Saracens prove too much for West Norfolk

This week saw the Saracens travel away to West Norfolk, to play the team at the top of the Eastern Counties 2 table. The boys in blue arrived at North Wooton with a strong team, very keen for the fixture. It was no surprise that West were equally motivated, and from the kick off West set a driving maul which Diss struggled to defend, and were soon deep back into her own half. This was an instant wake up call for the Saracens, who responded well, with the back line instantly putting pressure on after a rapid turnover. The Diss forwards then started to look dominant, with both lineouts and scrums being won against the head several times. Several strong breaks by Diss were stopped short, with both Richie Horne and Dan Hooper making a lot of yards. For the first quarter of an hour Diss were firmly camped in the West 22, and after a passage of slick moves by the back line orchestrated by fly-half Jack Keppel, Mike Skeet went over the line to put Diss on the score board, but Keppel narrowly missed the conversion.

Diss looked strong once again from the restart with a strong take by Jacob Page carrying them straight back up the field. The Diss forwards again illustrated their strength with a driving maul from the 22 making it to just a few yards short of the line, when Richie Horne lost the ball in an unfortunate turn over. The continued momentum started to irritate West Norfolk, and Jack Keppel made sure the West Norfolk prop felt the pressure. Diss soon regained possession and some strong cutting lines by centres Ray Knapp and Matt Bailey put Mike Skeet over the line again for his second try, with a lack of kicking tee leaving Keppel to attempt a drop kicked conversion to no avail. Matt Cullum then lead the next charge for the line, but was unfortunately promptly stopped by a big hit, which left him side-lined with a broken rib. Matt Bailey was seriously motivated for the game, after several weeks break, and his performance earned him the man-of-the-match title, but unfortunately his game was cut short just before half time when he made yet another hard hitting tackle and displaced his right clavicle. Chris Trede then moved into the centre and carried on where Bailey had left off, disrupting the West Norfolk defence. Following this Diss failed to capitalise on a couple of opportunities shortly before half time, leaving it 10-0 at the break.

The second half opened with a comical catch, or lack of, by Diss skipper Ben Walker, whose team mates fortunately reacted quickly to gain possession. Again the Diss pack looked strong winning several scrums against the head, and soon worked their way into the West Norfolk Half. Keppel found himself in space at the back of a ruck just inside the West 10 metre line, and a well-timed pass by Dougie Moir set him up for an attempt at goal which sailed comfortably between the posts. Dan Hooper took the catch from the restart and powered back into the West half, and a series of interlinking plays by the backs put number 8 Luke Bailey over the line, however a collision from a last ditch attempted tackle by one of the home side saw him spill the ball forward, earning him the wooden spoon for the day. Shortly after this Jacob Page, once again, took the ball in a line out against the head to set a driving maul just inside the 22. A Solid effort by the forwards got the ball to within inches of the line when the West Norfolk number 8 came through the middle to rip the ball off of Ben Walker. With around 10 minutes to go Matt Trede the Diss Full-back made yet another strong run up the field to put himself over the line this time, with Keppel’s conversion taking the score to 20-0. Diss were determined not to concede, and kept possession to wind down the clock, leaving the home side with just the fact they had stopped the visitors short of the 4 try bonus point as their only consolation.