Hornets bounce back after cup defeat

HORNETS set out their stall from the start against Tor, wanting to forget the midweek defeat in the Somerset Vase to Wellington.

They got off to a good start when John Ferguson touched down, Sam Lloyd-Jones converting. Soon after, veteran hooker Dave Bird touched down for the second try.

Hornets recorded their third try within 10 minutes when Sonny Haines broke two tackles before feeding to Nick Francis, who sped to the line in his 50th 1st XV game, giving Lloyd-Jones an easy conversion.

Good work in the line-out relieved Tor pressure and also set up a bonus point try. The ball found its way out to Matt Vaughan in space on halfway and he sprinted in under the posts. Lloyd-Jones was again successful with the boot as the sides turned around with Hornets leading 26-0.

After the break, Bobby Hewlett, Ryan Hedges and Matt Parker were brought on. Adam Vaughan was next on the scoresheet followed by four tries in 12 minutes from Vaughan, Hogarth and Haines (2), Lloyd-Jones converting twice.

Tor refused to lie down and the hosts defended well for the last 10 minutes. A big hit from Vaughan on the Tor hooker led to the ball being retrieved by Hornets deep in their own territory.

The ball was ran and they scored a final try through Ash Kinchant, which gave a final score of 60-0 and ensured that the lead at the top was maintained.

Hornets face what will undoubtedly be a tougher test this week as they welcome Minehead Barbarians to Hutton Moor Park, the side they drew with in December. Kick-off is at 2.30pm.

Hornets 15 pts

Wellington 24 pts

HORNETS travelled to North Petherton in order to play Wellington, a side that are third in the league in the semi-final of the Somerset Vase competition.

Wellington opened the scoring after eight minutes when a penalty was kicked to touch and they won and drove the resulting line-out at Hornets line for their flanker to score. A few minutes later they extended their lead from a successful penalty kick.

Hornets hit back when Stu Vinnicombe entered the line at pace and crossed untouched below the posts for a fine try. Two more points came from the boot of Sam Lloyd-Jones for the conversion.

Wellington lost a player to the bin following an off the ball incident. Lloyd-Jones converted the penalty to lead 10-8. Once back to full strength, Wellington scored a second try to take the lead right on half-time.

After the break, Wellington were on the scoresheet again after a try in the corner. With Hornets making several changes which saw Dan Whitford, Phil Hogarth and Ryan Hedges enter the fray in place of Sean Kent, Greg Speller and Harry Nash.

Two further penalties saw Hornets trailing 10-24 with 10 minutes left to play. Hornets replied with a consolation try scored by Sonny Haines from a crash ball on the line. Giving a final score of 15-24 and leaving them with the league as their only chance of silverware.

St Bernadettes 3rd XV 19 pts

Hornets 3rd XV 31 pts

THE third team travelled to St Bernadettes and secured the league title with a hard-fought victory.

Excellent scrummaging from the front row of Howard Evans, James Gould and John Cullum showed their intent, which allowed Mark Harvey to run in the opening try.

The Hornets forwards set up a driving maul allowing Dave Geddes to force his way over the line to score, converted by Rob Owen.

Good pressure from Saints saw them intercept a pass and run in their first try. The Hornets responded and Harvey went over for his second try, converted by Owen.

Dennis Hull broke through the defence to score, ending the first half 24-7 in the lead.

After the break, Chad Tucker to put in a massive tackle to stop a certain try. However, another attack got Bernadettes over the line to score.

Hornets replied through the might of the forwards for Geddes to claim his second and the winning try, converted by Owen.

The forwards dominated and man of the match was awarded to lock Paul Brown for his defensive play and excellent line-out work.