Holt v Fakenham 12.01.14

 

All smiles. And mud.

Scribe: Geoff Webster.
Paparazzi: Amelia Ghanbouri. 

Sunday dawned in the usual manner. The sun came up, boys were stirred from their slumbers by depressingly cheerful parents and breakfast passed in monastic silence. But this was no ordinary day. This was Norfolk Cup day and Fakenham were lying in wait in their lair with home advantage and a high degree of optimism that this time they would prevail. Gradually the Holt team trickled into Fakenham rugby club and despite Tommy running out of fingers a quick count showed we had a match squad of 18! It was good to see Dean in particular return from injury.

Game face on.

The day was still, sunny and bright, although the pitch at 9.45 was rock hard and icy. It gradually thawed out and to the seasoned campaigners on the touch line pre-match training looked to be taken more seriously than usual. I distinctly saw George running a couple of times during the fitness session and even Shed shuffled into a trot.

Fakenham pushing to the line. Holt laying on the floor.

Very good height by Fakenham.

Well set scrum. Shed looks on in awe.

Theo takes the ball from the re-start. His hair follows shortly afterwards.

Anticipation or just plain knackered?

The match kicked off at 11.30 by which time the pitch had thawed to the consistency of wood - an improvement on the concrete of 9.45. Fakenham kicked off and from the first minute it was clear they were up for it. The first 10 minutes in fact were all Fakenham. It quickly became apparent that they would be playing a 10 man rolling maul sort of game. Fakenham scored after 10 minutes in the corner after good driving play from their forwards. Holt had to this point not been in the Fakenham half and anxious looks were exchanged on the touch line. We were being bullied up front, despite the best efforts of our pack. 5-0 Fakenham.

What all the fighting was over.

We kicked off and Ali won the ball by ripping it off their number 8. This good play was marred by a Holt high tackle and Fakenham attacked again, driving deep into our 22. Things looked bad. Another score from Fakenham at this point, one felt, would be hard to recover from. Then in the blink of an eye the game changed. Jacko won a turnover ball, quick hands shipped it to Callum and he went the length of the field. You could see the Fakenham heads go down - oh no, not this again. 7-5 Holt.  It was interesting to observe the differences in approach. Holt played fast, attractive 15 man rugby looking to spread the ball wide and bring the fast men into play. Fakenham were like England of old, grinding forwards with skill no doubt but it was not the Holt way.

Ollie and Robin looking very clean. This look didn't last long.

The game entered a very tight phase where good Holt ball winning was somewhat undermined by poor ball retention and the concession of several penalties. Eventually Fakenham broke the deadlock, scoring near the posts. 12-7 Fakenham. Holt replied rapidly, Shed at scrum half breaking clear of the Fakenham forwards, passing to Jacko who beat the large Fakenham second row for pace and scored in the corner. 12-12.

Robin robbing.

Durban dodging.

Storey stalling.

The physicality of the contest grew ever more intense, both teams making tackles and demonstrating strong commitment with ball in hands. Great to see Matti back making a couple of huge hits on the Fakenham inside centre. Eventually Jenks broke clear and Callum scored again. 19-12 Holt. Holt started to gain the upper hand, the ball flowing well between forwards and backs. Half time and the feeling on the touch line was that Holt were on top but would need to retain composure to finish first.

'My ball. leave me alone'.

Shed. The boy who can slow down time.

 The second half kicked off and it was immediately clear both sets of boys were really up for the challenge. Fakenham hacked through and Theo outpaced a centre to get back, fall on the ball and win a critical penalty enabling Ali to clear the lines. The Holt back row won turn over ball increasingly and finally Holt were starting to retain the ball better and punish the Fakenham defence. The first score of the second half came from a Fakenham kick, a miraculous catch by Caz off his toes, a jinking run up the left touch line and a perfectly timed pass to Shed, whose unique running style caused the Fakenham defence to pause long enough for him to touch down in glorious slow motion. 24-12 Holt. Fakenham were not done yet. They attacked with vigour, Holt held them up over our line, Jack dislocated a finger and popped it back in himself, earning the team a 5 minute breather for strapping to be applied. Eventually pressure paid and Fakenham scored a deserved try near the posts. 24-19 with 10 minutes left. One felt the next score either way might be decisive and it went to Holt. Theo recovered the ball from our kick off, the ball went through several pairs of hands and eventually Alex crashed over. He had a great game all round at full back. Sam Crafer, Ben Corney and Deano all came on during the second half for Robin, Oli B and Tommy T and all made valuable contributions. Sam caught a kick off deep in his 22 and made great ground up to the 10 metre line. Eventually Callum scored again after a well timed pass from Matti. The score was now 36-19 and Fakenham's spirit was finally broken.

Nice make-up Matti.

Billy Whizz about to go...

The final whistle followed soon after. It had been a brutal, committed and at times excellent encounter. Holt were transformed from the side that turned out against Ipswich. It had been a famous win. West Norfolk in the semis await.

The smiles say it all.

Man Of The Match: Jacko.

Fakenham captain awarded man of the match for Holt to Jacko, who looked like a number 7 should after a tough game - stud marks on his face, strapped up finger and covered in mud.
No turd awarded this day.