Hornets back to their best after a slow start
HINCKLEY got back to winning ways after last week’s derby loss, but they made it hard for themselves.
Five tries against two and another bonus point victory for Hinckley is perhaps somewhere approximate to what the pundits may have predicted before the game and the result would have been dismissed by those who consider the division’s scores predictable.
The story behind the game was somewhat more dramatic, however.
It was about a shellshocked Hinckley side, still haunted by last week’s hammering at Leicester
Lions, gradually rediscovering their confidence and form to overcome an Old Reds team who made it far from easy.
Reds led from the first minute and were still seven points clear at half time. It was not until deep into the third quarter that Hornets finally took the lead.
By the end, however, there was only one team in it, as the Hornets pack dominated in the tight and bulldozed their opponents into submission.
It was due reward for a side that had looked disjointed in the early part of the match but who stuck to their task and by the end looked much more the side we saw in the early part of January.
The victory was, however, marred by a sickening injury to fly-half Archie Heard. Heard’s leg was trapped awkwardly in attempting a tackle and he suffered an ankle dislocation and broken leg. It was a pure rugby accident but one that no-one would wish on anyone.
The referee immediately suspended the game, an ambulance was called and with Heard in the care of both senior medics, the game was concluded on the old 1st XV pitch. Both clubs wish him a swift recovery.
Despite losing Heard, possibly for the rest of the season, director of rugby Chris Campbell was more than happy with the outcome.
He said: “Although we have had bigger victories, I was delighted with the way we went. Old Reds posed us some significant questions with their defensive set-ups and we had to work out how to overcome them.
“As well as the five tries, we got over the line on three other occasions (two held up and one dropped in the act of scoring) and showed we are capable of scoring from any part of the field.
“‘Losing Archie is a big blow for us and our primary concern at this point is his health and wellbeing.
“Tom Hames, Georgie Visser and the Old Reds medics did a fantastic job of the initial care on the field and it won’t be long before he is back with us. However, we have an excellent squad with a wide range of fly–half options available to us which means it won’t halt our development.
“It was a unique challenge having to move over to the training pitch to complete the game. It’s a very different surface and very different size but we managed the game out superbly on there and I felt we were getting better and better as the game went on.”
For the full report, see page 35.