Sat 5 Nov 2022, 15:00
Hornets welcomed Newport (Salop) to the Nest for the next installment of National League rugby and on Bonfire night in the gloom and rain turned on the style to send the visitors home pointless and Hornets picking up their 2nd bonus point win of the season.
Newport are new boys in this league, same as Hornets and so it was always going to be a tussle to see who could arm wrestle out the win and thanks to an outstanding second half show in the defence and the ability to score quality tries Hornets celebrated the valuable 5 points in the bag to move them up the table to sit in 11th spot.
Newport from Shropshire, just north of Birmingham are in 9th position and Hornets were determined to turn last week's excellent away performance into a win. The weather for the first time this season was wet and dark and under the floodlights of the Nest they entertained the well fed and watered crowd.
Hornets kicked off the game and instantly had Newport on the back foot and when a loose kick found Charlie Carter, he set about a counter attack. The full back spotted the flank unguarded and with his winger Andrew Wheller in tow set off and found a two on one with the Newport full back and his perfectly timed pass to Wheller and ‘Wheels’ had the pace to scorch over and Carter converted and Hornets had an instant lead. 7-0.
Shellshocked, Newport regathered their composure and showed that they, as all teams in this league don’t just make up the numbers, they are competitive and have a quality, high tempo game themselves and after a series of attacks managed to break through Hornets’ defence after a number of penalties. 7-5.
Hornets now had the bit between their teeth and a number of phases and strong runs by both forwards and backs and the effervescent Danny Bailey popping up all over the place, Hornets were within inches of the line when exciting new boy Sam Townsley got his first try for his new team and the conversion by Carter extended the lead. 14-5
Newport then kicked out of defence to find Carter on the hoof and he set up good ball in midfield and Dec Dorrington found skipper Kieran Ward on the charge around the corner and he made plenty of ground and quick ball shipped to no.8 Ayden Chenoweth lurking on the wing and the line was begging and he trundled over and allowed an easy kick for Carter. 21-5
Hornets were looking comfortable going into half time but Newport had other ideas as they set about putting in fine rugby of their own and were rewarded with 2 unanswered tries just on the whistle to keep the game alive. However, this was the first time this season that Hornets went into the break in front. 21-19.
Hornets stayed out for the break and Newport went in to warm up which in hindsight might have been the wrong option for the visitors because Hornets were acclimatised and Newport weren’t as the restart was collected by Courtney Harris and a break by Ward and Hornets were deep inside Newport’s half and when you need your big prop on hand to score you can rely on Alec Chase to deliver as he surged over to extend the lead.26-19.
Newport were gaining in confidence and thought that the win was there for the taking but they underestimated the quality of Hornets defence and determination to hold on for the win and although they got close, they couldn't get over it, even when Eryk Luckza was yellow carded for a team offence and down to 14 Newport were thwarted and denied the score. They came close a few times and a try saving tackle on the 5m line by veteran Bobert Dempsey was demoralising for the visitors.
Hornets, having soaked up all that pressure then relied on their fitness and ability to secure the win as they worked their way up field and a bit of backchat by Newport and Hornets sensed the ‘coup de gras’ in the way of a 5m lineout and again it was Chase who had his hands on the ball to close out the game and another conversion by Carter and a bit of breathing space for this ever-improving team and after a few minutes the whistle was blown and the victory was secured. Final score Hornets 33 Newport (Salop) 19.
This was a crucial win for Hornets as their dogged defence prevented Newport getting any points in the 2nd half and when they had a chance to score themselves, they did. This win will give the boys well-earned recognition for all the hard work done by both players and coaches as they take another road trip next week to Luctonians before a well-deserved week off.
