Top of table clash sees Saracens victorious

Again the Saracens encounter involved the two teams at the top of the league this week, as Broadland travelled up to Diss. Both teams came out looking well motivated for the encounter. The Saracens kicked off and soon regained possession, pushing Broadland back deep into their own 22. The home side looked set to get on the scoreboard first, when a penalty was awarded within kicking distance. Asher Goymour took the kick but the ball went wide of the post by the narrowest of margins. Broadland came back strong and soon found themselves in a mirror position. Their kicker made short work of the kick to give them a 3 point lead. Diss responded well to this and soon found themselves back in the opposition half. things were looking promising for the home side, when old head Seb Goodge managed to trip over himself and strain an ankle ligament in open play. This called for a re-shuffle, with Pete Chartier moving into the scrum half position, and Asher Goymour moving to 10, and Jake Girdler moving from the pack to Centre. Having settled down again a string of phases took Diss deep into the 22. A well executed line out then saw Pete Bray presented with the ball, who made use of his pace to dart across the line to score the Saracens first try, which Goymour converted. Again the home attacked hard, but the Broadland defence never let up. The Blue pack were starting to show their dominance in the set piece, and controlling the game nicely. This saw them back in the opposition 22 shortly before half time, when once again Pete Bray's disruptive running style saw him cross the line for his second try. Goymour's kick bouncing off the post this time. The home side were guilty of letting the pressure off a bit then, and Broadland fought back well. in the dying seconds of the half Pete Chartier's clearance kick failed to make touch, and the visiting side took this opportunity to try and score. Luckily the Saracens defended well, stopping them crossing the line, leaving the score 12-3 at half time.
The second half saw the Saracens come out all guns blazing, with prop John Hutchinson leading the charge in his final game for the club. The re-jigged back line was jelling well now, and a series of slick interchanges saw Chris Trede cross the line out wide, with Goymour converting. Again the Diss forwards were dominating, and it became evident the home sides fitness levels were superior to the opponents. This led to Broadland losing composure and the penalty count ticking ever higher. From one of these penalties Chartier found touch just outside the 5 metre line, and a slick line out from Richie Horne and Jacob Page gave skipper Ben Walker the ball to set a driving maul in motion to get the Saracens 4th try for the afternoon earning the all important extra bonus point. Goymour converted this, to leave the score at the final whistle 26-3 to a very jubilant Saracens outfit, now 7 points clear at the top of the league table.