Having won their initial game of the Shield, Fakenham 1st XV came into this game expecting a stern test. Their opponents were Ipswich YM 1st XV, a team who had come to this point with 14 out of 15 bonus point wins so far. The weather was perfect; the pitch was drier and a big crowd had turned up at the club expecting good rugby.
Fakenham started the game and were quickly on top. Tries for Fakenham came in the third (Jack Powell-Thorn), sixth (James Howell), twelfth (James Howell) and seventeenth minutes (Jack Powell-Thorn), Lloyd Marshall converted 2 of them. The early dominance came from Fakenham’s total control of the game. In the first 20 minutes YM could not get any possession and the pressure showed with the Fakenham forwards running both at the fringes of the ruck and further out, drawing in some strong tackling from YM.
With the YM defence occupied coping with the forwards, the backs had the space to run and make good ground. Fakenham's first 4 scores all came from the forwards whose work rate was exceptional. Special mentions should go to Jack Powell Thorn and Rob Ward, both of whom played well. Ward was awarded the Norfolk Brewhouse Man of the Match award for his hard work.
Finding themselves 24 points down within 20 minutes the YM team re-grouped and showed

Last Saturday Fakenham hosted Hadleigh in the first game of the Eastern Counties 1 Shield competition, this shield competition sees the top 2 sides from each of EC1 North, South and West competing for overall champion status and promotion.
Fakenham started well, collecting the Hadleigh kick off and running through the phases to bring the game play into the Hadleigh half of the pitch.
Fakenham moved closer to the Hadleigh line attacking with both forwards and backs.
The first score resulted from a Lloyd Marshall grubber kick behind the Hadleigh defensive line. Marshall was just unable to gather the kick but flank forward Howard Kellock was 2nd to the ball and gathered it for an easy touchdown, converted by Lloyd Marshall.
Fakenham’s second try soon followed. Aggressive in attack and with good running lines the home side were dynamic, and this play moved Fakenham right up to the Hadleigh line. A surging run from prop Jack Powell-Thorne took him to within 1 meter of the line and his front row counterpart Callum Frost saw an opening just around the side of the ensuing ruck which he could power through for the try, again converted by Marshall.
Hadleigh were now 14-0 behind within the