Diss 45 - 5 Southwold

Diss welcomed Southwold for a rare Sunday afternoon match (kick-off 1.00 pm).Whether this accounts for the home team’s sluggish start, who knows? However, after Southwold kicked off, the ball didn’t leave the Diss half of the pitch for at least 15 minutes. Only poor handling of the wet ball prevented the opening score and similar butter-fingers stopped Diss from breaking out. Eventually, following Southwold’s attempts at a 15-man lineout and a 15-man maul, their powerful No 8 picked up at the base of a ruck and forced over for the opening score (0-5).

The try proved the turning point. Diss kicked off and, realising that they were permitted to enter the Southwold half, promptly scored. Several phases of control ended with Dom taking the ball at fly-half and running around the defence to score; Aaron kicked a fine conversion (7-5). Almost immediately from the restart Tyler emerged from a maul and deftly offloaded a try scoring pass to Ollie, allowing the latter to merely break a tackle and run 75 metres to score beneath the posts; Aaron converted (HT 14-5).

In the second half the Diss forwards gradually gained control and the backs responded with some good, direct running. Southwold were continually pushed back in the scrums and it is to their hooker’s credit that they managed to stay competitive. In the rucks and mauls the all-round strength of the Diss pack helped to secure a lot of good quality possession.

A tap penalty released Tyler to run through unopposed (Aaron converted) and shortly afterwards good footwork by Dom and Harvey saw the latter fall on the ball over the line, only for the referee to be unsure of the grounding. The respite was short lived as Harry caught the clearing kick and ran back to score (26-5). As Southwold started to lose their shape, Diss went for the jugular. After a long spell of pressure, Tyler was unstoppable from 10 metres (Harry conversion) and a strong burst by Harvey ended with an offload to Dom and a further try beneath the posts, converted by Aaron (40-5). The final try came as Dom again found space in midfield, releasing Lewis B to run in at the corner (FT 45-5).

Diss were ruthless at the end of the match, with the result that they were slightly flattered by the final score; to their credit, Southwold competed to the very end. Ultimately, Diss were just a little bit better in all aspects of the play and there were strong performances in all areas of the pitch.

Joe played outstandingly in his first match for the club and Ollie’s powerful running was a constant threat. Wilson was a whirling dervish in the mauls and Will caught the ball well and returned it with interest at full back. However, Jedd at hooker put in all action performance in which everything he did, he did very well; he thoroughly deserved his accolade of Player of the Day.