After a couple of fixtures in miserable weather, the King George’s crowd were this week treated to a sunny Saturday for the visit of Norwich as Brentwood looked to bounce back from two consecutive defeats and get their season back on track.

If we’re being honest, the opening exchanges did not fill me with optimism that Brentwood wouldn’t be looking at a third defeat come full time; Norwich having the upper hand considerably in the opening ten minutes. An early penalty shot at goal was missed but it didn’t take long for them to get on the (non-functioning) scoreboard from a cracking 50/22 kick which gave them a lineout opportunity 5 metres from Brentwood’s line. Brentwood defended the initial maul well but the following tight exchanges less so, 0-5 with just above five minutes gone.

A few minutes later it went from bad to worse for Brentwood, a couple of soft penalties giving Norwich possession and territory straight back before three missed tackles allowed Norwich to coast in under the posts to heavy sighs all around me…with the conversion 0-12.

Fortunately, this seemed to be a bit of a wake-up call for Brentwood and, having won a penalty just after the restart, the ball was punted into touch on the 22. The lineout to the back was good, Andy Sutton peeling round to get the ball into the hands of the onrushing Eamon Tiernan. Eamon crashed successfully before it was out quickly, Henry Bird, Tom Walker and Tauren Henwood combining with spot on timing and precision to give Alex Roberts space on the wing to exploit, going through the final defender for Brentwood’s opener, 5-12.

Brentwood’s second came around five minutes later after play had broken down in Norwich’s 22. Tom Walker was forced to back-pedal towards the ten-metre line to tidy up a loose ball but then used the broken field to his advantage, Brentwood able to reset in a good position. The ball went wide quickly, James Stevens and Luke Watson quickly getting it to Tauren Henwood who took play deep into Norwich’s 22 before Dan Suttle went on a big rumble towards the posts. Brentwood then had numbers on the left, Tom Walker and Niall Clifford spotting the opportunity before Henry Bird ghosted through and provided the pass to give Jack Mayes an easy run in, 10-12.

On around the 25-minute mark Brentwood regained the lead after a decent defensive set forced a short clearance kick from Norwich giving Brentwood a lineout inside the 22. Andy Sutton threw the lineout to James Killington before receiving the ball back on the wraparound again, this time finding Eamon Tiernan running a hard line back against the grain and nearly getting to the try line himself. The forwards bundled it through a couple more phases before Tom Walker spotted a large gap on the left, haring round from the right-hand side to go tearing through. Henry Bird found his kicking radar, 17-12.

It was a lead Brentwood would not relinquish, the fourth and bonus point try being scored on the stroke of half time (always a good omen!) after Norwich had seen yellow for their penalty count. From a lineout the build-up was patient and Brentwood’s ball retention was good, play going touchline to touchline on four occasions, Dan Suttle, Tom Fahy and Will McArthur with a couple of prominent carries whilst the backline was spreading it nicely as a unit. Eventually Brentwood worked an overlap on the right, Henry Bird, Niall Clifford and Tauren Henwood again opening up the space on the wing, the beneficiary this time Eamon Tiernan who went over in the corner. Henry Bird added the touchline conversion, 24-12.

Brentwood’s second half start was a vast improvement on the first, try number five being added with just three minutes on the clock. A lineout inside Norwich’s half this time saw Will McArthur take the short pass off the top, Eamon Tiernan again coming back on the inside line and pelting straight through except this time no one could get anyone near him, turning on the burners to go under the posts. Henry Bird added the extra two, 31-12.

A few minutes later Norwich did pull one back after a scrum penalty in Brentwood’s 22 had seen them opt to tap and go, taking it through several phases before Brentwood missed a key tackle by the side of the ruck, 31-19.

The game was rapidly losing any form of structure and as patient as a couple of Brentwood’s opening tries had been, an element of just lob it around and see what happens appeared to be creeping in…It did work out eventually though, Dan Suttle and Tauren Henwood making vast metres between them down the left hand wing giving Brentwood a penalty which was put into the corner 5 metres out. Brentwood went for a cheeky one, throwing straight to Dan Suttle at the front with no lift, Dan able to turn around and tumble over the line for the try whilst the Match Reporter tried to work out if that was what was meant to happen…36-19.

Six minutes later Brentwood added try seven, another penalty giving Brentwood another lineout inside Norwich’s 22. The lineout was again accurate, James Stevens this time taking it into the middle of the pitch before Jack Mayes came in on a short crash. Brentwood were round quickly, Liam Power finding Henry Bird with a pass that had taken out four defenders, Henry with the slightly iffy bat on over his head landing straight in Tauren Henwood’s breadbasket, Tauren taking the last man before putting Fraser Parris over in the corner. There was nothing iffy about Henry’s touchline conversion, 43-19.

With fifteen minutes still to go, try number eight was scored after Will McArthur had blitzed up hard in defence forcing a harried pass to go loose, Henry Bird getting a boot to it and chasing hard with Alex Roberts to force a short clearance kick and give Brentwood the lineout in the 22 and, from the next phase, another penalty. Into the corner it went, Tom Fahy taking the ball and setting the ball back to Jack Mayes who just strolled over the line because Norwich’s defence had parted like the red sea in front of him…Another two from the boot of Henry Bird saw fifty up for Brentwood, 50-19.

Try nine came before I’d managed to finish writing my notes on try eight…and this time came from a solid scrum foundation on the left-hand side. Brentwood went all the way right quickly to Alex Roberts’ wing, taking play into the 22 before the ball came back centre field to Jack Mayes who sucked in a couple of defenders. Brentwood recycled speedily, quick ball then going left through Tom Walker to Henry Bird who had acres of space and the pace to exploit it, going over the try line and then seemingly running away from the posts to make his own conversion harder…obviously likes a challenge because over it went, 57-19.

Brentwood’s tenth and final try came just before full time after, much to the Match Reporter’s relief, ten scoreless minutes had passed. It was the lineout again which would provide the starting blocks for it, another accurate combo giving Jack Mayes a run at midfield and into the 22. Tom Walker had been spotting defensive misalignments all afternoon and this time was no different, Norwich short of numbers on the right and Tom and his partner in crime Tauren Henwood rushing round to create the overlap, a miss-pass to Alex Roberts giving him a run to the line which he took, stepping in to swerve through the last defender and go over to cement his place as Brentwood’s top try scorer of the season so far. It was a bit too close to the posts for Henry Bird, but he converted it anyway, 64-19, a restart take from Will McArthur, a boot into touch from Kieran Ballinger and full time.

For Brentwood, in the end this was a comprehensive victory after a wobbly start with some good tries scored in a solid team performance.

Hopefully, this will provide a confidence boost going into next weekend where Brentwood head to Nutter Lane to take on table-toppers Eton Manor in what promises to be a pre-Christmas blockbuster. Brentwood narrowly lost at home earlier in the season in a game they could have nicked at the death but also know they can win away, having won at Manor last season. Manor are currently the highest points scorers in the league whilst Brentwood have conceded the least and, interestingly, both teams have come up short against HAC…irrespective of stats and form, there will be no lack of motivation from either side to be the victors at full time.