LUCTONIANS coach Ryan Watkins was left ‘very disappointed’ as his side suffered a 7-12 defeat at the hands of Hinckley.

Watkins highlighted his side’s high error count as the league leaders saw their lead cut to six points.

Hinckley scored first through No9 Iwan Burgwin on 12 minutes, when he strolled under posts to score, following what suspiciously looked like two forward passes in the build-up. Rory Vowles adding the extras (0-7).

Lucs were soon back in the game however, when man of the match Owien Harriot-Davis, following numerous driving attacks broke away to touch down. Louis Silver added the extras to make it 7-7 after 18 minutes.

The home side missed out on a couple of opportunities to add to their tally. None more so when Charlie Grimes was desperately unlucky on a kick chase, when the conditions did for him as the ball held up in the mud just as he wanted it run-on over the dead ball line.

Half-time saw the teams in level at 7-7, and the home crowd didn’t have a lot to cheer after the restart as the game became a battle of tight defences with very little quarter given by either side.

Hinckley scored the only points of the second half when full-back Jamie Dutton ran clear following a flowing move cross field, to lead 7-12 with the conversion being missed.

Both sides dug deep and despite the driving presence of Harriot-Davis for the home side they could not gain the advantage they have enjoyed in previous games this season to level the scores.

In a game of over 30 scrums referee Dan Patterson praised both sides for their technical ability and efforts in keeping the game flowing despite the conditions.

Both sides struggled with the gale force winds that blew throughout, and the conditions led to numerous errors in controlling the ball.

However, Hinckley overall deserved the points for their tenacity in defence throughout, especially when they defended their lead at the death when Lucs could not make their efforts count.

Hinckley will look to consolidate on their performance which now sees them go six games undefeated to remain in the top 6.

Hinckley head coach Chris Campbell was delighted to get this winning result, in what he described as extremely difficult conditions for both sides and as bad as he had seen for a long time.

With the game in some doubt even up to kick-off following the mornings torrential rain, he thanked the Luctonians ground staff for their efforts in getting the game on at all.

He added that it was very evenly matched game, and they were thankful to secure the win which could have gone either way.

Luctonians will look to bounce back next weekend away at Old Redcliffians.