Fakenham's final pre season friendly saw them host Lowestoft and Yarmouth at the Stringer Ground. L&Y are in the league below, but these two sides had a couple of good games in the Norfolk Intermediate Cup just over a year ago.

Sunshine and a touch of cloud, paired with a strong wind running from one end of the pitch to the other, meant the conditions were ideal for running rugby and would force the teams to keep the ball in hand a bit more.

L&Y kicked off with the wind behind them, which took the ball all the way over the dead ball line to give Fakenham a scrum on the half way and set up a good platform from which to attack.

Fakenham's first two tries came in very similar fashion, as they worked the ball wide to the left and used their pace to finish both off, first through winger Jack Bryan Green and then full back Murray Tindal. Fly half Tom Bane-Young couldn't add either conversion from the touch line.

Lowestoft and Yarmouth struck back soon after with a try of their own. A well taken conversion from the right of the posts took them to within 3 points.

However, Fakenham extended their lead through Bryan Green's second try, once more getting the ball on the left wing and using his pace, cutting back inside to beat the remaining defenders. Bane-Young slotted the conversion this time, taking the score to 17 - 7 after only quarter of an hour.

The fly half then followed it up with a try of his own after 15 minutes of even play between the sides. He chipped the ball over the onrushing defence in the away side's 22, where a wicked bounce took the covering full back out of the game and perfectly popped up for Bane-Young to regather and dot down under the posts untouched. He then converted his own try.

Five minutes later, Bryan-Green completed his hat trick. On this occasion he popped up on the right hand side to finish off a good backs move. Bane-Young duly added the extras.

There was time for one more score before the break, as flanker Joe Airey spotted a gap and blasted through. Surprisingly, he didn't panic when clean through and made the right decision to pass, which led to outside centre Aaron Tagg scoring on his home debut. Bane-Young couldn't bisect the posts on this occasion, putting the half time score at 36 - 7.

Fakenham started the second half in the same vein, scoring shortly after the restart through number eight Rob Ward. He showed trademark strength to rumble through the defenders and power over the line.

Like the start of the first half, Lowestoft and Yarmouth struck straight back. They worked the ball well to score on the left, but were unable to add the conversion as the wind blew the ball off the tee and the rushed drop kick attempt was unsuccessful.

A few minutes later the home side extended their lead further. Winger Charlie Fish fielded a kick in the middle of the pitch. He used his pace to great effect in the broken field, spotting a gap and weaving between defenders to dot down underneath the posts. Bane-Young slotted the straightforward conversion.

Fakenham scored again ten minutes later as Tindal got his second of the day, with another conversion from Bane-Young.

Lowestoft and Yarmouth continued to fight throughout the game and were rewarded with their third try. A penalty on the Fakenham 5m line gave L&Y a chance to run a clever play, surrounding the ball and deceiving the defence as to where it would go. A runner came round from the back to power over, but there was no conversion this time.

The loudest cheer of the game was reserved for the next try. The away side kicked through from their 22 but could only find veteran winger Jonathan Kettell, who volleyed it back the way it came and chased it down. He then nudged it further ahead under pressure from the chasing defence and it looked like there might be too much on it, but Kettell out in a spectacular dive to touch the ball down just before it went dead. Bane-Young missed the difficult conversion from the right hand touchline.

There was time for one last try, as Tindal took a quick tap penalty with the defence in disarray, before drawing the last defender and popping the ball to second row James Howell, who was able to run around and underneath the posts unopposed. Bane-Young slotted the conversion with the final act of the game, making it 67 - 17.

A great result for Fakenham as they build towards the league starting. Thank you to Lowestoft and Yarmouth for travelling over, best wishes for the season ahead.

The Barsham Brewery Man of the Match went to Aaron Tagg, who had a great game on both sides of the ball and topped it off with his first try for Fakenham.

A big thank you to Katering 4U for the teas that the boys look forward to throughout the season.

Thanks to James Peeling for the quality match photos as usual.

Next week sees Fakenham begin their league campaign at home to Wymondham II. Having lost to them in the Norfolk Intermediate Cup final at the end of last season, the boys will be itching to put in a good performance on Saturday.