15 members of the U14's squad travelled to North Wlasham for the 'Norfolk 10's' tournament. With 12 teams entered the Diss boys were in the 'A teams' pool so this was always going to be a challenge and a good opportunity for the team to understand the level they need to operate at in the future.

The format was 6 x 12 minute games on a half pitch. One of the pitches was very narrow and resulted in a lot of congestion which did not play to our team strengths in pace (as well as exposing some of the development areas). On the wider and bigger pitch the team performed far better and heart should be taken from this. Across the tournament the team lost all their matches;

Norwich 3 v Diss 0
Swaffham 2 v Diss 0
Bury 3 v Diss 2 (larger pitch)
Stowmarket 4 v Diss 0
Southwold 5 v Diss 2 (larger pitch)

However, these scores hide what was a strong performance from the team in many respects. The difference on the smaller pitch was the organisation of the opposition - who had quick hands, strong in the ruck to turnover ball and fast in closing down. The Diss team suffered from not having the ball and sometimes losing control too easily. Often this was the result of a lack of forward progression and passing flat down the line to leave some poor soul being ambushed with a tackle at the same time as the ball arrived. Equally there was a reticence to closing the opposition down quickly at restarts.

On the larger half pitch it was a different story. The boys were able to find a bit more space and the result was two very close matches, and against Bury one they could/should have won, or at least had a draw. Not only was there some much more direct play, the ball was also recycled and passed down the line to our faster players to do some damage. Territorially the bulk of these matches was played in the opponents half which was a good sign showing that this was very tight. In the end the loss of possession made the difference and allowed the opponents to break through our defence. A pity as it would have been fair for the boys to get a result in either of these matches.

Across the day the boys tackled hard - there was full commitment from all. Yes there were times when they need to get lower, especially against some of the larger faster opponents, but equally there were lots of examples when this happened which was inspiring.

The philosophy of the team is to keep rotating players into different positions across the pitch. It does mean there is a challenge that no one has consistency in a specific position, however this is outweighed by the long term development of each of the boys. It creates a challenge in matches but is one we will work with.

Overall the team can be proud of their graft and performance. They played against the best teams in the Norfolk area so now understand the level to measure against. There is certainly nothing to fear and Diss on their day could overcome each of the teams. More structure on the pitch (setting lines and positioning), playing to strengths (pace) and retaining and recycling the ball will be instrumental in achieving this.

There were fantastic performances across the team which led to trys being scored by Peace Joshua, Liam Brighton, Jake Wolfe and Kit Brodie. Of particular note was the great debut by Will Elliot. He not only fitted in really well to the team, but one feels based on his training work and the tackles on the day and pace, that he will be a great asset to the team.

Thanks to all the parents and supporters for transport and cheering.

Training is on Tuesday and next Sunday we play Norwich at home .