Fakenham's third league game of the season saw them take another long away trip, this time to Hadleigh, as they looked to build on last week's win.

An intermittent wind blowing into one corner of the pitch meant Fakenham had it behind them in the first half, but played into it in the second. Thankfully it stayed dry throughout.

Hadleigh dominated the first half, with two converted tries in the first ten minutes giving them an early lead.

Four more Hadleigh tries, with one converted, in the first half, took the game away from Fakenham and ended the game as a contest.

Nonetheless, Fakenham kept fighting and scored the final try of the half, their first points. After working the ball wide to the left, they then worked it wide to the right where centre Aaron Tagg managed to get on the outside and won the race to the corner, grounding the ball under pressure. Full back Lloyd Marshall was unable to add the tricky conversion from the right hand touchline.

The half time whistle went soon after, with the hosts holding a daunting 36 - 5 lead.

Fakenham knew they needed to start the second half better than the first to have any chance in the game, but it was Hadleigh that scored an unconverted try after just a couple of minutes.

Fakenham fought back and Tagg scored his second of the game just a few minutes later, this time in the left hand corner. Marshall slotted an impressive conversion from wide on the left.

Hadleigh immediately replied with a converted try of their own.

The game continued to swing back and forth as Fakenham scored their third try soon after. Second row Matt King picked up from the base of a ruck just inside the opposing 22, shrugged off a couple of attempted tackles and opened his legs to touch down underneath the posts. Marshall kicked the straightforward conversion.

The full back then scored the all important fourth try for Fakenham to secure the bonus point, but was unable to add the extras.

Hadleigh had the final say, scoring a converted try to round off the scoring.

When the final whistle went the score was 55 - 24, a dominant display from Hadleigh in the first half proving the difference.

Fakenham can be pleased with their improvement in the second half and securing the try bonus point, but will rue a poor first half where ill discipline and an inability to hold onto the ball allowed their opposition to run away with the game.

The Barsham Brewery Man of the Match went to second row Matt King. He capped a typically industrious performance with a try and was also a pivotal point in the lineout once again.

Thank you to those supporters that made the long journey to Hadleigh.

Next week the 1st XV travel to Diss for another tough fixture, while the Barbarians will be hosting Norwich Medics at the Stringer Ground. Get down and support the boys wherever you can.