Wisbech enjoy a return to home comforts with league victory over Fakenham
After 77 days without a home match at Harecroft Road, Wisbech emphatically returned to home soil with a dominant 55-19 win over Fakenham.
The home side ran in nine tries in a performance full of attacking flair, powerful forward play, and disciplined defence—despite a brief second-half lapse.
Wisbech assistant coach Olly Mackett said afterwards "It’s great to see Wisbech growing in confidence on the pitch after some inconsistent results this season.
"We are aiming for a strong finish to ensure a minimum of at least a mid-table finish despite the ten-point deduction."
Wisbech director of rugby Leonard Veenendaal added: "Credit to Fakenham for staying in the fight, especially the second half while having to contend with several disrupting injuries stayed in the fight until the final whistle. "
Wisbech set the tone in the first half, the hosts wasted no time making an impact, opening the scoring through Kerrie McMullen, who finished off a slick offload from Solomon Prestidge after some excellent interplay.
Jack Malkin added the conversion to make it 7-0.
The Men in Red continued to assert dominance, with their line-out functioning well and their rolling maul proving a valuable weapon.
Their second try came from Lewis Haddon, who burst through the Fakenham defence to extend the lead to 14-0.
The home side appeared to have added a third with a brilliant team move, only for the referee to pull it back for a penalty due to an off-the-ball incident.
Another opportunity went begging when a potential score under the posts was ruled out for a forward pass.
Undeterred, Luke Green powered over the line to push the score to 19-0.
From the restart, Brad Williams showed excellent footwork to break through before linking up with skipper Jack Malkin, who popped the ball to Kerrie McMullen for his second try under the posts.
Malkin converted to make it 26-0.
Wisbech’s attack continued to flow, with the impressive Prestidge’s quick hands finding veteran Nat Humphrey, who could have scored himself unselfishly released McMullen for his hat-trick try, taking the score to 31-0 at the half-time break.
The second half started with a superb trademark solo run from full-back MJ Wright, weaving through defenders before offloading to Lewis Haddon, who finished with pace.
Zac Lakey then reacted quickly from a scrum penalty, tapping and darting over to bring the score to 45-0, with Malkin adding another conversion.
With a commanding lead, The Men in Red appeared to take their foot off the gas, allowing Fakenham to build some momentum.
A lapse in concentration saw outside centre Aaron Tagg break down the wing to score in the corner, and fly-half Lloyd Marshall slotted a conversion to reduce the deficit to 45-7.
A string of unnecessary penalties gifted Fakenham territory.
Within ten minutes Fakenham scored again through prop Zak Roberts Harrell lurking on the wing to charge over from inside the Wisbech 22 reducing the score to 45-12.
Sensing an opportunity to chase a bonus point, Fakenham continued their resurgence, adding a third try after sustained pressure Wisbech lost control of the ball in their own 22, fly-half Marshall was able to pounce on the error to nudge the ball through and dive on it first to score, converting his try to make it 45-19.
However, the Men in Red swiftly regained control, shutting down any hopes of a comeback or bonus point try.
Tom Andrea, who had been threatening all afternoon with his powerful carries crashed over to extend the lead before Matt Esser rounded off the scoring with a well-taken try, sealing the 55-19 final score.
Sam Anderson was named Elgoods Man of the Match for his tireless work rate on and off the ball.
His rucking was exemplary, he carried very well earning extra metres with invaluable link play ensuring a dominant Wisbech forwards display.
Wisbech will look to maintain their winning momentum when they travel to face high-flying Mistley on Saturday.
Wisbech 2nds, the mighty Wildcats travel to Spalding for a friendly.
