OLD SALTS START THE SEASON WITH A WIN

Old Saltleians RFC 5–0 Hinckley II

Old Saltleians opened the new season with a hard-fought 5–0 victory over Hinckley II in front of a fantastic home crowd at Water Orton.

After a summer of rebuilding, new faces, new coaches and countless hours on the training pitch, this was never going to be about producing the perfect performance. It was about showing character, togetherness and finding a way to win.

Salts had to overcome adversity before the game had even kicked off, with second row Ryan Lee picking up an injury during the warm-up. His withdrawal left the home side with just two available replacements for what would become a hugely physical contest.

Hinckley started the stronger of the two sides and immediately put Salts under pressure. The visitors enjoyed plenty of early possession and territory, but time and again the Salts defence stood firm.

To a man, the defensive effort was outstanding.

Around the 20-minute mark, a small altercation following a lineout resulted in Old Salts scrum-half and captain Tom Lee and Hinckley No.8 Joseph Barnes both being shown yellow cards.

It proved to be an important moment in the contest.

From there, Salts began to grow into the game. The home side started to impose themselves physically, with one enormous tackle from Jamie James perfectly illustrating the determination and defensive standards that had been worked on throughout pre-season.

Hinckley were dominant at the lineout, but Salts responded with an impressive performance at scrum time and looked increasingly dangerous in the loose.

Chances were at a premium, with both defences refusing to give an inch.

Dan Fentham produced one of the best attacking moments of the opening half, breaking the defensive line before setting off on a trademark mazy run. His break put debutant Jide Ajayi into an excellent position inside the Hinckley 22, only for the ball to be knocked forward with the try line beginning to open up.

At the other end, Hinckley found space and looked destined to score before Jacob Harris produced a superb try-saving tackle.

It meant the teams went into half-time locked at 0–0.

The second half followed a similar pattern. Both teams enjoyed spells of possession, both defended fiercely and neither side was prepared to give anything away cheaply.

Salts thought they had finally made the breakthrough when Tom Lee produced a brilliant piece of vision, dropping a perfectly weighted chip behind the Hinckley defence for Wes Ward to chase.

Ward gathered and finished superbly, only for the referee to rule him offside.

The celebrations were short-lived — although the Veo footage afterwards suggested Wes had timed his run perfectly. If only we had VAR at Level 6!

Salts continued to dominate at scrum time, with the newly assembled front row producing an excellent performance against strong opposition.

The home side were then forced into changes.

Ten minutes into the second half, Jide Ajayi's debut came to an end through injury, with Justin Kearnes replacing him. Jacob Harris also temporarily left the field after taking a knock, with Ryan Wiggin coming into the action.

Harris' rest wouldn't last long.

A huge tackle from one of the Hinckley second rows on Fin Carroll left the Salts centre unable to continue, forcing Harris back into the contest.

Then finally came the breakthrough.

After months of work throughout the summer, the structure and attacking shape began to show. Salts put together one of their best passages of the afternoon, with players running excellent lines and Brandon Lea pulling the strings.

The ball eventually found new signing Jake Connolly, who crossed for the only try of the game on his Old Salts debut.

5–0.

Hinckley responded exactly as expected and threw everything at Salts in search of an equalising score.

Once again, however, the home defence refused to buckle.

Hinckley came desperately close late in the game before Jacob Harris produced yet another outstanding try-saving tackle — his second of the afternoon — to preserve the lead.

From there, Salts dug deep, fought for one another and saw the game out to secure an opening-day victory.

The final whistle brought huge celebrations from the players and the large home crowd who had turned out to support the lads.

Full-time: Old Saltleians 5–0 Hinckley II.

It wasn't perfect.

There are plenty of areas to improve, plenty to work on and plenty more to come from this group.

But what this performance demonstrated was character.

Players defended for one another. Bodies were put on the line. New signings stepped into the side. Injuries were overcome. And when the opportunity eventually came, Salts found a way to take it.

After everything that has gone into rebuilding this group throughout the summer, this was a hugely satisfying way to begin the season.

Seven players made their first Level 6 appearance for Old Salts, with Jake Connolly marking his debut with the match-winning try.

Man of the Match went to openside flanker Dom Blackwell, who produced an incredible performance and seemed to be everywhere throughout the afternoon.

One game.

One win.

One clean sheet.

And, most importantly, a group that already looks prepared to fight for each other.

The future looks extremely bright — and we're only just getting started.

Old Saltleians 5–0 Hinckley II

Try: Jake Connolly
Man of the Match: Dom Blackwell