Hinckley 3rds 53 Burton 'B' 7 on 5th January 2008

Too much pudding and turkey weighed heavy on the ‘B’ XV as they went down to their biggest defeat of the season against a well organised Hinckley side. Missing six regular players Burton had to hastily rearrange their line-up and for the first twenty minutes every thing appeared to be going well. But then the exuberances of the festive season took their toll as Burton’s pace dropped to that of a snail and the hosts ran in four tries, converting two of them, to give them a healthy 24-0 lead at the break.

The second half started well with Ben Stone, back from injury, intercepting the ball and racing the length of the field before touching down for a try. He then calmly converted this himself to put Burton on the board at 24-7. Unfortunately after this excitement the recently gained extra pounds weighed heavy on Burton’s failing bodies and play returned to the slow pace of the first half. In the end the excesses of the festive season coupled with Hinckley’s youth and skill saw the hosts run in more tries to pass the fifty mark as the final whistle sounded.

But despite the result the team showed their usual great spirit and in particular Chris Lycett and Ian Mumford deserve special credit for their contributions, while several Hinckley players will still be remembering the ‘lion like’ presence of Ian Fitzgerald as he prowled around the park.