Match report - 1st Nov 2014

In spite of a spirited revival, which saw the home side recover from 24-5 down after a torrid first half to close to within 3 points at the end of a keen contest, Sutton slipped to their 5th defeat of a frustrating season, losing 29-26 to a very competitive Hinckley side, who dominated the first half 24-5 but lost the second half 21-5 to a resurgent Sutton side.

In a troubled first half Sutton found themselves under pressure at the scrums against a physically strong opposition and with the Sutton lineout also misfiring at times, the home side struggled for good possession handing the initiative to their opponents, who opened the scoring on 5 minutes with a wind assisted long range penalty by fly half Mark Lord from the Sutton 10 metre line, when Sutton were penalised in mid field. The visitors continued to dominate play with Sutton struggling to get into the game and a break by scrum half Dillon Weddal from the base of a 5metre scrum on the Sutton try line provided the opening try, which was converted by Lord to stretch the lead to 10-0 after 12 minutes of play, before on 25 minutes the same pair repeated the play as the Hinckley pack drove over for a pushover try grounded by Weddal and converted by Lord to lead 17-0.

Injuries to Adam Bennett at second row and Luke Stewart in the back row brought changes to the Sutton pack with Sean Harrison moving from prop into the second row alongside Max Heppner, with Chris Hanley, Jamie Scott and Liam Hill making up the front row and the reliable Simon Millard came off the bench into the blind side back row berth allowing Marcus Harewood to move from 6 to 7 in place of Luke Stewart, alongside skipper Fraser Tait at 8.

Although Sutton created promising attacks during this period of play they failed to take their chances and all too often they lost possession and handed the initiative back to the visitors, who did take their chances! 5 minutes before halftime fly half Mark Lord made a break and off loaded to second row Ben Marshall, who crossed for a try, which Lord converted to hand Sutton a 24-0 deficit.

However, Sutton responded well and at last they put together an excellent passage of play, which put outside centre Jon Raistrick in for a try as he ran round the stretched Hinckley defence to score to the right of the posts following a forward drive up the Sutton left wing. The score came on the stroke of halftime and although the conversion drifted narrowly wide Sutton were on the score sheet at 24-5.

A revitalised Sutton started the second half strongly taking the game to Hinckley and their enterprise brought rewards when first, centre Raistrick went in for his second try on 64 minutes rounding the Hinckley defence to score under the posts, followed by right wing Nathan Burchell, who raced in from 40 metres for an excellent try following a half break by fullback Ben Toft on 68 minutes and with centre Alex White slotting both conversions Sutton moved to within 5 points at 24-19 with 12 minutes to play... but with Sutton in the ascendency and pushing for the decisive score in the Hinckley 22, the ball was lost and against the run of play Mitch Corpin gathered the ball to race down the right wing, scoring in the corner to frustrate Sutton's recovery and resetting the scoreboard to 29-19 with just 8 minutes to play.

Sutton made a valiant effort in the closing minutes but the final try, which was another spectacular 50 metre effort by Nathan Burchell, who beat the fullback with a classic feint and finish to score under the posts, came on the stroke of fulltime and although Alex White added the simple conversion Sutton had to settle for a 3 point defeat, which gave them the consolation of a valuable 2 points with a losing bonus point for finishing within 7 points plus a bonus point for scoring 4 tries.

Prior to last weekend, the last time Sutton lost at home was in the play-off for promotion to National League 2 against Harrogate, 27th April 2013 after Sutton finished the season as runner up in their first season in National League 3 and although Sutton lost their 18 month, 17 game unbeaten home record against a big and physical Hinckley side, whose fly half was as big as the Sutton second row!.. the inspired second half performance by the constantly changing Sutton side was hopefully a sign of things to come as the new players settle in alongside the established players and the new look team is able rekindle the fluency and speed of play, which defined their recent match winning seasons.

Two well taken tries by centre Jonny Raistrick and two excellent tries by Sutton's ace finisher Nathan Burchell, backed up by strong forward play, nearly swung the game in Sutton's favour to save their revered unbeaten home record but in the event it was not to be and Sutton now start the task of rebuilding another fortress at the RSG, Walmley Rd. starting with the next home game against old rivals Lichfield on Sat 22nd Nov.

This weekend, Sutton take a well deserved break as Stratford have once again cried off their scheduled Warwickshire Cup tie, leaving Sutton with a bye and a free weekend before returning to league action with a trip to Scunthorpe on 15th Nov 2014. KO 2.15 pm.

Other Sutton team results:

The Sutton Development side playing as a 2nd XV moved into the next round of the Warwickshire 2nd Team Cup competition with a convincing win over local rivals Spartans. In spite of the heavy rain showers both teams played well, providing an entertaining Sunday afternoon sporting contest enjoyed by the doughty supporters from both clubs, who braved the inclement weather to support their side.

Unfortunately Sutton 3rd XV were scattered like fallen acorns by a rampant Moseley Oak 2nd XV, who had 40 home players available to select from due to cancelled games and a valiant Sutton went down fighting in a 72-20 league defeat.