No matter which way you look at it, this result was a massive disappointment for Hinckley. Having recently taken nine points out of three of the top clubs in the division, Hornets travelled to Devonport Services, who had previously won only twice this season and who had been hammered 55-22 at Leicester Road earlier in the season, expecting a convincing win to continue their recent progress. That it did not turn out that way can be attributed to many things – the last-minute withdrawal of Ben Pointon due to illness, an horrendous concussion suffered by Oli Bee in the early minutes which left him unsteady on his feet for many hours and deprived Hinckley of both height and the line-out and weight in the loose, a pitch which was, to dramatically understate it, very heavy and totally unsuited to the running style that Hornets have developed, and, not least, a superb defensive performance by Devonport who played out of their skins – but the bottom line is that this was a game Hinckley expected to win and failed to do so. It was a close-run thing with the result in the balance until the final whistle but Hinckley came away with just a single point when they had expected five and lost ground in their quest for a top half finish.

Defence coach Ben Avent could not hide his disappointment after the game. ‘We have lost too many games this season by just a score and it’s something we have to start turning around. We're putting ourselves in positions to win, but at this level, that's not enough. We need to find a way to close these tight games out and come away with the points.’

‘That being said the lads’ performances over the last few months have been much improved. We've built a lot of momentum. and we will work hard to ensure that today was just a bump in the road.’

‘On a more positive note, it was great to see Leo Connolly making his first team debut. He has been at the club since he was 6 and it was great to see him in the first team. He has a bright future ahead of him.’

None of this though should take away from the Devonport performance. The pack struggled to make ground, Pointon’s sniping round the base was sorely missed, Rory Vowles failed to weave any of his usual magic, and Callum Dacey, so often the strike force who initiates some of Hinckley’s best attacking moves, was virtually marked out of the game. They did have the rub of the green at least twice in the game, first when Dacey appeared to be tackled off the ball in the act of scoring, and second, when what looked like a desperate kick out of defence that could have (and often has) resulted in a devastating counter-attack, was not dealt with allowing Devonport to steal the ball and run in under the posts. On balance though, they probably just deserved the win.

In retrospect, the opening minutes were perhaps a sign that this was not Hinckley’s day. Bee knocked on from the kick-off initiating a period of Devonport pressure that Hornets couldn’t break. Bee took a bad knock to the head after just four minutes and had to be replaced by Henry Higginson and it was not really a surprise when pressure eventually told and Services took the lead at the end of the first quarter. From the back of a maul on the Hinckley 22m, a lovely slipped pass from scrum half Billy Sutton to Tom Davies on the angle allowed him to carve his way through the Hinckley defence for a try. Richard Goldsby West converted.

That at least allowed Hinckley to break the pressure and set siege on the Devonport line, eventually levelling the scores from a short-range tapped penalty that was carried over by Will Callan for the try which Vowles converted.

But Devonport were back in front five minutes later. Hinckley were penalised 15m from their own line for coming in at the side and Goldsby West kicked to the corner. The catch and drive from the line-out was driven over with hooker Aiden Taylor claiming the score. Goldsby West converted to make it 14-7.

Neither side was able to gain any kind of stranglehold on the game but Hinckley looked the likelier to get the next score. Vowles chipped over the top around the 22m and Dacey, following through, seemed certain to score before he was tackled without the ball in the act of scoring. Bizarrely the referee adjudged Dacey had knocked on and awarded the scrum to Devonport. Some compensation came a minute or two later when Devonport infringed at the scrum and Vowles knocked over a simple penalty.

That ended what had proved a very unsatisfactory half for Hornets who went in 14-10 down.

There seemed a renewed energy about the Leicester Road men on the resumption and they did begin to exert some control over the game that had been lacking in the first period. Devonport though were resilient in defence and it took a penalty try to break the deadlock. Hinckley had kicked a penalty inside the Devonport 22m to 5m and the catch and drive was stopped illegally as Hinckley were about to go over. The referee went under the posts and Taylor was despatched to the bin. Hinckley were in front.

But not for long! A Services line-out 15m from the Hinckley line was sent down the line and wing George Pooley, cutting back inside, was able to force his way to the line by the posts despite the attention of two Hinckley defenders. Goldsby West easily converted.

Perhaps the killing blow came five minutes later. With Hinckley again pressuring the Services line, they lost the ball 10m out. Goldsby West put up a misdirected kick looking to clear his lines and, with Sam Tutt underneath it, Hornets looked set to launch another attack. But when Tutt failed to rise, Pooley, following through, was able to steal the ball and make ground before feeding Davies who ran in under the posts. Goldsby West converted to take Devonport two scores clear. It was not a score that was easy to swallow.

The rest was a bit frenetic. Vowles put in a tremendous 50-22 kick to give Hornets a line-out 10m out with 12 minutes on the clock. The catch and drive was held but Hinckley won the penalty. A quick tap was again held but at the cost of another yellow card, this time for Dan Goldstone. Hinckley though could not take advantage.

Hornets did break-through with five minutes left from a scrum on the Devonport 22m which was sent left to man of the match Will Callan who was just quick enough to get to the corner for his second try. The conversion though went wide leaving it at 28-22 with five to go.
But Hornets could not find another score. They looked purposeful from the restart making good progress but kicked away possession when it might have been wiser to keep the ball in hand. After that, Devonport were able to simply play out time for a famous victory.

Nick Robinson