BASILDON ended a run of three London Two North East defeats in a row by beating Norwich 15-13.
The game was transferred to nearby Holy Cross because of the conditions at Basildon’s Gardiners Close base.
And it was Norwich who were initially on top as they opened the scoring with a try.
But Basildon gradually regained control with some effective driving play from their pack, most notably flanker Gary Burke.
As a result, number eight Mike Thomas soon crashed over to level the scores.
Then, following a penetrating run and offload by second row James Bunce, Thomas went over for his second try to make it 10-5 at the break.
Twelve minutes into the second half Thomas bagged his hat-trick and at 15-5 with the slope and breeze in their favour the home side looked set for a comfortable win.
But Norwich had different ideas and upped their game, as a penalty and then a try left Basildon hanging on for the last seven minutes of an exciting contest.
Basildon are now seventh in the table.
>THE derby between South Woodham Ferrers and Rochford Hundred was postponed at the weekend due to a waterlogged pitch.
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