MHRUFC U15 v Hinckley RFC

Harborough took on a more experienced Hinckley side at home. The First third of the game saw Harborough start off slowly but a dominant scrum allowed Luke and Alfie to launch the backs in particular Ryan into space. Some good carrying from Yousef and strong ruck technique from Charlie D and Tom R allowed the ball to be passed down the blindside for Sam P to sidestep his man before powering over for the first try.
The 2nd third saw a number of changes and momentum went the way of Harborough. Quick ruck ball by Jack and Archie meant Ben could get the ball away to Luke who could then load up the willing runners. A break from Ryan saw him pop off the floor to Elliott who made it to 5 yards within the line before popping the ball to an on rushing Theo in close support who strolled over the line for a try. This was followed by a drop goal conversion by Finlay C to extend the lead. An errant kick from Hinckley after some good defensive pressure saw Caleb collect the high ball on the halfway, beating his man and sprinting unopppsed to the line. However, a couple of mistakes, one from a kick and then a missed tackle saw Hinckley score a try which was closely followed by another as Harborough started to lose their shape. The third ended with another Hinckley try - 17v15 to Harborough at the break.
The last third saw Harborough go back to basics and start using their power runners but also defensively become a nuisance by turning over the ball. With Finlay at 9 the ball was being kept alive and as the third wore on the forwards started to exert dominance again. Towards the end, a short pop to Yousef saw him power over the line with 4 opposition players hanging off him to win the game. The Try was converted by Alfie.
From a coaching perspective, it was great to see so many players stand up and be counted today from 1 to 19. When it looked the game was going Hinckley’s way the team managed to reset themselves and show heart and pride in the shirt to pull out another win!