Hornets edged out at home in 10-try thriller
VOWLES’ HAT-TRICK NOT ENOUGH TO CLAIM WIN
HINCKLEY suffered their fifth defeat in seven games but this was a much improved performance in a cracking game of rugby for the neutral, writes Nick Robinson.
Luctonians came into the game still with an outside chance of promotion which they were not going to surrender lightly, while Hornets were looking to complete a double on the early season front-runners.
It was feisty and combative and, in the end, went to the wire and could have gone either way right up to the final play.
But Luctonians deserved their victory, outscoring Hinckley by six tries to four and in truth had Lucts’ fly-half Tom Jones not had such a disastrous day with the boot (he only managed one conversion from six attempts), Lucts would have sealed the win a little earlier than proved to be the case.
Rory Vowles amassed 24 of the 29 Hinckley points on his return from injury, including a hat-trick of tries, and his creative influence was a crucial factor in Hinckley’s return to form. Ben Pointon scored another of his trademark tries with a longrange break which carried him to the line from halfway, and Hornets looked dangerous throughout when in possession.
On the downside though, Hornets conceded way too many penalties, particularly when in possession, which very much limited their ability to compete.
Moreover, they conceded no less than three tries from rolling mauls set up as a result of penalty kicks to the corner, and once more, they conceded points within minutes of the return from the half time break. There’s much still to work on.
Hinckley’s director of rugby Chris Campbell said: “This game was our whole season rolled into 80 minutes.
“Did we play well? Yes. Did we score some great tries? Yes. Were we too easy to score against? Yes.
“But that doesn’t mean we fell apart defensively. We actually set up well and put some really pressure on them, but we surrendered opportunities we just didn’t need to give up.
“And, as you would expect from a team in their league position, Luctonians took their opportunities.
‘This game is one which, if we are serious about building a challenge next year, we will have to look at, and learn from for the above reasons.
“But it was also an example, in Luctonians, of how a well-coached and well organised team do what they are good at and do it well.
“I thought Rory Vowles was fantastic – not just with the tries but the threat he brought bringing other players into the game, whilst Aaron Pope continues to grow week on week.”