HORNCASTLE 1ST XV 3
LINCOLN IMPS XV 65
NLD MERIT 1 EAST
BY JOSEPH VERNEY
PHOTO CREDIT: BEVERLEY HOLIDAY
Captain Sam Cave, fellow forward James Johnson, and Jack Randell all crossed for two tries apiece as Lincoln Imps XV bounced back to winning ways in style with a 65-3 victory at Horncastle.
Dave Rose-Allen, Tom Law, Grant Laws, Ollie Keen and Tom Bruce also scored tries for Lincoln.
Randell also slotted over four conversions and Luke Brodrick kicked one seven years on from the weekend in which he made his senior debut for the club. Second Row Tom Tucker put in a man-of-the-match performance and Freddie Wright was also praised for his excellent display.
Horncastle battled hard and their only points of the match came via a Joe Flint penalty.
Lincoln opened the scoring after some good forward play. Tucker was dominating through the midfield and boshed a player out of the way, before a chicken wing offload to Rose-Allen who went over for his fourth try in three games. Brodrick added the extras.
The visitors soon extended their lead after a great lineout move and rolling maul saw Johnson break away to touch down for a try.
After more strong forward carries, captain Cave could not be stopped under the posts as a reached forward to put the ball down for a try, which Randell converted.
Lincoln’s attack continued to look impressive and a big carry by Cave saw the captain set up Tucker. The man-of-the-match carried the ball around 30 metres and, just before contact, he offloaded for Randell to run in for a try. Randell added the extras.
Horncastle reduced the deficit when Flint successfully kicked a penalty from just outside the 22.
Lincoln soon reasserted their dominance as Tucker confused the defence with a dummy. He ran round the back and offloaded for Law to go over for a try in the corner to give Lincoln a commanding 31-3 lead going in at the break.
The visitors continued to look strong as Johnson came off the base of a maul to power over for his second try of the match.
Grant Laws then bust through three tackles and, despite being tackled over the line, he managed to touch the ball down for a try.
Lincoln were soon in again as Brodrick expertly intercepted the ball and offloaded for Randell to run in for a try, which he also converted.
Randell was back in the thick of the action when he made a great break through the middle, ripping through the Horncastle defence. He then produced a late offload to set up Keen for a try under the posts. Randell added the extras.
There was still time for Lincoln to add a further two tries. After Lincoln were penalised for not throwing a lineout straight, Horncastle over threw theirs, allowing Cave to steal the ball and crash over for a try.
Tom Bruce, who recently joined Lincoln from Sleaford, finished off a slick move through the hands to score his first try for the club and capped a fine victory for the visitors.
POST MATCH COMMENTS
After the match Lincoln Imps XV captain Sam Cave said: “Firstly, thanks to Horncastle for the game and physical contest about the park.
“Obviously we were keen to put the last two weeks’ performances behind us and return to the style of play of last season.
“The forwards were dominant across the park and the platform provided the backs time and space attack and exploit gaps.
“All the lads 1-23 put a shift in and I couldn’t be prouder. That being said a special mention to Tom Tucker for a sublime man-of-the-match performance and generally being a menace about the park.”
Horncastle captain Mike Hoyes said: “Castle never dropped their heads and kept fighting hard in true Horncastle spirit against a well-drilled Lincolnshire side.”
