National League 2 West: Hinckley 47 Taunton Titans 33
Twice postponed, this was the only fixture in National 2 on a cold, still afternoon in ideal playing conditions, with the two teams sitting in third and fourth positions in the league, writes Hugh Duder.
A frantic start and with plenty of possession, Titans went ahead after a good move and skipper Ratu Vakalutukali went over, with Tom Putt adding the extras to make it 0-7 after five minutes.
With determination from the restart and after several line-outs, Hinckley mauled over to make it 5-7 and three minutes later went over again with Titans' defence missing their tackles, and Hinckley led 10-7.
Dropped passes by the Titans gave the hosts possession leading to their third try, 17-7, followed by a penalty to make it 20-7 by the 29th minute.
Scott Gibson showed his experience with an individual try of quality, Putt converting to make it 20-14.
Unfortunately for Titans, they conceded a converted try with the last play of the half, having given away several penalties, leaving the score at 27-14 at the break.
The start of the second half belonged to the hosts; a converted try and penalty increased their lead to 37-17.
Taunton responded with Gibson bagging his brace to make it 37-21.
Hinckley converted a penalty to extend the lead to 40-21.
On 62 minutes, Elvis Taione was driven over, with Putt converting to make it 40-28.
Five minutes later, a super break by Vakalutukali led to a pass to Freddie Elliott, who scored in the corner, the conversion sliding past the upright to make it 40-33.
Titans came forward again, and from a quickly taken penalty, an intended pass was easily read by the Hinckley centre, who intercepted and ran in for a simple try to end the game.
An entertaining match for the neutral, Hinckley's win keeps them in third spot over a frustrated Titans side who, despite scoring five tries, suffered from some indifferent decisions.
This week Taunton travel to Camborne, who top the league, followed by a home game against Lymm on March 21st.
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