The first luncheon of the season, sponsored by Fisher Electrical Contractor, brought a sizeable crowd. The weather was pleasant and dry to allow for some running rugby, although you wouldn't have thought so given the amount of knock ons and resulting scrums in the first quarter of an hour.

The game was a cagey affair to begin with as both sides tried to settle into the game. The aforementioned knock ons stopped a flow developing, but Fakenham were the first to get on the board. After a foray down the right, the ball was offloaded for winger Ashley Stewart who met it with a sumptuous half volley before chasing the ball down. The visiting players were waiting for the ball to bounce over the dead ball line, but Stewart showed impressive perseverance and pace to get to the ball and dive down onto it just before it went dead. Fly half Lloyd Marshall was unable to add the conversion from wide on the right.

The home side added a second soon after, breaking out of their half through replacement Murray Tindal, who cut a hard line back against the grain. He kept the ball alive through an offload, and a number of Fakenham players followed suit as they continually offloaded to keep the attack going. After moving the point of attack to the left wing, full back Harry Richardson gave the final pass as he offloaded to Marshall, who ran clear and dotted down under the posts. He then converted his own score.

Mistley had a period of control in the first half where they dominated field position, laying siege to the Fakenham 22, but could not make it count. After the Fakenham defence held out, they scored a third try through centre Aaron Tagg, who cut through the middle before using his pace and power to go over on the right. Marshall was unable to add the extras.

Mistley did make sure they got something out of the first half, with a penalty kick reducing the arrears to make it 17 - 3 at the break.

The away side started the second half strongly, once again controlling possession and territory. This time they made it count, scoring a try after a few strong forward carries on the line before one powered over. The conversion attempt from the left was unsuccessful.

Fakenham took the warning and soon fought back, knowing they could not rest on their laurels. After they worked their way down the pitch, they received a penalty 5 metres from the Mistley line. Second row and captain Adam Lingwood took it quickly, catching the defence unawares and going over untouched on the right. Marshall couldn't add the extras this time.

Mistley fired back again soon after with an unconverted try of their own. They put in a cross field kick that bounced up and their full back claimed it well before diving over in the right hand corner. The conversion attempt was unsuccessful to leave it 25 - 13.

The away side continued to put the squeeze on and after winning a couple of penalties fairly centrally, just inside the Fakenham half, they opted to go for the posts. The Mistley fly half proved to have a big boot as he knocked the kicks over with ease and bring his side within 6 points.

Fakenham knew the significance of scoring next and managed to add the next points to keep Mistley at arms length. Two penalty kicks from Marshall cancelled out Mistley’s and importantly took Fakenham beyond a single score.

With only a minute left after the last penalty kick, Mistley knew they had to recover the ball quickly from kick off and score immediately to stand a chance of winning. However, Fakenham safely recovered the ball and were eventually awarded a penalty in the Mistley 22. With time now up, the win and four try bonus point sealed, Fakenham decided to kick the ball into touch and end the game with the score 31 - 19.

A great battle as the sides went toe to toe, although the tight fives may not have enjoyed the number of scrums in the opening quarter.

The Barsham Brewery Man of the match went to prop Sam Collins. He was originally meant to play in the Barbarians until a call off meant he started in the front row for the first XV and lasted the full 80, scrumagging well against a quality Mistley front row. He also made strong carries and tackles to be the deserved MOTM.

Thank you to Bayfield Catering for providing the pre match luncheon, it was enjoyed by all in attendance.

Thank you to Katering4U for sorting the match teas for the players. Quality as always, with Sam Collins saying our teas are the best.

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

Next week sees the First XV take the long journey to Hadleigh, come and support the boys if you can.