WILL Hodnett and Ben Link scored a brace of tries as Luctonians ran riot during a 49-5 win against Hornets.
The late change of pitch due to the weather didn’t hamper the home side, as they ran out comfortable winners against a game Hornets side who were overpowered by a strong Luctonians outfit.
Lucs were soon on the scoreboard when wing Hodnett raced away to touch down in the corner for the first of his brace of tries , Tom Jones, who was immaculate with his kicking throughout, converting in what were very extremely difficult windy conditions to give the home side a 7-0 lead.
The home side were comfortable in possession and on 22 minutes a home line-out maul was illegally brought down in their red zone by Hornets Sam Taylor who saw a yellow for his sins, with a penalty try awarded giving the home side a 14-0 lead.
Hornets cause wasn’t helped when centre Adam Francis also saw yellow for a technical infringement, and at this stage they were down to 13 players.
The home side took full advantage and Link added another try to his tally for the season when he crashed through from 10 metres out to add to their score before half-time, Jones again adding the extras to lead 21-0.
Hornets however were buzzing from the restart and reduced the score to 21-5 when Josh Sheppard broke through Lucs defence to put Ayden Chenoweth to score their only points.
The home side were playing with control, strength, and excellent game nous, and it was no surprise when Link was driven over from another maul close in to push the points tally up, with Jones again converting in swirling winds to 28-5, this one being Ben Links 23rd try in 23 games, which is some achievement for a hooker.
A flash of juggling brilliance from Josh Watkins on the wing put Charlie Grimes away to increase their tally, Jones again converting a very difficult kick (33-5).
Lucs didn’t take their foot off the gas and replacement prop Mark Roberts danced through for his first club try just after the hour mark, Jones again adding the extras for a 40-5 lead, and still with 20 minutes left on the clock.
Hornets stuck to their task but Hodnett ran in his second score of the game after 67minutes, Tom Jones slotted over once again from the sidelines.
Lucs head coach Ryan Watkins said that he “was very pleased that his side had played to their full potential, but very disappointed that they had lost recently to other top sides” He added to have achieved what they had with this group of players in rural Herefordshire is “some achievement”.
Luctonians face Hinckley away next week, before their final home game against Dudley Kingswinford on April 27 to bring their excellent season to a close.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here