Hornets underlined their credentials as one of the premier Colts outfits in the region by sweeping past Dings Crusaders in a one-sided National Cup clash.

The Weston-based side outscored their Bristol opponents by six tries to one at a rainy and windswept Hutton Moor last weekend.

Both sides came into this third-round tie with a reputation for playing expansive rugby, with their respective back divisions being their key strike weapons in games throughout the season.

But the day belonged to the Hornets pack, especially their front row of Alex Hawkins, Tom Fletcher and Sean Mark, who dominated their Bristol opponents at the scrummage and laid the platform for the victory.

Hornets abandoned their usual expansive approach, adapting much better to the dreadful weather conditions by playing a tight, driving game, whereas Dings committed rugby suicide by trying to reproduce their usual 15-man running style of rugby which has been successful for them so far this season.

But the victory didn't come by chance, as the Hornets coaching team had done their homework by setting out to counter the threat posed by Dings centre pairing of James Oakley and Dan Cole, who have been terrorising defences all season with their power and pace.

Hornets team manager Stuart Simmons said: "We knew they had a good midfield pairing and that they like to use them to get some 'go forward' ball.

"We decided to attack the Dings pack at first phase so that when Cole and Oakley got the ball, they were on the back foot. I thought our forwards were awesome, especially in the first half."

The game was all but over as a contest by the interval with lively scrum-half Sean Disney collecting a brace of tries in the opening 16 minutes, one of which was converted by wing Jermain Jones.

Flanker Dexter Nettleton touched down two minutes later, and wing Ali O'Connor coasted in for the first of his two tries on 28 minutes to give Hornets a 22-0 lead going into the break.

Crusaders produced a much better effort in the second half with flanker George Sparrow being the stand-out player for the visitors.

Wing Ceri Fernley crossed out wide for Dings after he was put into space following a blindside move from a scrum. No 8 Kai Berg picked up and fed scrum-half Santino Monostori, who in turn released Fernley to score a consolation try.

O'Connor scored his second try 20 minutes into the second half for the Weston-based side, then finally replacement scrum-half Reece Watson capitalised on a strike against the head by his pack when Dings were on the attack and sprinted 80 metres to touch down in the corner to seal the victory for Hornets.

Disappointed Dings coach Alex Guest said : "There are a lot of teams in this age group that are bigger than us but we cope well because they're not athletic –they're just big.

"But these guys were not just bigger than us but stronger than us too and it's really hard to get any momentum against a side like that.

"We got going towards the end when they began to tire but it was too late by then," he said.