Ipswich & Norwich lock horns in the sun

Ipswich held their second senior pre-season match on a beautiful late summer’s day at Humber Doucy Lane in front a large and enthusiastic support. East Anglian rivals Norwich were the visitors to follow on from last week’s opponents Blackheath Bandits.

It should be noted that Norwich only had 10 first team players within their match day squad, but equally head coach Jim Clark also took the opportunity to field a team containing many young development players, and some experienced players that will form the back bone of the 3rd XV.

Adam Clark the 18 year old centre playing his second live senior game led the way by scoring a hat trick, and there were other notable contributions from wing pairing James Shipp and Josh Wright.

The first half of action saw Ipswich open up a 36pts to 19 lead (5 tries to 3 in the home sides favour), and the second half saw the home side score 32 unanswered points, in which illustrated a strong defensive effort, an area that the coaching staff have identified as a major area of development throughout the season.

Head Coach Jim Clark would also be satisfied that both the penalty count and handling errors were reduced from last week’s game, with the main focus looking forward being continuity of team play.

On a broader note the game underlined the club’s determination to help improve players individual performances by carrying out individual Player Profiles throughout pre-season and feeding back accordingly during training and games, the players deserve credit for being open minded and receptive to the process.

Ipswich host Harwich on Friday evening (20th August) kick off 7.30 at Humber Doucy Lane in a 2nd/3rd team fixture, and it is hoped that the Ladies will also get their first outing at the same kick off time.