1st XV
Matches
Sat 04 Dec 2021  ·  London 3 Eastern Counties
Fakenham RUFC
1st XV
48
10
Norwich Union
Fakenham 48 - 10 Norwich Union 04.12.21 London 3 Eastern Counties

Fakenham 48 - 10 Norwich Union 04.12.21 London 3 Eastern Counties

James Howell5 Dec 2021 - 10:03
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Fakenham gain revenge

Fakenham 48 – 10 Norwich Union 04.12.21

The tenth round of London 3 Eastern Counties fixtures saw Fakenham welcome Norwich Union to the Stringer Ground. Union ran out 49 – 21 winners at their place earlier in the season, so Fakenham were looking for revenge but knew it would be a tough game.

A pre-match luncheon, sponsored by RM Smith Builders ensured a good crowd for the game and with no rain and just a light breeze at the start of the match, there was the promise of some good rugby to be played.

The early minutes saw Fakenham play at a fast pace, trying to move the big Union pack around. However, knock-ons gave the away side the chance to show their strength in the scrum, which would continue throughout the game. A penalty against Union gave Fakenham the chance to move down the pitch and gain a lineout on the Union 22 metre line. A strong maul set up from the lineout gave Fakenham the platform to spin the ball out wide. Fly half Luke Boynes took the ball to the line, taking advantage of the Union defenders rushing up to make some good yards, before passing to inside centre Ashley Stewart for a run to the try line. Outside centre Murray Tindal was successful with the conversion.

Norwich Union came back after the restart and immediately put the pressure on. Some good defence from Fakenham kept them at bay, however a penalty in front of the posts gave Union the chance to cut the deficit. The kick was successful to take the score to 7 – 3.

Fakenham continued to play at a high tempo and spent some good phases in the Union half. A penalty against Norwich Union gave Fakenham the chance to restore their lead to seven points and Tindal took the opportunity with his kick.

Fakenham managed to get the ball back into the Union half after the restart by playing sensible rugby, clearing their lines through the boot of Boynes. They played well through the phases, before the backs unlocked the Union defence. Winger Matt Warman was stopped just short of the try line, but Boynes was following in closely to pick up the ball and power over from close range. Once again Tindal was successful with the conversion, taking the score to 17 – 3.

From the restart, flanker Patrick Lound took the ball and saw space open up in front of him, so took the opportunity to make a strong run into the Union half. Fakenham kept up the momentum and moved their way towards the Union try line. Lound picked a good line between two defenders and showed good strength to reach out and score under the posts. Tindal kept up his success from the tee to score the conversion again.

With a couple of minutes left in the half, a penalty soon after the restart gave Fakenham the chance to kick for the corner and go for the bonus point try. A good lineout on the right led to the ball being played out wide to the left. Some strong drives sucked the Union defenders in, before the ball was then sent back out wide to the right where Warman went over in the corner to score his first try for Fakenham. Tindal’s impressive successful conversion from the touchline was the last act of the half, leaving the score 31 – 3 at half time.

The start of the second half saw Norwich Union capitalise on their dominance in the scrum. With a scrum on the Fakenham 5m line, Union won repeated penalties as they put the pressure on. After a number of infringements, a yellow card saw Fakenham down to 14 men. As Union continued to opt for the scrum, they looked set to drive over before some cynical play to kick the ball out of the back of the scrum led to a second yellow card in as many minutes for Fakenham and a penalty try for Union.

This could have been the turning point, with the momentum in Union’s favour. However, despite being down to 13 men, Fakenham continued to attack well. The restart allowed Fakenham to put the ball in Union’s half and keep it there. Henry Hepworth-Smith, fresh on the pitch, jackalled well to win Fakenham a penalty and the chance to kick at goal, but for the first time in the game Tindal was unsuccessful with his kick sliding just left of the uprights. The resulting 22 drop out gave the ball back to Fakenham, who kept up their high tempo from the first half. Once again playing well through the phases, the Fakenham forwards moved the ball back into the Union 22, with some strong carries on the right hand side. The ball was then moved out wide on the left for full back Brett Stolworthy to run in the try, an impressive feat with 13 men. Tindal’s conversion was good to take the score to 38 – 10.

Restored to a full complement of players, Fakenham kept up the pace and kept attacking hard. Some scrappy play in the Union 22 gave Hepworth-Smith the chance to kick the loose ball towards the try line, but it unfortunately bounced dead just before he could get there to touch it down. From the resulting 22 drop out Joe Bane-Young, off the bench, caught the ball and made good ground before passing it to Lound. He drew a defender before putting Jonny Wheeler, playing at eight, in space on the right wing. Wheeler ate up the yards before riding a covering tackle to offload back inside for Lound to score his second try of the game. This time Tindal’s conversion was unsuccessful.

Fakenham’s relentless tempo in attack kept them on the front foot. After once again working through the phases to move into the Union half, the ball was put out to the left where Tindal got outside his man to show his pace and head for the try line. Impressive strength saw him score despite the attention of a few Union players. He couldn’t convert his own try, leaving the score 48 – 10.

As the rain started to come down, the final 15 minutes saw more attritional rugby played by both sides. The expansive game from Fakenham gave way to a more pragmatic approach as they looked to see out the game. In the end there were no further scores and the final score was a 48 – 10 win to Fakenham. A great result, reversing the fortunes from the fixture at Union earlier in the season.

The Barsham Brewery Man of the Match was Patrick Lound, who worked tirelessly throughout the game and topped it off with two eye-catching tries. Although, any one of the Fakenham players could have got man of the match on the day as they all played well.

Next week sees the final games of the year, as Fakenham 1st XV and 2nd XV both travel to Holt for a 2pm kick off. Holt beat the 1st XV 11 – 6 at the Stringer Ground in poor conditions at the start of October, so Fakenham will be looking to reverse that result against the league leaders. Let’s get up to Holt and support the boys as they aim to end the year on a high.

Match details

Match date

Sat 04 Dec 2021

Kickoff

14:00

Meet time

12:30

Instructions

Snitch is Christmas jumpers

Competition

London 3 Eastern Counties

League position

7
Fakenham
8
Norwich Union
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Team Kit Sponsor - Collin Marshall & Son
Pitchside Board Advertiser - Butcher Andrews
Shirt - Bruce Towers & Sons Ltd
Shirt - UPP
Shirt - Fakenham Fires
Shirt - Fakenham Farm & Equine Vets
Shirt - James & Milton Drilling Ltd
Shirt - Big Sky Construction
Board - Katering4U