Hornets are thrashed by rampant visitors
HINCKLEY have never defeated Clifton but in recent encounters there has been a feeling that Hornets have not had ‘the rub of the green’ and could easily have come out victorious.
There was therefore some optimism around Leicester Road on Saturday that it could be Hinckley’s day.
At the final whistle though there was no suggestion that Clifton had been in any way lucky. Hinckley were soundly thrashed by a team who were faster throughout in thought and deed and put in one of the best performances by a visiting side seen in recent years at Leicester Road.
Hornets were not helped by a referee whose policing of the offside line was near non-existent, nor by the late withdrawal on Joe Gaffan through injury which robbed them of much needed mobility in the back row, but there was no doubt that Clifton were much the better side on the day.
After their disappointing defeat at home to Lions last week which effectively ended their chance of promotion, Head Coach Matt Salter would have been delighted with their response.
Hinckley did have their moments scoring four tries of their own to salvage a bonus point which kept them in fourth place in the table. Callum Dacey was a handful throughout. Joe Wilson had a 100% conversion rate from the tee and the pack were effective in the tight.
But some of the defensive frailties that were evident against Hornets last week were ruthlessly exploited by Clifton who were so much quicker in the loose and it was clear why they are the highest scoring side in the division.
Director of Rugby Chris Campbell couldn’t hide his disappointment after the game.
“It is probably one of the most frustrating games any of us have watched or been involved in. We must be honest, at times we were diabolical in defence and need to turn that around very quickly as the grounds have really firmed up.
“‘What makes it more frustrating is that we scored 31 points - the most we have scored against Clifton by some margin and we are starting to look like we are able to score from most areas of the field, but whenever we scored, Clifton quickly were able to go try, try, try.
“‘Newport is a huge game now. We have to stick together and show we are able to learn from our mistakes and continue to drive for our best ever national league finish.”