It was the old players’ reunion at the newly-refurbished Norton Down on an unusually warm October afternoon for what was a highly entertaining match against Gordano Sharks.

Gregor Morgan had an outstanding game in his first opportunity to play at scrum half for the 1st IX and it was from his quick footwork timely pass that put Murphy in for the first try, which Taylor converted.

Norton’s second try was a counter-attacking classic. Gordano cleared long from a 22 drop-out and it was recovered by Rob Viol, who set up an attack involving most of the impressive Norton backs who, through slick handling and simple straight running, created an overlap for Noah Watts to storm down the right wing before finding Viol on hand to score under the posts.

The Sharks continued to impress in the set-piece, giving the home side’s pack a hard time, whilst also utilising their big ball carriers to make the hard yards.  Two more hard-earned tries after much pressure, and outstanding cover-defence from the Norton backs in particular, put the game on a knife edge as play went into the final minutes. Gordano were denied a try in the corner by a quite incredible try-saving tackle from Gregor Morgan that delighted the crowd and the introduction of Chris Harper meant that the left-side of the pitch was closed for business.

Taylor’s final kick capped a faultless performance from the centre and Norton were relieved to hear the final whistle after an excellent match. The spectacle was hindered slightly by the amount of penalties that stifled continuity, but the supporters were thoroughly entertained and Norton’s classic second try was the main talking point from the game as the old-boys reminisced about their own world-class tries of the past.