Sat 31 Jan 2026, 15:00
Chester v Hornets 31.1.26
Hornets travelled the long distance up to the North West and the home of Chester RFC on Hare Lane and in an emphatic game came away with a 5 point victory on the road which is a massive result for this young side.
Having just lost out to second placed Luctonians last week all the hard work was done midweek and that paid off with the narrowest 1 point victory to stun the home team.
For Hornets, the AGP pitch was very familiar and their current good form meant this was always going to be a close game but nobody would of predicted what happened and the game swinging both ways.
On a wet afternoon and a very vocal large bunch of supporters making the trip to Chester both sides showed intent at attacking and after 13 minutes the hosts had the first try and conversion.7-0.
This lead was then reduced by Jack Gapper as he slotted a penalty kick.7-3.
Again though, Chester came straight back and scored another and opened up a gap.12-3.
With 33 minutes played in the first half Hornets then took control as Charlie Carter followed by Josh Sheppard and a conversion by Gapper and Hornets went into the break crucially in front. 12-15.
The second half started well for the visitors when hugely influential prop Sonny Haines dotted the ball over the line following some strong forward runs and the lead extended and Hornets were looking good and Gapper added another 2 points.12-22.
Chester were exerting pressure and on 47 minutes the talented Hornets no.8 Corey Baker was yellow carded for a technical offence and the home side seized their chance to reduce the lead with a well taken try and conversion and still 29 minutes left.19-22.
As the game continued at a pace both sides emptied their bench and Jack Parkinson, James Murray, Mua Inoke and Jed Soper who was on debut entered the fray and was great to see as they injected power and quality.
The game was now stretched and very tense and on 73 minutes Chester got the try they were looking for and a bonus point at least and the lead, and with only a short time left were looking to control the game to the whistle.26-22.
Hornets feeling confident gave it everything they had, a yellow card to Chester and Hornets had an eye on the victory and it was new boy Soper who was on hand to snatch the lead back for Hornets and only 1 minute left on the clock.26-22.
However, when trying to run the clock down Hornets conceded a penalty and the attempted kick to win the game was watched by a very interested travelling bunch of players and supporters, they watched the kick miss and the ref blew for full time and the result was received with a huge roar from the sidelines. Final Score Chester 26 Hornets 27.
This was a huge win for Hornets a long way from home and established themselves in the top half of the league and with other results going their way Hornets move up to 6th just above Taunton.
Hornets finish this block of 4 games with 2 wins and 2 losses and in good form. They take a well earned rest next week before Redruth visit the Nest on Valentines Day 3pm kick off.
