Fielding no fewer than six debutants in their side, Hornets opened their new campaign against Midland Premier side Broadstreet on a sunny afternoon at Leicester Road in front of their ‘Big Match Sponsors’ who had earlier gathered for a pre-match lunch. They were treated to a feast of attacking rugby as Hinckley demolished a game, but limited Broadstreet side, crossing the line on 14 occasions to amass 86 points in total. The second half in particular was quite the spectacle with Hornets running in ten tries and 64 points against just seven from their opponents in a blaze of running rugby. Broadstreet were simply blown away.
The game was played with uncontested scrums in an attempt to open up the play and encourage running rugby and Campbell had earlier announced to his lunchtime audience that he had instructed his players to avoid kicking away possession in order to explore what they were capable of. The players did their best to deliver and the sizable crowd were delighted. New wingman Sam Read looked impressive with his powerful running. Open side flanker Henry Higginson, who had met his new teammates only that day, grew into the game sufficiently to show he is likely to be a tremendous acquisition. And Matt Guilfoyle, who joined late last season, had by far his best game for the Club to date. It would though be unfair to single out individuals in what was a convincing performance by the team as a whole.
Earlier, DOR Chris Campbell had spoken about Hinckley’s prospects for the coming League campaign to a lunchtime audience. ‘We are in a good place at the moment and I feel that the squad we have assembled in the strongest I have seen in my time at Hinckley. We have had an average of 65 players turning out for pre-season training and we are turning out three teams today in pre-season friendlies. I’d challenge you to name any other Club who is able to do that. I don’t know of one. Moreover, the players are all on the same page. We have a togetherness in the squad which can only serve us well. I’m really looking forward to the season’.
One game does not make a season but there is little doubt that Hornets looked impressive. There are much tougher games ahead beginning next week with the visit of National Two side Sheffield, and there was a sobering reminder that the Club will need the strength in depth it has been seeking to develop when debutant scrum half Adam Collingwood had to leave the field with a head injury before half-time, but there was nevertheless a feeling that perhaps this could be Hinckley’s year.
Campbell reflected that cautious optimism in his post-match comments. ‘Overall, it was a pleasing performance and what I felt was most noteworthy was how clinical we were in attack. I can only recall one try scoring opportunity in the game that we failed to capitalise on. All six debutants made a positive impression and showed they are likely to be valuable additions to the squad. I was also pleased to see that the introduction of the new tackle laws didn’t impact on the game at all. If I was to be hypercritical, I felt that our awareness of opportunities in the first half was a little lacking and we weren’t quite as connected defensively as we should have been. But with both the Staghounds and the U23’s winning away from home, it was a pretty good start to the season for the Club.’
The Club is hosting the Hinckley Summer Festival next week and all three sides will be in action during the day. The U23’s entertain Market Bosworth, kick-off 11.30am. The Staghounds play Newbold at 1.00pm and the Hornets face Sheffield at 3.00pm. All three games will be on the stadium pitch. Admission to the festival includes admission to all three games.
Nick Robinson