Wymondham RFC play the biggest game in their 37-year history when they travel to Basingstoke in the EDF National Trophy on Saturday.Wymondham suffered their third straight away defeat of the season at Canvey Island, 14-5.

Wymondham RFC play the biggest game in their 37-year history when they travel to Basingstoke in the EDF National Trophy on Saturday.

Wymondham suffered their third straight away defeat of the season at Canvey Island, 14-5.

The visitors defended well for most of the game but lost because of small lapses in concentration and a failure to capitalise on chances.

It was Canvey who began the game in an attacking frame of mind, only for some strong tackling by Will Mitchell and Gareth Barker, making his first senior start, to hold them at bay.

Finally prop James Saunders, crashed over when a quickly-taken penalty caught Wymondham napping and Jay Bedford added a simple conversion. Almost from the re-start Wymondham were awarded a penalty but Ross Crook's attempt drifted wide, to leave the visitors trailing by seven points. Wymondham's Tommy Elias, another debutant, was lucky to have only a yellow card shown following a line-out incident, followed shortly by Tom Williams, reducing to the visitors to 13, and it looked like the second half would be a torrid one for Wymondham.

Surprisingly though it was Wymondham who really took the game to Canvey. Crook had a 40m penalty but it drifted wide.

The home side then received their second yellow card, only to stun the visitors with a try from Bedford, who sliced through from full-back and provided himself with a simple conversion.

Two more players making their first XV debut, Sam Clover and George Mitchell, were introduced and it was the latter who was to make a significant impact, creating a try for skipper John Morfoot.

Mitchell picked up from the base of a scrum to off-load to Morfoot, who was unstoppable from five metres out. Crook's conversion attempt drifted wide.

Meanwhile, Wymondham RFC have won the Norfolk Refereeing Society's Whistler Trophy for being the most hospitable club in the eyes of visiting refs.