HORNCASTLE 1ST XV 34
LINCOLN 3RD XV 28
BY JOSEPH VERNEY & TONY CLAYTON
PHOTO CREDIT: JOE WENMAN
Lincoln’s 3rd XV battled hard throughout, but a hat-trick from James Smith saw them narrowly defeated 34-28 at Horncastle.
Lincoln kicked off and made good yards into the Horncastle half, quickly turning the ball over. Although the ball was moved expertly along the back line, Lincoln knocked on just inside the Horncastle five metre line.
However, Horncastle were unable to control the ball at the back of the scrum and Lincoln scrum-half Shaun Dove leapt on the loose ball to touch down for a try. Fly-half and Lincoln’s man-of-the-match Dale Bowman successfully slotted over the conversion.
This early awakening galvanised Horncastle into action and Lincoln spent the rest of the first half camped inside their own 22 metre line, tackling ferociously, but unable to clear their lines.
It was Horncastle’s consistent attacking that saw them drive at the heart of the Lincoln defence with powerful running to score two tries thanks to Will Sharpe and James Smith. Troy Willerton converted one of the tries to give Horncastle a narrow 12-7 lead going in at the break.
Lincoln had the wind at their backs in the second half and received the ball from kick-off, but a knock-on gifted the ball back to Horncastle and Jake Taylor went over for a try under the posts. Willerton again added the extras.
It wasn’t long before Lincoln went down to 14 men following a team yellow card, which Horncastle were immediately able to capitalise on as Smith went over for his second try of the match.
The next 10 minutes saw a real arm wrestle in the middle of the pitch with neither side able to control the ball for very long.
Lincoln soon had their tails up with the forwards making some good yardage and drawing in the Horncastle defence. This allowed Lincoln’s backs to stride into action and Bowman went over for a try which he also converted.
This seemed to be a catalyst for Lincoln and the platform they needed to set up a base for second row Ryan Harmer to power over the lie for a try. Bowman successfully slotted over the conversion to reduce the deficit to just three points and ensure a tense final 15 minutes.
However, another team yellow and an injury saw Lincoln temporarily down to 13 men, which gave Horncastle the opportunity to exploit gaps and crash over for another try as Smith completed his hat-trick. Willerton added the extras to give Horncastle a 10-point lead.
Lincoln refused to give up and their forwards once again drew in the Horncastle defence to set Bowman off on a mazy 70 yard run which ended in a great try. Paul Swaby slotted over the conversion and there was just three points separating the two sides in what was a hard-fought battle.
From the kick-off Lincoln gave away a penalty 15 metres from their own posts, which Horncastle duly elected to kick. Smith made no mistake and calmly added the three points to extend Horncastle’s lead to 34-28.
This was not the end of the drama as, with less than a minute to go, Lincoln were awarded a penalty which they elected to kick. Although it missed touch, Horncastle knocked on and gave Lincoln one more chance to secure a win.
However, the ball came loose and Lincoln were adjudged to have knocked on as Horncastle held on for victory.
The match also saw Lincoln club stalwarts Alex “Snowy” Cotterill and Darren Tinsley make their comebacks for the third team, while Joseph Flint was named as Horncastle’s man-of-the-match for an excellent performance in his first ever game at full-back.
POST MATCH COMMENTS
After the match Lincoln 3rd XV captain Tony Clayton said: “This was a proper third team encounter which demonstrated everything great about the game, the mud, the tussle and the excitement.
“The game was played in an outstanding spirit, with a large spread of ages benefitting from the opportunity to be involved.
“Huge congratulations to Horncastle in the way that they played and the way in which we were made to feel so welcome. Big thanks to everyone who travelled, with Lincoln being supported by players from Hykeham, Gainsborough, Retford and Lincoln Uni, which is an incredible boost towards rebuilding the game across the county”.
Horncastle captain Mike Hoyes said: “We made it hard work for ourselves but in the end we dug deep and kept battling getting us the result in the end!”
