It is with great pleasure that we welcome Hinckley RFC to Park Lane for this National League Two league fixture. Greetings to all their playing squad, management and travelling supporters to what surely must be yet another exciting game in this ever-improving league.
Leicestershire outfit Hinckley were promoted into this league three seasons ago and have proved to be very formidable opponents. Their first season saw them finish in a very creditable 9th position and have been front runners in the league, particularly in the early part of each season.Since then in season 17/18 they finished 5th and in 18/19 finished 10th. This season however they have had a more difficult start, which in their case probably means that we are to see a strong second half!
Last season it was a tough day out for us in our November trip to Hinckley and came away following a fairly comprehensive beating 32-14. However, as our form began to improve later in the season we managed to turn the tables and came out victors 31-10 on home soil.
Hinckley come to us today having played 5 games, won 2, lost 3, and lie in 12th place in the league on 11 points. Points for 93 and against 122, giving a difference of -29. Recent form for these boys has been mixed but they have had some tough fixtures, losing at home to Caldy 13-29, but came away from Hull with an impressive 18-36 victory. Last week they suffered a home loss to a visiting Otley side, but no doubt in the next few weeks with more league games played the standings will become clearer. In these early days teams tend to move about week by week.
The Tigers come into today also having played 5 games, won 4 and lost 1 and sit in 3rd place with 18 points. Points for 109 and against 81, giving a 28 difference. Recent form has obviously been quite good, and we are especially pleased considering that we had to rebuild the team. Our bad day at the office was our home game against Tynedale which resulted in a loss, 7-12. It was a game played in bad conditions with heavy rain affecting the day resulting in little rugby beeing played. Tyne had a better kicking game than us which resulted in their two tries being scored. Notable victories for us have been on the road. Our opener of the season was at Preston, and Arnie’s men certainly had an eye on victory, but we managed to contain the onslaught and came away with our only 5 pointer so far. Last week was also a great afternoon for us at Stourbridge, pinching the win in the very final stages of the game. It was a game of they score, we score, and it was not until the 78th minute that we got our noses in front, and following a siege of their line Mark Goodman crashed over to win the day.
October is a tough month for us and with Stourbridge now out of the way we have Hinckley today, followed by Chester away, and then Caldy at home! It is definitely fingers crossed that Matt Riley and Matt Gallagher become fit to play in the next week or so to give us a full squad to choose from.
Coming back to today’s game and it is obviously another tough one to call, both teams look to establish themselves in the top section of the league and similar to last week it is difficult to get an indication as to how the game will go. We have not played any common opposition so the only factor in our favour is home advantage. I have not made a prediction for some time and I am certainly not going to make one today. At the time of writing the weather looks very mixed for the week including a bit of rain around today. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen and that we have a good day and a great game of rugby.
Whatever the result today, whether you are in the Black & Yellow of Hinckley or the Claret & Gold of Sedgley, come and join us in the bar for the traditional pint and a few laughs before your safe journey home.
All the best.
Today’s games:
- Fylde v Stourbridge
- Hull v Caldy
- Luctonians v Loughborough Students
- Otley v Chester
- Preston Grasshoppers v Huddersfield
- Scunthorpe v Tynedale
- Sedgley Park v Hinckley
- Wharfedale v Sheffield Tigers
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