With seven penalties against them and the dismissal of Andrew Middlebrook in the final minutes the Magpies struggled to keep their line intact.

The full time siren had sounded before Hinton hit the lead for the first time from a try conversion.

It was a gut wrenching loss for the exhausted Magpies who had led 26 – 10 midway through the second half.

In their first set Gloucester lost their front rower Dane Lakey with an ankle injury but the smaller Magpie pack stepped up with Ben Stokes, Mitch McDonald, Matt Wise and Andrew Middlebrook taking on their bigger opponents.

Simon Hitchcock was making inroads near the ruck and Gloucester’s first points came when Riley Collins took the ball to the line and got a half break to put Matt Higgins over.

After sustained pressure from the Magpie attack Hayden Berry scored in the corner from a clever reverse kick from Hayden Tull.

Hinton hit back with a converted try from a line drop out before Craig Murray crossed for the Magpies with a trademark dart from dummy half. 

Hinton scored again before time through some poor defence on the blind side of the Magpie line. Gloucester led 16 – 10 at the break.

The Magpies found themselves defending for the first ten minutes of the second half but managed to work the ball down field for Jonathon Cornelius to beat two defenders and get a kick into the ingoal for his winger Hayden Berry to score in the left corner.

Hayden Tull put Scott Wratten into a gap ten metres out from the Hinton line and the big fullback was never going to be stopped.

From then on Hinton controlled the game with selective kicking and a string of penalties and scrum feeds.

The Magpies will regroup and take on a much improved and unpredictable Karuah side at Kurri next Saturday, for another crack at Hinton in the grand final.

The final score: 28 Hinton to 26 Gloucester.