A hard-fought game of rugby saw the North Walsham Vikings lead for 60 minutes before losing narrowly 25-35 to Blackheath.

Viking domination of territory and possession from the off led to tries by George Loose on 5 minutes and Dan Smith on 8 minutes, the second converted by Matt Hodgson, 12-0. On 15 minutes Blackheath entered Vikings territory for the first time, were repelled, and a Hodgson penalty near halfway sailed over 15-0.

However, Blackheath immediately pushed upfield for a penalty on the Vikings 5m. From the ensuing scrum Blackheath drove over for a Thomas Baldwin try converted by Oliver Burgess 15-7.

The Vikings were penalised several times for wheeling the scrum. In the 36th minute Blackheath drove over the Vikings line. Thomas Stradwick scored under the posts converted by Burgess, 15-14 at halftime.

North Norfolk News: A scene from the North Walsham Vikings match against Blackheath - Picture: Hywel JonesA scene from the North Walsham Vikings match against Blackheath - Picture: Hywel Jones (Image: Hywel Jones)

A determined Blackheath came out for the second half. Tackling swiftly and hard and attacking incisively but on 41 minutes Hodgson broke, made good ground and offloaded to Connor Dudkley who raced to the line to score under the posts converted by Hodgson. Blackheath again bounced back immediately with a try for Thomas Stradwick converted by Burgess 22-21.

On 60 minutes the Vikings got a Hodgson penalty. Blackheath struck straight back with a Frederick Owen try converted by Burgess 25-28. On 70 minutes a Christopher Bell try and Burgess conversion completed the scoring 25-35.

For the final 10 minutes the Vikings vigorously attacked the Blackheath line, trying to get both bonus points for four tries and defeat by 7 points or less. Though valiant, this struggle against the professional Blackheath defence was ultimately fruitless.

Vikings' director of rugby James Knight said: “This was a performance to be proud of. We ran the league leaders very close and the reception from the crowd at the end showed how much they appreciated the lads’ magnificent efforts.

"We are still fighting and this performance shows we can hold our heads up high in this league.”

James named full-back Dan Smith as TaxAssist Accountants Man of the Match for his extraordinary efforts in both attack and defence.