Norwich got back to winning ways with a hard-fought victory in difficult conditions.

Cantabs had not won a game in the league this season while Norwich had lost their last three, albeit narrowly in the case of the Southwold and Ipswich games.

It rained throughout the game on Saturday, making handling a hazardous business.

Norwich were determined after their performance against Stowmarket the previous weekend to look after possession, which they did admirably and was the main reason why they won.

The first 20 minutes were pretty even but then Norwich broke the deadlock with a period of sustained pressure resulting in a five-metre scrum from which No8 Ryan Bigland scored and fly-half Theo Elliott added the conversion.

Ten minutes later they did the same, with Bigland scoring his second try and Elliott his second conversion. Norwich then made a hash of the restart – their clearance kick was charged down and Cantabs scrum-half and captain Richard Knights pounced on the loose ball to score halfway out. Fly-half James Hayward could not add the conversion.

This seemed to stir Norwich with half-time looming. They got themselves into the hosts' 22 and scrum-half Robbie Bridgstock scored by the posts for Elliott to add the conversion to give Norwich the lead at the break 5-21, a scoreline that never changed.

In the second half, with Norwich dominant in the set-pieces, they were able to retain possession and prevent Cantabs from adding to their tally.

When the home side did threaten it was through the boot of Hayward who kicked a great deal in the second period but unfortunately for Cantabs their lineout was not functioning as they would have liked and Norwich got themselves out of any danger.

Despite creating pressure situations in the fourth quarter Norwich were unable to secure the bonus point try. However they will be pleased with the way they dealt with the conditions and got the win they desperately needed.