Saracens triumphant after slow start

The Saracens made a sleepy start at Bellrope lane this week, and having regained possession after the kickoff they were camped in the oppositions half for 10 minutes. Time and time again they tried to cross the line, but communication was lacking at times and they didn't quite capitalise on the opportunities they created. Eventually an inside line from Kiwi fly half Jack Keppel saw Diss make it over the try line first. Austin Goymour made easy work of the conversion to give the home side a seven point lead. Diss started to play some expansive rugby using the full width of the pitch, but West Norfolk's solid defence left them frustrated not to cross the line again sooner. Around midway through the second half a series of interchanges between centres Jake Girdler and Chris Trede put Trede over the line for the second try of the game, Austin Goymour narrowly missing the conversion this time. The Saracens forwards were dominating in all the set piece play, and Matthew Cullum and Jacob Page stole several line outs against the head. Likewise with the scrums, several times West were driven off their own ball, with Diss scrum half Will Hemmant also proving too much for his opposite man, and managing to grab the West Norfolk ball from the base of the scrum twice. Late in the first half the home side decided to take advantage of this strength up front and opted to kick a penalty to touch. Jacob Page caught the ball cleanly and a maul was set up on the 10 metre line, which the blue forwards then drove right over the try line for skipper Ben Walker to touch down out wide, much to the delight of the home crowd. Goymour's kick looked promising this time, but bounced off the post. For the final 10 minutes of the half Diss found form and put a lot more pressure on the visiting side. This momentum carried into the second half and early on Saracens fullback Kieran Pask chipped the ball through and caught it again himself to then break through the opposition defence. A series of interchanges with Trede saw them beat the full back, and Keppel then ran through in support to score his second try, which he converted himself. The Saracens continued to apply pressure, and West Norfolk started to lose their composure and several penalties were awarded to Diss, one of which they opted to try and use the driving maul from a line out again, but solid defence by West Norfolk stopped them short of the line. The ball was spun wide at this point and Keppel found a gap to cross the line again and make his Hat-trick, which he also converted. It looked as if the Saracens were going to score once more when replacement centre Barnaby Chenery was put into space on the wing, but unfortunately knocked on, earning him the wooden spoon! West Norfolk remained determined and in the dying moments of the game their centre made a break, and a couple of missed tackles allowed their winger to score in the corner, but the conversion was missed leaving the score at 31-5 at the final whistle, and the Saracens on the top of the League Table.