Hornets triumph in top of the table clash

Hornets 35 pts

Camborne 24 pts

HORNETS entertained Camborne at The Nest for what was shaping up to be one of the most important matches of the season, against a team whose own promotion ambitions were still very much alive.

Both teams cancelled each other out in the early stages, until a dropped pass resulted in a Camborne break. The ball was punted towards the Hornets line, Francis did well to get to the ball first, but all he could do was carry back over his own line and touch down.

The resulting five-metre scrum saw a big push from the visiting pack, which allowed the back row to break off and surge over for the opening score.

Hornets pulled three points back through a penalty, but with the error count rising and the home side giving away penalties, Camborne drove a maul through the middle of the Hornets’ defence, allowing Camborne to make it 3-14 with half-time approaching.

The home pack responded by taking control of the ball and retaining some possession and this led to a vital score when a line-out led to a driving maul with Haines and Chase taking control.

As the ball broke loose, Harris was able to surge over. The conversion was again missed, but the deficit had been closed to 8-14.

The large home crowd were not disappointed as Hornets exploded into the second half. Francis was at the forefront of most things and he pounced on a loose ball and successfully turned it over and went on a rampaging run through the heart of the Camborne defence.

He found Hogarth in support who made good ground himself. The ball was quickly recycled and Haines was pulled down metres from the line. Again the ball was quickly recycled and this time moved through the backs. Jones broke a tackle and offloaded to Jack Gadd, who was able to cross unopposed.

Immediately Hornets were back on the attack. This time it was Parker making the hard yards, with Cheeseborough in close support. Again the backs were released and Cornish cut through the defence and looked as though he was going to score, only to put a foot in touch.

Camborne cleared and Francis was adjudged to have made a late tackle and three points for the visitors came from the resulting penalty.

Hornets really sparked into action and the next 10 minutes saw them take control of the game. Clean ball saw Disney distribute to Letherby who found Carter from a miss pass.

Carter made good ground and released Cornish at full pace, which enabled him to smash through the defence and score a try which saw Hornets take the lead for the first time at 18-17.

The next play saw Hornets score a superb team try which demonstrated the strength of the team as a whole. Parker rampaged over halfway, exchanging passes with Francis as both back rowers knocked holes in the desperate Camborne defence.

When the forward momentum was halted Carter was on hand to continue the attack and Letherby found Joe Gadd, who offloaded to brother Jack.

Jack Gadd headed for the line but the defence closed him down. He still managed to get the ball away and Joe collected a difficult pass and strode over to complete a tremendous team try.

The next attack saw Joe Gadd score again. This time Hornets kicked though and the Camborne winger was caught in possession and turned over by Jones for a penalty. The resulting line-out saw Francis crash towards the line.

Despite being held up, the ball was moved to Letherby, who again used a miss pass to find Gadd in space to score his second try of the afternoon.

A few minutes later Hornets again found themselves keep in the Camborne half. A line-out saw the ball released to the backs and this time Jones broke the line and cantered over under the posts for the sixth try of the.

There was still time for Camborne to add a further try from a driving maul giving a final score of 35-24 to the home side.

The bonus point win was enough to put Hornets top of the league, due to St Austell failing to get a bonus point in their win over Clevedon and with Cleve losing heavily at Chard, Hornets are now well placed for promotion with just four games remaining.

On Saturday, Hornets travel to Cullompton with the objective of consolidating their place at the top of the table.