They almost snatched a victory which had looked impossible at 27-5 early in the second period.
Mitch Lamb scored a hat-trick, while Rory Vowels looked lively behind a pack which arguably had a we looked good, very good, but you can’t score points when you don’t have the ball.
“Our discipline was poor, particularly in the first half when we gave away five or six offside penalties
“We came back after the break and were the better team, but 27-5 is just too big a gap to overhaul. Overall, we showed improvement but discipline let us down.”
Hornets managed to break the habit of conceding an early try and did come away with two points which some may have settled for before the game.
That they didn’t come away with a five point haul was down to poor discipline, particularly in the first half.
Joe Glover did not have his best day with the boot landing only one of five attempts, but that would not have mattered if collectively Hornets had not conceded so many penalties giving away both territory and possession on a regular basis.
It was no coincidence that, after the referee eventually tired of Hornets persistent off-side and invited Mitch Lamb to take an enforced 10 minute break, Sedgley scored two converted tries and effectively took the game away from Hornets.
The team came away with two points, leaving them fourth from bottom on 13 points.