Hornets hold on for win

REFEREE assessors are not renowned for their verbosity so it was quite a compliment on Saturday afternoon when the match assessor noted at the end of another entertaining match at Leicester Road that the Hinckley defence coach had really earned his money, writes Nick Robinson.

Hinckley ended the game with a 19-8 win over Hull.

He was right. In a match which was oddly reminiscent of last week’s fixture against Luctonians, Hornets spent much of the second half repulsing wave after wave of Hull attacks in their own 22m area.

Director of Rugby Scott Hamilton was a happy man after the game.

He said: “It was a solid performance against a good side who went into the game looking to avenge their heaviest defeat of the season when we visited their place. The second half was the best defensive effort we have put in this season and the work that (defence coach) Ben Avent has put in with the lads is really paying dividends.”

Hornets started well! A line-out steal just inside the Hinckley half allowed Hornets to carry deep into the Hull 22m. The attack was only halted by a high tackle by Hull No. 8 Latu Makaafi who earned himself ten minutes in the bin for his efforts. With the Hull pack down to seven men, Hornets scorned the opportunity of three easy points and opted for the scrum. The scrum went down but the ball was released along the line, only for the ball carrier to be hauled down short. The pack took it on and Dave Peck eventually forced his way over for the score. Joe Wilson added the extras.

Hull playmaker Simon Humberstone pulled three back a couple of minutes later when Hinckley disappointingly lost the ball from the kick-off and were then caught offside on their 22m line but Hornets were largely in the driving seat at this point.

It was not though until the closing minutes of the half that Hornets were able to add to their tally. The Hornets pack made a mess of a Hull lineout 5m from the Hull line, forcing Hull to carry into touch. The Hinckley line-out was too a scrappy affair but Ben Pointon was able to recover the ball and set up a forward drive. This time it was Jamie Skerritt who came up with the ball and Wilson was again able to add the extras.

Psychologically, it was an important score just before halftime with the conditions starting to deteriorate and gave Hornets something to defend in what was likely to be a difficult second half.

In the event, they were more than up to the challenge as Hull battered away without success at the Hornets line without ever really looking like they were going to breach that line.

Indeed it was Hornets who grabbed the next score after 63 minutes. With Hull again down to 14 after Hull flanker Tom O’Donnell had attracted the ire of the referee, Hornets secured a lineout some 30m from the Hull line. The ball was secured and the drive set….and it just kept going all the way to the line with the Hull pack seemingly unable to do anything to stop it.

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