West Norfolk 3rds v Southwold 2nds


West Norfolk 3rds travelled to the furthest reaches when they went to Southwold for a keenly awaited League encounter. The main reason it was so keenly awaited was the minibus provided by the Club (thanks very much) and the promise of a tour around Adnams Brewery with associated beer tasting thereafter.

It was another positive for the Club that, despite the long lay off caused by the weather, the 3trds took a full 15 players with them.

It was a typical mixture of youth and experience, summed up in the front row of Davies, Williams and Meatball. Stephenson and new boy Chris provided the grunt from the 2nd row and the tight five dominated the scrummaging throughout the game. They secured all their own ball and disrupted much of Southwold’s. Chris had a solid game on his debut and should hopefully be a regular feature for the rest of the season.

The back row was full of youth, with Josh Rowlands and James Murray flanking and Tom Courtney making his final appearance before jetting off to leap out of aircraft clutching cases of Stella Artois screaming “1000, 2000, 3000…. Airborne…”

Steven Bird slipped in to fill Tom Fincham’s shoes at scrum half, whilst Ollie Denton guested at 10. The centre pairing of Dan Hobbs and Tom Bankart were assisted out wide by Adam and James from the pub. Goldie was rock solid at full back. Praise goes to young Denton who remained on the pitch for the full 80 minutes, despite picking up a knee injury in the first quarter. He may have been limping but he didn’t miss any tackles and still showed excellent distribution skills

Overall, the game was somewhat scrappy, with the rust taking some time to work out of everyone’s system. However, West were the better team and there were some classy moments. The first try saw the ball travel through the forwards, out the backs, along the line to Courtney who finished off the move with aplomb. Bird converted.

A period of sustained pressure from the pack saw Williams crash over for another typical bullocking romp under the posts. Bird converted again.

Tom Bankart finished off the first half with a slick try well worked by the backs.

Southwold were not out of it and West defence was mighty and, especially within the centres, brutal. The forwards refused to give an inch with covering tackles flying in from all angles.

Half time came and gave temporary relief to straining lungs.

West restarted where they left off, looking to dominate. As age and fatigue took hold, Southwold broke down the wing to score in the corner. It may have rekindled some fire in their bellies but a sublime move from the breakdown saw Ollie release Williams to crash it up towards the 10 metre line, then neatly off load to Davies on the crash ball who split the defence to score a lovely try.

Southwold kept on coming but Courtney excelled again with a chase back to put in a try saving tackle. They were unlucky, having several opportunities which were spoilt when the final pass was either knocked on or delayed too long allowing West to recover.

Meatball’s hooking and throwing were good and Rowlands dominated the lineout, with Stephenson clearing up the loose balls. James Murray was strong in the loose, making several bullocking runs around the fringes. James from the pub and Adam both showed good strength and pace in attack and were typically solid in defence. Goldie relishes the opportunity to run the ball back and broke tackles as always.

The final score was West Norfolk 24, Southwold 5.

An excellent result straight back from the break. We must gird our loins now for this Saturday’s game away at Swaffham. It will be a keenly contested game with plenty of commitment from both sides.

West’s previously cancelled, weather effected, game against Holt has been re scheduled for Saturday 6th February, away at Holt.

Ps, the minibus ride home was eventful, with several players taking one for the team… Nice to bump in to Thurston 1st team in darkest Swaffham…

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