Hornets made it to the South West regional semi-final of the Under-17 National Cup when they overcame Amersham and Chiltern.

Amersham & Chiltern 16 pts

Hornets 39 pts

HORNETS made it to the South West regional semi-final of the Under-17 National Cup when they overcame Amersham and Chiltern.

In freezing conditions, Hornets started well when centre Adam Francis crashed over for an unconverted score. Amersham’s goalkicker knocked over a couple of penalties to push the home side in front at 6-5.

It was Francis again who crossed the whitewash again to put the visitors back in front. The tie swung back in Amersham’s favour when they went into the break 11-10 up after scoring a try.

After the break, Andrew Wheller was next to score for Hornets when he coasted in for a fine try. Captain Kieran Ward claimed a well-deserved try to score at the posts and Connor Littlewood converted to push the Hornets 22-11 in front.

The Hornets were now in the asendancy and after Littlewoods’ smart kick and Joe Howe’s line-out take, a sparkling run from Nicholls saw him beat several defenders to score a superb try.

Francis’ centre partner Sam Balkham showed his power and pace as he took the perfect line to dive in for Hornets sixth try of the afternoon that Davidson converted. Dan Ogden finished the scoring off when he powered over from close range.

Amerham scored a late consolation try, but the game was out of reach following a brilliant second half display from Hornets that left the score at 39-16.

The Hornets’ pack was outstanding providing some great ball for the back line and defending manfully. The line-out went well, while the scrum was dominant which allowed Nicholls and the Windsor Castle man of the match Littlewood to guide their team to victory.

The back line also looked rock solid in defence and threatening when in attack, while Wingmen John Xanh and Sam Lewis worked hard.