Hornets recorded another bonus points win, this time at home to Burnham

Hornets 24 pts

Burnham 10 pts

A TRY on the stroke of time in each half by Hornets No 10 James Leatherby secured another bonus point home win for Hornets.

This secured top spot in the league by five points, although nearest rivals Barton Hill have a game in hand. Hornets also broke the 400 point mark for the season and move into double figures in bonus points.

After swapping pitches after the warm-up, Hornets started brightly and took the lead when Chase crossed for his 15th try of the season. Jermaine Jones added the extras and Hornets were 7-0 up.

A handling error by Hornets scrum-half Biddle saw Burnham’s Tim Piper kick ahead and beat Vinnicombe to the touch down under the posts. The visitors drew level when Piper added the extras.

Just before half-time, Piper kicked a penalty to give Burnham the lead. Hornets forced their way back and after a five-metre scrum, pressure by Geddes forced the Burnham No 8 to pick up, but his pass was intercepted by Leatherby to give Hornets a 12-10 lead at the break.

The second half started with Hornets on the front foot. A scrum saw Burnham penalised and as the Burnham pack disintegrated for the second time, the referee awarded a penalty try, Jones added the extras to give Hornets a 19-10 lead.

As the game drew to a close, Hornets made one last effort to earn the all-important bonus point. Forwards and backs linked and recycled well, with the pack driving close to the Burnham line, Leatherby took the blindside option to touch down out wide for his second of the day.

Jones was just short with the conversion attempt from out wide with the last kick of the match which Hornets won by 24-10. Both teams must be given credit for producing some good rugby in far from ideal conditions.

Next weekend’s fixture is unconfirmed, contact the club on 621433 for more details.