Fakenham's third league fixture this season saw them hosting Crusaders at the Stringer Ground. Last season these teams won a game apiece, so it was bound to be another good contest.

It was another surprisingly hot day, great for the backs and running rugby, but no so good for the 21mm studs of the forwards.

Crusaders took the kick off, however it failed to go 10m and the home side called for a scrum in the middle of the park. From this point they kept the ball in crusaders territory and after a scrum on the left, worked the ball wide to the right where winger Jack Bryan-Green was able to cross the whitewash and get round towards the posts before dotting down just four minutes into the game. Fly half Lloyd Marshall was successful with his conversion.

From the restart Fakenham retained possession for a phase before a long clearing kick from Marshall put the ball on the away side 22. A couple of vicious bounces of the ball took it away from the two covering Crusaders defenders, before the onrushing Fakenham winger Trent Stoltz got there. He showed good footballing skills to get a couple of touches to take the ball over the line and away from the defenders before diving onto it for his first try for Fakenham. Marshall again slotted the conversion from just to the right of the posts.

Six minutes later, Crusaders had a lineout just outside their 22. Fakenham second row Matt King did well to get up ahead of his opposite man in the middle of the line and steal the ball. Fakenham then worked the ball across the pitch to the right, into the hands of full back Murray Tindal, who threw a dummy before crossing the line and placing the ball down. Marshall hit an impressive conversion from inside the 15m line on the right hand side, putting Fakenham 21-0 up.

Shortly after, Crusaders hit back. Fakenham couldn't clear their lines from the restart and the away side stayed camped in the Fakenham half. Crusaders then produced a well worked lineout on the right at Fakenham's 5m line, with a man taking it at the front with no lift before powering over. The conversion was unsuccessful from the right hand touchline.

The home side then came straight back themselves, scoring only a few minutes later. A Fakenham lineout on the crusaders 5m line on the right of the pitch gave them the platform. They then worked it wide to the left through good hands from the backs once again, Tindal unselfishly providing the final pass for Stoltz to score his second in the corner, when the full back could have got over himself. Marshall missed his first kick of the day with a difficult attempt from the left hand touch line.

Unperturbed, Crusaders fought back once again, scoring only five minutes later. Another lineout with 10m of the Fakenham line, this time on the left, gave them the platform once again. After a couple of phases infield they worked back towards the touch line where they were able to power over in the left hand corner. A very impressive conversion from the touchline followed.

From the restart, Fakenham managed to regain possession. Tindal kicked down the blindside and chased it himself, before managing to get the ball away to flanker Pat Casey. He showed impressive strength and determination to power over from 5m out despite having two defenders hanging off him. Another tricky conversion attempt from the left touchline was unsuccessful for Marshall.

The home side scored again a few minutes later. Immediately making their way into Crusaders territory from the restart, they kept the ball alive with all manner of wild offloads. However, the score came after an element of structure was reintroduced. A strong carry from outside centre Aaron Tagg on the opposition 22 saw him crash through an attempted tackle before making a beeline for the corner and diving over the touchline. Marshall couldn't add the the extras from another kick on the left touchline.

Thankfully, that was the last score of the half, despite their being another ten minutes of play before the break. After the frantic action in the first forty, Fakenham led 36 - 12.

The second half started in the same manner as the first, though it took only three minutes before Fakenham scored this time. Inside centre Tom Bane-Young got those old legs going to make an outside break, before passing the ball back inside for Tindal to cut in and score his second, dotting down underneath the posts. Marshall quickly slotted the straightforward conversion.

Just a few minutes later the home side were on the board again. They attacked from a scrum in their own 22, with Tindal making ground down the right to take them to the halfway line. The ball was then worked wide to the left, where Bryan-Green ate up the yards before being stopped just short. However, he managed to offload to Tagg, who utilised his strong fend to finish off the try from 5m out. Marshall was unsuccessful with the conversion attempt from the left, leaving the score 48 - 12.

The game went almost ten minutes without a score, incredibly dull for the watching crowd. Crusaders then came to the rescue with the next try. Attacking with an advantage on their opponents' 22, they slotted through a grubber that was well chased and gathered, before a good offload saw one of their men crash over from a couple of metres out. A successful conversion 15m from the right hand touchline followed.

It was another fifteen minutes before the next score, madness, as the defenses took control. Crusaders secured their four try bonus point after a smart inside ball met a strong forward carry through the middle of the Fakenham 22. An impressive over the shoulder offload was met by another onrushing Crusaders player, who dived over underneath the posts unopposed. The simple conversion was slotted to make it 48 - 26.

However, it was the home that had the final say a few minutes before the end. A Crusaders kick was caught by Bryan-Green on his own 5m line and he called the mark. Quick thinking from the backs saw space on the right and they took it quickly, spreading the ball wide to the right. Tindal got his hands on the ball on his own 22, then showed his express pace to cut back inside and outstrip the defenders, before finishing acrobatically underneath the points. Marshall knocked over the extras.

With no more scores before the end, it finished 55-26. A good win for the home side, though Crusaders scored some well worked tries of their own and took away a try bonus point for their efforts.

The Barsham Brewery Man of the Match went to outside centre Aaron Tagg, who put in a great shift in defence and topped it off with a couple of tries.

Once again the wonderful match teas were provided by Katering 4U.

Thank you to James Peeling for the great match photos as always.

Having taken a maximum 15 points from their first three games, Fakenham sit top of the league. Next week sees them travel to West Norfolk who are only 1 point behind Fakenham in the league, being the only other team to have won all their games so far. Come and support the boys for what promises to be a monumental clash.