Diss Saracens 31, Ipswich 2nd XV 5

Indeed there were a number of periods in the game when Diss had to show their defensive qualities and some big hits came from Sandy Horne, Horace Horslen and skipper Will Foote. The Diss defence has not been needed in some fixtures so far this season so it was good to see it functioning well with Ipswich crossing the Diss line just the once from a scruffy forward drive.

In attack Diss were good but not as crisp or as sharp as they could have been. With incisive running from Chev Trede, Nas Gurglin and Ted Wishart combined with the direct running of Dale Falm and Horne Diss would often beat the first defender. However rather than building on this momentum and going through the phases, Diss too often lost possession cheaply. There were even two occasions when Diss were over the opposition try line but failed to score through school boy errors. Lapses in discipline also cost Diss possession and territory.

But this is a good Saracens team and winning five tries to one against a once dominant, county town neighbour should be kept in perspective. Diss scored three tries in the first half - Daz Teare from a rolling maul, Scott Beacon after an opportunistic pounce on a loose ball on the Ipswich try line and Trede after a long distance dash. Trede scored again in the second half after Foote dazzled at fly half while Horne charged over from the base of the scrum after the Diss scrum took a strike against the head. Eddie Edwards completed the scoring with three conversions.