Tries galore as Warriors possess too much quality

Table-topping West Norfolk Warriors tested out some new players and changes in the pack during a 72-5 win at Lakenham Union on Sunday.Despite an early try from captain EJ Watson, West had an uncharacteristically slow start, making several errors and struggling to execute their usual dynamic, attacking moves.Lakenham applied pressure for much of the first quarter, however, West’s defence was like a brick wall with no quarter given, with Georgie Lingham’s defensive kicking denying the Norwich team any ground.In the second quarter West settled with the back row of Eleanor Navrady, Rosie Lingham and newcomer Poppy Wakefield making repeated line breaks. When Sarah Hodgson carved through the defence on the halfway line and released Megan Burroughs to run in a 40m try, West came alive, and the energy came back into their game.West stretched the field wide and deep, with full back Jade Nicolson punching through the defensive line to reap the rewards. Another try each for Watson and Burroughs, plus one for Lingham – all converted by Nicholson – saw West lead 29-0 at half-time.With the West forwards dominant from the restart, an early try from hooker Lingham saw all the forwards making impactful runs and delivering polished set plays, giving West perfect attacking platforms.Cora Hunter joined the backs in an attacking position in the visitors’ half, outsmarting the Lakenham defence to run in her first 50m try. West were then rarely out of the Lakenham side of the pitch for most of the second half, with the only score from the home side coming from an unconverted try.With West keeping up the intensity for the full 80 minutes, yet more tries came from Navrady muscling her way over the line and two more as Hunter completed her hat-trick. West’s backs still made moves across the pitch, resulting in further tries for both Nicholson and winger Emily Jenner.Forwards coach Devlin Crowhurst said “It’s not just the win – it’s the way you win, the defence gave them nothing and every time we broke out, we scored. Overall, it was an exceptional performance.”