Br’dland & Gt Yarmouth 44 Thetford 5

Broadland & Great Yarmouth took a break from the league at the weekend to entertain Thetford in the quarter-final of the Norfolk Junior Cup.

The game was a repeat of the cup final last year from which Thetford emerged victorious so Broadland were out to show they had learned from that occasion.

The game started perfectly for Broadland as they pushed Thetford back at their own scrum and good pressure forced a mistake and allowed Ed Dixon to dive on the loose ball and score (converted).

Thetford were forced into several early changes due to some strong tackling from the Broadland pack. Thetford soon found themselves on the back foot again and quick thinking allowed Phil Buckley to ship the ball out to Jonno Stanhope-Smith who crashed his way over.

Broadland continued to pressurise and after a quick tap from Simon Ruddick they spread the ball down the line and Ben Collings was able to set Tristan Barber up for a simple score. Broadland added a penalty soon after and continued to take the game to a reeling Thetford.

The set-piece was dominant for Broadland with Rian Gallie and Matt Beckett providing a great platform at the scrum. Kieran Wilkes and Kevin Tierney started to carry the ball and crash through tackles.

After stringing together several phases the ball found its way to Jake Sewell who split the defence in two to score (converted).

Broadland were not done for the half though and still found time to work the ball out to Jay Webster who touched down in the corner.

The second half started with a few changes as Broadland brought on Martyn Greenwood, Asa Morrison, George Wilson and Ash Lightfoot. They continued to apply pressure to Thetford in attack and defence.

Despite being pinned in their own 22 for 10 minutes strong tackling from Chris Hewitt and Buckley kept the attacks at bay and eventually Broadland were able to work their way up field. As they worked up the field the ball was chipped into the corner right by the Thetford line and several players knocked the ball around before Richard Ruddick picked it up and touched down over the line for a fortuitous try.

Thetford responded and continued to attack with intent.

Eventually they broke through several tackles and managed to set up an opportunity for one of their pack to crash over and prevent the shut out.

Matt Stanhope-Smith came on for his debut first team match and added some fresh legs to the game. Broadland still had time to finish on their terms and Shaun Howley fired a pass to Jake Sewell who finished his second try of the day.

The first team have been drawn against Fakenham in the semi-finals with a fixture date to be set in the New Year.

Tries: E Dixon, J Stanhope-Smith, T Barber, J Sewell (2), J Webster, R Ruddick.

Pen: S Howley 1 of 1. Cons: S Howley 3 of 7

Team: R Gallie, P Buckley, M Beckett, K Tierney, K Wilkes, R Ruddick, E Dixon, C Hewitt, S Ruddick, J Stanhope-Smith, S Howley, B Collings, T Barber, J Webster, J Sewell. Replacements: M Greenwood (40), A Morrison (40), G Wilson (40), A Lightfoot (55), M Stanhope-Smith (65).

Grosvenor Casino Man of the Match: Matt Beckett