Diss 5 : 27 Ipswich YM - Sunday 5th March 2017

On a decidedly foul day for doing anything, Diss took on some old rivals from the past; for most of them it was also their first visit to the Ipswich YM ground.

With the elements at their back in the first half, YM spent much of the time on the attack. Despite this, Diss competed well up front and there is an irony in the fact that on a day made for attritional forward play, YM’s four tries before half-time all came from their backs. Some of the tries were the result of sheer pace but some also owed much to missed tackles.

Amidst the scoring, there was a scrum against the head, magnificent try saving efforts by Tyler Pursehouse and Dom Bell-Tye and Diss continued to play in an enterprising fashion at all times, sometimes to their own detriment. As half time approached, Diss threatened the YM line and a 5m line-out was well recycled for Pursehouse to burst over for a try; Aaron Frith’s superbly struck kick hit the post and rebounded the wrong way (HT 22 - 5).

The second half was much more evenly contested and there were several close efforts, none more so than when Bell-Tye fumbled the ball while crossing the try line. More pace out wide meant that YM scored the only try of the second half but this was something that the visitors didn’t deserve (FT 27 - 5).

The Diss Coach summed things up by suggesting that the players were ‘not quite there’ today and from the touchline it certainly appeared like a bad day at the office. For his all round game, his running, tackling and reading of the game, Harry Williamson was chosen as the Coach’s Player of the Day.