North Walsham were edged out in a classic 'game of two halves' by five tries to three in windy Essex.

Kicking off with the wind and down the slope Walsham knew they would have to take a lead into half-time and they set about that objective with good intent.

Matt Hodgson opened the scoring with a penalty and the visitors were soon 10 points to the good when captain Ryan Oakes pinched the ball and nipped over, with Hodgson converting.

By the 20th minute the Vikings were 20-0 ahead. A wild pass was well caught by Harry Downing who skipped through for Hodgson to convert before the former added a second penalty.

Brentwood had the best of the rest of the first half, forcing the Walsham defence to dig deep - which they did with purpose and resolve to prevent the hosts getting on the scoreboard.

Brentwood looked much happier playing downhill with the wind, especially as Walsham had a man in the sin-bin, and they finally got on the scoresheet on 44 minutes, though the kick went wide.

On 52 minutes good attacking down Brentwood's left saw scrum-half and Chalk Hill Brewery man of the match Will Findlay sneak around the back of a ruck and down the blindside, crossing the line at the corner. Unfortunately it was too wide for Hodgson to keep his 100 per cent record intact.

Brentwood scored their second try on 56 minutes and added a third on 64 minutes, with the second one being converted to reduce the deficit to 17-25.

Sadly Walsham full-back Jake Duffield then came off for a heavy knock and his replacement Ethan Benney was quickly yellow-carded for a deliberate kick. Brentwood kicked the penalty to touch, won the line-out and their rolling maul took them over the line for a converted try.

Now just one point to the good, Walsham continued to attack when they could, winning a penalty in a central position that Hodgson pulled wide.

With two minutes to go Brentwood got another maul rolling and when the Vikings forwards pulled it down a penalty try was awarded, which was converted for 31-25.

The rest of the match took place in the Brentwood half but Vikings were unable to score the try they needed.