West Norfolk make it successive wins

West Norfolk maintained their fine start to the new campaign with a 41-22 victory over Woodbridge in their opening home game of the season at Gatehouse Lane.The home side had to be patient before finally securing their second success in as many games in front of their home faithful.Fielding an altered line-up due to injuries in the previous match, head coach Jamie Williamson was forced to have a shuffle around in the pack.Regular starter JJ Hart found himself in familiar surroundings in the second row as one of the pack powerhouses.Angus Williams stepped in for JJ in the centre and the home side were faced with a tougher test in terms of physicality, with Woodbridge bringing a solid defence and some strong ball carriers in attack.As a result, early scores were exchanged and both sides looked relatively well-matched as the game got underway.Whilst the home side were forced to be more conservative this week, eventually they were able to put tried and tested phases together. This saw them unlock the Woodbridge defence both around the edge – with what ended up as a hat-trick of scores from Lucas St Helaire – and through the middle – with Wicks and Williams picking the right gaps in an otherwise solid defence.Ultimately both Williams and Jack Wicks registered tries with the latter also having another good kicking day.Significant support contributions came from Man-of-the-Match George Lemon who consistently showed his turn of speed and footwork, in addition to Josh Burgess applying pressure when it was needed most. Some mid-match injuries saw West forced into switching several players into new positions, which, along with the inevitable fatigue of playing in the warm weather, meant that the squad briefly lost form in the closing minutes and allowed the visitors in for a soft consolation try.Man-of-the-Match: George Lemon (sponsored by Middleton Aggregates). Defensive Player-of-the-Match: Joe Whittaker.West Norfolk’s next fixture is on Saturday when they travel to A47 rivals Wisbech for what is always a closely-fought contest (3pm). Both teams will be hoping to continue their unbeaten streaks so far.

Rugby Greg Plummer