Hornets RFC kicked off their 2024/25 campaign in the National League 2 West with a nail biting 27-29 loss to Cornish side Redruth.

The game was close throughout the entire 80 minutes with the lead going back and forth between the two sides.

However, Redruth were awarded two penalties in the dying seconds of the game, the latter of which was converted, to award the visitors a narrow two-point victory with the last kick of the game.

The Hornets did have their chances to put the game to bed 10 minutes earlier, going over the Redruth tryline twice, but both attempts were judged to be held up.

After the contest, First Team head coach Jack Gadd said: “It's a tough one for us to take really.

“Redruth are a very good side; we know they’re a very good side and we’ve prepared really hard for them this week.

“I think we showed good bits of that in this game there were just some big moments in which we didn’t execute and that’s what happens at this level unfortunately.

“We just need to play with a bit more confidence and patience around what we’re trying to achieve really. We don’t have to try and score off the first half break, we need to keep the ball, be patient, calm and confident in what we’re trying to do and we’ll get over the line. When we did that, we looked at ease with the ball.”

When asked about the penalty kick that won Redruth the match Gadd said: “Look, a last-minute penalty is a bit annoying because he had a sighter which he missed and all we had to do was keep him out after that, but I don’t think that’s the one reason why we lost the game.

“There’s a lot of things that added up over the 80 minutes that really we could do and need to do better if we want to get better results at this level.”

The Hornets now go on to face local rivals Taunton Titans on September 14th.

Ahead of the game, Gadd said: “It’s going to be a tough one. Obviously, we’re going to go down there and try and get something from the game.

“Taunton have got a very deep squad, well-resourced having just come down and some of the signings they made.

“It’ll be a tough task for us but it’s a good one for us to try and get the things we need to work on right and see where we are after those 80 minutes.”