Diss Under 14s 12 : 22 Colchester Under 14s - 15th January 2017

With a slight frost underfoot and a definite nip in the air, both teams deserve enormous credit for their desire to play and the manner in which they went about their task.

The teams were closely matched, with Diss looking particularly strong in the set pieces and rucks and Colchester dangerous in the back line. The deadlock was finally broken when Colchester secured possession at a scrum and the ball travelled all the way along the backs for a try in the corner (0-5). Following the restart, almost immediately the Colchester centre made a break inside his own half and showed terrific pace to outstrip the defence and score in the corner (0-10). For both tries the Diss defensive line made Colchester work hard all the way to the try line and Diss continued to press, ending the half inside the
Colchester 22-metre line. (HT 0-10)

Colchester started the second half strongly and Diss certainly missed the presence of Harvey Newton and Jack Elliott, both injured in the first half. A relieving kick by Harry Williamson only found the 22-metre line and from the resulting line-out Colchester found too much room in the centre of the Diss back line to score close to the posts (0-17). Diss needed a boost and shortly afterwards Harry picked up at the base of the ruck and powered through several tackles to score; Aaron Frith narrowly missed the difficult conversion (5-17). The team were visibly lifted and played with confidence and skill. A surging run by Sam Geard was only stopped by the last defender but the ball was quickly recycled and a beautifully timed pop-pass by Leo Sargent allowed the onrushing Harry to burst through and score beneath the posts. Aaron easily converted (12-17). Diss went bravely for the win. They were encamped on the Colchester line for several minutes but were ultimately thwarted by some superb defence and perhaps too many individual attempts to get over the try line. Showing great vision, a long pass by Dom Bell-Tye certainly deserved more reward. The effort put in by Colchester to repel the hosts was rewarded when they burst over from a 5m penalty with the last play of the match (FT 10-22).

The Diss Under 14 coach commented “All of the players deserve praise for their level of effort in difficult conditions. The game was well handled by the referee and the supporters from both sides contributed to a really good, friendly atmosphere. The Diss pack were particularly strong in the scrum and rucks with Alex Erhorn and Harry both prominent. However, two players were selected as Players of the Day for raising their games to a new level. We have known what Sam Geard is capable of doing for a long time but today it was more consistent, there was more of it and there was an end product. Christopher Lymbery undoubtedly played his best game for the Club and deserves high praise for the progress he has made in such a short time. His skill level has been steadily improving but today he played with more confidence, resulting in a much greater involvement in the game. Well done to both of them.”