HENLEY Hawks slumped to a 38-21 defeat at home to Hinckley RFC as they failed to take advantage of a game in hand.

The Hawks enjoyed plenty of possession in the rearranged National League 2 South fixture at Dry Leas, but found it difficult to find any fluency or momentum.

Hinckley, with just one win all season, were good value for the victory.

Complimented by a strong defence, they were clinical when their chances came, with full back Joe Wilson claiming 23 of his side’s points.

The visitors opened the scoring after just four minutes when Wilson collected an inside pass and crossed under the posts. He converted his own try.

The Hawks showed glimpses of what they are capable of, and a good move involving Iwan Macrae, Will Bordill and Tom Emery went close.

The Hawks then turned down a couple of penalty shots at goal but their attempts to attack the Hinckley line were either defended well or fell foul of the referee’s strict interpretation of the breakdown.

When the visitors had possession, they had conviction. A good backs move was finished off for the second time by Wilson, and again he converted.

Hinckley hooker Adam Johnson then added a further try just before the break to give the visitors a 21-0 lead.

The second period started like the first and it wasn’t long before Hinckley gained their bonus point with a try from Euan Kelly. Wilson converted to give the visitors a 28-0 lead.

The introduction of Samson Adejimi and Alex Bradley gave the Hawks some renewed impetus, and after a number of drives at the Hinckley line, it was Adejimi who eventually forced his way over for the Hawks’ first try, which Cail Cookland converted.

Any thoughts of Henley making a comeback were short-lived when Hinckley full back Josh Smith broke through to score. Wilson added the conversion.

With the game opening up towards the end, the Hawks managed to get some worthwhile territory and possession.

A good move involving Tom Hall, Will Crow and Jack Robinson put the Hawks in a good position and they were eventually awarded a penalty try when the Hinckley defence infringed once too often.

Bradley made some storming runs and got his just rewards by crossing for another Hawks try just before the end.

Hinckley then capped their fine afternoon with a dropped goal from Wilson to seal a deserved victory.

In South West 1 East, Oxford Harlequins beat Windsor 70-0, while Banbury Bulls won 29-22 at Marlborough. Witney lost 26-21 at Chippenham, while Grove suffered a 38-10 home defeat to Bracknell.

A trio of losses in Southern Counties North saw Bicester lose 59-5 at Stow-on-the-Wold, with home defeats for Wallingford (33-26 to High Wycombe) and Gosford All Blacks (50-11 to Shipston on Stour).