Two wins and a loss for for juniors
HINCKLEY RFC U13s V Banbury RFC U13s ONE half of Hinckley’s U13s welcomed Banbury to Leicester Road on a slightly breezy but thankfully dry morning. For many of the team this was their first run out in several weeks and so starting with a bare minimum 13 and no subs meant this was going to be a tough test for the boys.
Hinckley however started well and ran in the first try via their outside centre after some quick hands and strong running lines. Banbury hit back almost straight away and began to then look the less rusty of the two teams with their forwards dominating the ruck and their centres showing strong running. Hinckley did well to keep the score to 15-5 down by the end of the 1st 3rd.
Clearly the boys needed to increase their efforts and buoyed by the added bonus now of a sub (having had an early morning drive back from Twickenham) they began to take control of the 2nd third. Slowly they dragged themselves back into the game with some strong forwards pod play resulting in a try. Hinckley really started to believe and before long they were ahead after more good work at the breakdown and strong finishes from their wing.
Despite their numbers advantage it was now the visitors who began to tire and Hinckley continued to turn the screw and ran in several tries in the final 3rd and looked dangerous all over the pitch including some brilliant team tries to add to individual flair. It was just great to see the boys playing again after some very frustrating weeks. Final score was Hinckley 65 Banbury 20.
Northampton Old Scouts RFC U13s V Hinckley RFC U13s
A dry pitch and a very warm welcome was received as a team of just the bare thirteen arrived in Northamptonshire. The opposition willing to lend Hinckley players if required throughout the morning meant everyone could maximise their game time that had been lacking over the last four very wet weeks.
The first ten minutes saw movement from one 22 to the other and back again, with both sides making the tackles with determination although it always looked like the home team had the edge, which was finally seen as they passed out the ball from the back of a ruck on the Hinckley 22 through good hands and out and over the line in the corner.
The same situation then played out twice more before the break with Hinckley going in 15-0 down and all three tries having been conceded to well worked team tries.
As so often we say in these match reports at three tries down something stirred in Hinckley and they came out with renewed spirit from the re-start. Unfortunately Old Scouts appeared to have a little bit more flair and quick hands again passed the ball out to their wing and another try in the corner 20-0. However renewed effort from Hinckley saw a reasonable amount of play within the Old Scouts 22, it was whether Hinckley could take advantage? With Old Scouts clearing their lines with a kick this was charged down by the Hinckley number 8. In the next play Old Scouts had possession back and another Hinckley charge down by the scrum half (not the biggest player on the pitch) resulted in a Hinckley try from a temp replacement Old Scout player. From the restart Old Scouts had possession and Hinckley lost their determination for a minute as from their 22, with tackles missed they ran the pitch and scored in the corner. At the end of the second third it was 25-5
The final third saw the heavens open (and I’m sure some sleet) which obviously Hinckley enjoy better than Old Scouts as play was again stuck between the two 22s until the Hinckley centre was passed the ball on the half way line and ran through a few Old Scout defenders to score. After this try Hinckley appeared to be the stronger but just could not put the final moves together needed to take advantage and to be honest all 13 Hinckley players had played nearly all of the match time available, whereas Old Scouts had rolled maybe 6 subs throughout. So although a defeat a great Hinckley effort by all. Final Score 25-10
Newbold RFC U14s V Hinckley RFC U14s A game at last following weeks of rain and cancellation with a positive start, both teams getting plenty of ball and it was clear they all wanted to play. Although the pitch was a little heavy, attacks were gaining good ground and it was just a matter of time before someone was going to score. After around 10 minutes, Newbold opened up the score board with a well worked try and conversion. 7-0
This try provided some focus for the Hinckley lads to look for space and shortly after the restart it was a good run through into space that opened the Hinckley account to make it 7-5. Following the restart, the rain came and this soon turned to hail! Despite the conditions which had became quite poor, with the momentum from their recent try, Hinckley once again broke away into space and scored their second under the posts just before the half time whistle. This time it was converted 7-12.
Hinckley travelled with 6 subs which were all made at half time, with another 25 minutes to play the space on the outside was where we needed to go. After only a couple of minutes the message was not lost and Hinckley again scored but without conversion 7-19. A lot of the confidence in the game now came to Hinckley with players running forward hard challenging the Newbold players to make big tackles. A number of attacks were made gaining good ground and the forwards were able to stay on their feet. Hinckley scored again from determined relentless attacks towards the try line making it 7-24.
The last 15 minutes Newbold played with strength. A strong attack from their inside centre managed to clear the half way line, there was a great tackle and turnover which gave us another chance to return in attack. Heading up the pitch and just into the 22 m area Hinckley were given a penalty and just to prove we can score that way we converted it making it 7-27.
The last restart with only a few minutes left, weary legs and tired bodies were taking over. With a final drive towards the line, Hinckley scored again out wide to hear the full-time whistle until next week. Despite a very good effort on the conversion, which was a massive kick, it just dropped short. Final score was 7-32 to Hinckley.