Barking 13 N Walsham 22

North Walsham won for the first time in four matches after surviving a second-half fightback from a spirited Barking side, writes Sebastian Sutcliffe.

The Vikings took an eary lead when debutant Andreas Robertson fed Jon Younie who was held up on the line. Walsham won the scrum and fed centre Will Hodgson who went over to score. Will's brother Matt knocked the conversion over.

Still struggling with the wind and the dominant Viking forwards, Barking were quickly on the defensive again, Tom Williams scoring the first of two tries from the back of a rolling scrum on 15 minutes, Matt Hodgson again scoring the conversion.

Walsham only kicked out of hand twice in the first half, and on the second occasion Will Hodgson hoisted deep into the Barking half. Full-back White gathered but was penalised for holding on after the tackle and Williams scored his second try from the resulting scrum on 29 minutes. This time, the conversion bounced back from the left-hand post and the half ended with Walsham 19-0 to the good.

Against the wind Walsham started off as sluggishly as Barking had in the first half and two missed tackles allowed Barking captain Barham to attack down the left-hand side and score a try which went unconverted.

Good defence and a high number of turned-over line-outs kept Barking out but with the pressure on, any loose play would let the hosts through and that happened on 16 minutes when replacement second row Pearce went over to make it 10-19.

Then the Walsham scrum was penalised right in front of the posts and Lloyd decided to kick, cutting the deficit to only six points.

The Walsham lead was looking decidedly fragile and they responded by hitting back at the restart. The Chalk Hill Brewery man-of-the-match Williams took the ball cleanly and burst through, only for great Barking defence to keep him out.

The Vikings won the next penalty and Matt Hodgson decided to kick into the strong wind, with his successful attempt giving the visitors some breathing space at 13-22, which was the final score.