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West pull off epic cup victory
EDF ENERGY SENIOR VASE
West Norfolk 25 Chelmsford 20
WITH his fingernails bitten almost to the elbow, coach Chris Bird hailed his squad after West Norfolk recorded an epic victory over London NE3 side Chelmsford 25-20 in the EDF Energy Senior Vase at a sunlit Gatehouse Lane.
He was very proud of every member, and was quick and fulsome in his praise.
To beat a side from a higher division is one thing in itself, but to recover from 14-0, then 17-5, and finally to hang on under unbelievable pressure in the last few minutes of a breathtaking match is another thing altogether.
It was another horrendous start for the home team, conceding two tries to go 14-0 down, but to their credit West didn't once look downcast.
Indeed they fought back vigorously and an unconverted try by Mike Skinner after a rolling maul brought the score to 14-5.
A penalty to Chelmsford stretched their lead to 17-5 until a penalty by James Lunnun reduced the deficit to 17-8 at half-time.
In the second half good handling movement saw Sam Corlett in at the corner, beautifully converted by Lunnun, then with the score at 17-15 Singleton flashed into the line, Elmslie chased a kick ahead, proving there is no such thing as a lost cause, got the touch down, and suddenly West were in front 20-17.
In a dramatic last quarter Chelmsford missed an easy penalty before successfully converting one, making the scores level at 20-20.
West then kicked a long penalty to touch, Simon Cook inevitably won the lineout, as he had done all afternoon, and a rolling maul resulted in a try for Tom Bird, although at the time the scorer was unclear to the scribe who was some distance away at the time.
At 25-20, all that was left was some desperate defence as Chelmsford threw everything, including the kitchen sink, at West but guts and determination prevailed, and the hosts sealed a memorable victory.
All were heroes on Saturday, but Russ Marchant had an especially good afternoon, stealing a lot of ball to win the Man of the Match Award.
This result has definitely brought to an end a few weeks of struggle, and even strife in the ranks.
The coaches as well as the players deserve a huge pat on the back, but all will agree that the real difference was the return of the skipper.
Anyone who has ever doubted Mike Skinner's influence on this side should by now have realised what a massive job he does, and it isn't going too far to state that had he not played on Saturday it would have been yet another gallant failure instead of a proud victory.
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Weather for King's Lynn
Sunday 12 February 2012
Today
Light snow
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