Swaffham 15, Broadlands 10ON a comfortably warm and sunny autumn afternoon at North Pickenham Road, Swaffham's First XV played host to a visiting Broadlands side who had arrived with fire in their bellies and a burning desire to win.

Swaffham 15, Broadlands 10

ON a comfortably warm and sunny autumn afternoon at North Pickenham Road, Swaffham's First XV played host to a visiting Broadlands side who had arrived with fire in their bellies and a burning desire to win.

The first half of the game was dominated by the Swaffham lads, with the first try of the game coming from a yellow scrum. Rich Morrisey released the ball to a classic run of passes across the park, culminating in the lightning feet of Chris Owens tearing up the opposite touchline for a spectacular sliding try and five points securely on the board.

Sadly, this try was unconverted, and Morrisey's usually reliable boots failed to find their kicking form all afternoon.

As the afternoon progressed, Swaffham found themselves driven back into their own half by a determined Broadlands, however a series of strategic kicks for touch followed by stolen line-outs saw the home side slowly claw back their territory and drive the game back into scoring territory again.

One final powerful drive following another stolen line-out saw John Chamberlain grounding the ball for a second try, giving Swaffham a comfortable 10-point lead just in time for the half-time whistle.

Or so they thought...

The second half saw Swaffham lose their way a little, as errors and silly mistakes crept into their game, giving Broadlands the advantage they so desperately needed. A penalty gave them the opportunity to kick at goal, adding the first Blue points to board and bringing the score to 10-3.

Swaffham were keen to show that they still had a trick or two up their sleeves, and took advantage of their superior strength and weight by establishing a rolling maul along the touchline, driving the Broadlands pack back over the scoreline where the ball was grounded for Swaffham's third try of the game.

With the scoreline at 15-3, and Swaffham's position as the strongest team on the pitch firmly established, Broadlands decided the time was right to switch tactics.

They knew they would never win in a contest of strength, but explosive bursts of speed definitely seemed to be working for them, so after a few player changes to introduce their racing whippets to the game.

In the final five minutes of the game, they unleashed their new secret weapon and streaked home to land a try directly below the posts, which was easily converted to close the score difference to a mere five points.

Swaffham's defence reacted quickly to this shocking new turn of events and managed to hold off the attacking visitors until the end of the game, giving a final score of 15-10, and a game to remember.

Next week the firsts will again be at home, this time to Norwich in a friendly, while the seconds travel to local rivals Dereham for another friendly game.