North Walsham dug deep to claim a hard-fought 17-13 win at Old Priorians in London 1N as they bounced back from the previous week's defeat at Colchester.
North Walsham dug deep to claim a hard-fought 17-13 win at Old Priorians in London 1N as they bounced back from the previous week's defeat at Colchester.
Despite having plenty of possession and territory they were 10-0 down after 25 minutes but showed self belief in abundance to get back in it and take the lead with seven minutes left.
With 18-year-olds James Cherry and recent signing Andre Dunn making their debuts, Vikings went behind after four minutes when Barney Wellings exploited some weak defence and Ross McIntosh converted.
The visitors then started to dominate but could not take advantage and went further behind to a penalty before tapping a 20 metre penalty of their own, with Lachlan Brown-Bates touching down to make it 10-5 at the break.
The third quarter was largely one-way traffic and the visitors got their reward in the 55th minute when, after six well controlled drives, Brown-Bates got his second.
McIntosh knocked over another penalty to restore the home side's lead but the Vikings stuck to the game plan and finally got in front late on. Matt Hodgson broke through on halfway and Coltishall Red Lion man-of-the-match Will Swart was on hand to put Chris Godwin over. Hodgson converted from the touchline, meaning OPs needed a try for victory and although they piled on the pressure the Vikings showed their defensive qualities to secure the win.
Fielding a side beset with injuries and containing many youngsters Diss suffered a 41-0 defeat at Old Haberdashers.
Losing Shaun Blyth to a leg injury hampered the midfield, with Freddie Precious stepping into the breach and giving it everything.
Having conceded an early penalty Diss enjoyed parity for most of the first quarter with Ben Brown showing a willingness to get involved. Old Haberdashers possess a dangerous back division however and cut Diss to pieces in the second quarter, scoring four unanswered tries.
Diss dominated possession for long periods in the second half, Ali Brooks and George Easton both competing with ferocity on the floor and Jo Hegarty creating a platform from which to attack, but a lack of precision and experience meant they failed to cross.
Brave defence from the entire team restricting the hosts to only two further tries, one being a lucky interception.
London 2NE
Norwich made it five straight wins, and moved up to third in the table, as they beat Cantabrigian 58-0 at Beeston Hyrne.
The visitors came out at full throttle but the whole complexion of the game changed when a Norwich turn-over released Conan Hoey who burst through for an opening try which Theo Elliott converted.
Two more penalties saw Elliott stretched the lead before the forwards drove the ball upfield for Chris Parrott to touch down. Lawrence Austin quickly added try number three following some slick handling from the backs.
After withstanding some pressure Norwich made it 34-0 nine minutes after the break when Austin scored a scrum push-over try and skipper Matt Selby then scored wide out to stretch the lead.
Two more superb tries followed from man-of-the-match Rudyard Gant and Hoey before giant winger Gant bounced over several players to complete the scoring.
Southwold went down 51-22 at Romford and Gidea Park in a game which saw them match the hosts in most departments except finishing.
Wold started well and were up by eight points early on following a Ben Felton penalty and a Ritchie Thickett try.
But they were were 26-8 down half-time and the home side continued to pull away after the break. Further Wold tries were scored by Jamie Jenner and Guy Blades, with Fenton converting both.
London 3EC
With leaders Holt inactive Wymondham went top in impressive style after cruising to a 94-7 win at Thurston.
A sparkling display saw Eli Greaves grab a hat-trick while Charlie Delaney, Ben Edwards and Nathan Wilson scored twice and Ollie Charlish, Josh Wright, Ben Edwards, Anwar Bouilouta and skipper Simon Darby also touched down. Delaney had a superb afternoon with the boot, converting tries from all angles.
Ely moved up to third by edging home 26-24 at Wisbech while Fakenham won a thriller at Thetford 38-36 and Crusaders saw off visitors Woodbridge 31-13.
Fakenham's win was clinched when Tom Bane-Young converted Rob Ward's late try. The visitors' other try scorers were Ashley Stewart, Jack Whiteside, Murray Tindall, Jordan Walker and Ward.
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