Hoppers recorded their fourth victory in a row with an emphatic win over new comers Luctonians. This was the first meeting between the two clubs and with the Herefordshire side’s good start to the season it was expected to be a close encounter. However Hoppers were in control right from the opening kickoff and dominated in all areas of the game, including against the visitors heavyweight pack.
The home pack threw down the gauntlet in the opening minutes with a perfectly executed catch and drive, Rich Morton returned to first team action to touch down and give Hoppers a perfect start. Hoppers increased their lead midway through the half, Luctonians could not secure a line out in their own half and Matt Charters and Luke Cunningham made inroads into the visiting defence before the ball was spread wide where Hoppers had men over and Paul White was on hand to continue his impressive scoring run.
Luctonians got themselves onto the score sheet with a penalty from John Morris but Mark Edwards replied with a penalty for Hoppers five minutes before the break to restore the 12 point lead and take the sides in 15-3 at the break. The half did however have one more crucial incident when the visitors were reduced to 14 men; prop Jorge Segurado was shown a straight red card for a head butt following a collapsed scrum.
Hoppers came out in the second half determined to take full advantage with a five point haul now well in their sights. Once again they started the half in style with two tries, wrapping up the bonus point, inside ten minutes. A turn over in midfield was quickly moved to the left wing and after White had got behind the defence he unselfishly passed inside to Edwards who was able cross with ease. And they capitalised on yet another turn over when replacement Mike Millward made good yards up the middle and Edwards well weighted kick was gathered by Tom Hughes who scored his eighth try of the season to go into a tie for the most in the league.
Luctonians finally crossed the try line and showed some of the form that had helped them win five of their opening seven games. After securing the ball in Hoppers territory for over five minutes they powered their way through the forwards to the try line and replacement scrum half Lucas Roy-Smith found space round the fringes to squeeze over. However any chance of a comeback was ended when their discipline again let them down, this time it was a yellow card for back row Bruce Thomas following a dangerous tackle.
Hoppers scored twice in his absence, three times in the final ten minutes, with full back Sean Taylor taking full advantage of the increased space to create the first and then cross twice himself. Taylor made a great break from a poor clearing kick and was well supported by Mark Rigbye whose offload put Matt Hughes in space to score.
Taylor was then on the end of two scrum moves, the first in conventional way as Charters picked up from the base to make good yards and after recycling the ball well Hoppers moved quickly from right to left where Taylor was in acres of space. The second as Hoppers pack stole the ball at the scrum and Charters again made good ground before Cameron Berry was able to find Taylor again in space. Edwards added the extras with the final kick of the game to take his personal tally to an impressive 20 points.
Hoppers once again showed that they are going to be a force to reckon with this season, with six different try scorers, five from the backs, they are taking advantage of the opportunities available to them. The pace and adventure from a young back line is a joy to watch and will cause any team in the league problems and the forwards are providing a great platform getting g quick ball and impressing in the loose and the set piece, personified by hooker Richie Sands who made his 150 appearance for the club.
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