The try fest of the previous week this was not, but to hold the well-drilled Hinckley team to an 8 point margin on their own ’turf’ says much about Stour’s resolve and heart in defence.

It took 23 minutes for the hosts to score their first points, counter-attacking from a misplaced clearance kick with Ryan Hough going over for a converted try. Just 7 minutes later, Hinckley chipped over the Stour defence for Aaran Philip to fall over the line for an unconverted try.

On the stroke of half-time, Stour hit back. Joe Heatley made a blistering break from the Hinckley 10 to their 22, cleverly switch-passed to fellow centre Hal Riley, who comically dragged the Hinckley scrum half over the line with him to score a well-deserved try. Scotty slotted the conversion and the teams went into the break at 12-7.

The second half was a story of two strong defences and the home side must be bitterly disappointed that they only managed to win the final 40 minutes 3-0. However, that was enough to deny both teams any bonus points and brought a hard-fought and dour game to an end.

If the Stour team needs any motivation to turn the tables on the hosts next season, they need only read the Hinckley reporter's imaginative view of the game!

Match report by Mark Denison, pics by Ceri Davies