The Thirds travelled to Taunton to play Wyvern’s second side on Saturday and despite the final score had a very entertaining afternoon.

Norton began well and some organised hard hitting defence kept the hosts on the back foot. It was Norton who eventually took the lead when some good, punchy play through the middle from centres Jack Packer and Ben Johnson earned a penalty that flanker Jon Swift dispatched between the posts. The first half was a keenly contested affair with the home side having the majority of possession but the attitude of the Norton players was never in question as repeatedly they won the defensive battles.

Wyvern finally edged ahead just before half time after a quickly taken free kick from a lineout allowed them to go over for the first try of the game.

The second half saw Norton playing up the slope and continue in the same mould as the first. Unfortunately with no replacements it was hard to maintain the same energy levels and Wyvern used their very large bench to good effect. Norton never gave up and made them fight for every point but the hosts eventually scored three further tries to seal a hard fought win. Norton can be very happy with their performance and it was great to see Stuart Kelly returning at fly half after a number of years abroad.

Steve Blackmore