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MATCH REPORT
6 6 LOUGHBOROUGH STUDENTS RFC VS HORNETS
MATCH REPORT
MATCH DAY: SATURDAY 24/09/2022
FULL TIME: LOUGHBOROUGH STUDENTS RFC 38-40 HORNETS HOME TEAM (HORNETS) TRIES: 7, 39, 42, 55 and 78 CONVERSIONS: 8, 40, 56 and 79
AWAY TEAM (LOUGHBOROUGH STUDENTS RFC) TRIES: 5, 15, 25, 32, 35 and 50 CONVERSIONS: 16, 26, 33 and 51
REFEREE: James Milliner-Woodcock ATTENDANCE: 345
LOUGHBOROUGH STUDENTS: Pill, Bell, Crane, Jennings, Shine, Pedlar, Nkonge, Agbongbon, Fisher, Wainwright, Barber, Howells, Preen, Metcalfe, Walsh REPLACEMENTS: Smith, Westmacott, Strong, Bracken, Hawkins
HORNETS: Bachofner-Brown, Ward, Lloyd, Harris, Bailey, Chenoweth, Roberts, Parker, Tuttiett, Elswood, Vickery, Francis, Bailey, Querl, Carter REPLACEMENTS: Chase, Lane, Davis, Fry, Balkham
With 6 of the match-day 20 in line for their first national league appearances, a youthful Loughborough side arrived at Hornets looking to bounce-back from last weeks disappointing result against Exeter.
Clearly motivated by last weeks outcome, a fast start was made. With Jake Metcalfe dotting down on debut with just 5 minutes on the clock after an excellent initial break down the right hand side, before regaining possession a few phases later to finish off a fine Loughborough attack. A couple of late first half Hornets tries, and some poor discipline (resulting in 2x yellow cards for the students) kept the hosts within reach throughout the first half however an absolutely clinical display of attacking rugby saw us run in 5 tries through the opening 40 minutes, taking a 31-21 lead into the break.
Despite the 10 point lead, we’d yet to have found 5th gear and returned for the second half determined to see the game through to the end and come home with 5 points.
A fast start from the hosts tightened the gap to 5 before a second try of the afternoon for Metcalfe extended our lead to 12 (sitting 38-26 ahead) heading into the final quarter of the game. Despite the healthy lead, numerous errors and relentless pressure from the hosts saw the gap narrow to just 5, before a final minute converted try (after multiple scrum resets) saw Hornets take the lead for only the second time all afternoon. With little time left hornets saw out the remaining seconds to take a 40-38 win.
Despite a second successive defeat, signs of performance improvements are there and with the prospect of a derby fixture on home turf with Hinckley today, there is little doubt that a reaction will be seen as we look to head into the weekend off with a win under our belts.
Enjoy the game this afternoon, up the boro
