Diss 3rds upset Beccles 2s unbeaten record!

Diss 3rds 13 Beccles 2nds 12

Beccles travelled to Diss with an unbeaten record in the league and cup this season looking to go unbeaten all season however Diss had other ideas. The game started with the pitch muddy in places but this never effected the rugby that was played. Beccles came at Diss hard in the first 5 minutes and with their back three showing pace a group of tackles missed helped Beccles to score out wide early on. Diss came back and showed they had steel where it mattered. Will Foote at number seven kept leading the pack well and George Gooderham was a handful at number eight. The Diss scrum was a sight to see when they were called upon as they regularly pushed Beccles off their own ball, especially both twenty year olds David Rackham and Charles Oakes. Seb Goodge playing fly-half kept Diss in the oppositions half and with Naz Gurgin giving him good ball the backs began to get involved. Captain Benny Goodman kept the backs running straight and James Hayhoe was a threat at outside centre.

Midway through the first half Diss scored out wide with sustained pressure, initially set up by a good run at full-back by Jo Sides. With Diss piling forward with good work by John Llewellyn and Owen Atkinson in the second row , the ball managed to come out to Goodge to pick up and go over in the corner from close range. Diss kept coming at Beccles and soon after another try was scored from a similar position out wide by the barrelling George Gooderham. The snow began to fall heavily and the half finished with Diss leading 10-5.

The second half followed the first half and in particular a great move by the Diss backs which went through the entire back lines hands for Ben Holdsworth out on the wing to almost score. Crucially as it turned out Beccles got penalised in front of the posts early in the half and Seb Goodge stepped up to slot it over. This meant Beccles needed to score more than a converted try. At this stage Foote was off for the young back row player Jack Owen and Atkinson had been off and on the pitch getting strapped up. Llewellyn got concussed as Diss battled through the half especially the returning Stuart Popplewell who was back playing in Diss colours. Beccles poured pressure on Diss and Diss managed to defend on their own line for over ten minutes until Beccles scored a try which got converted. They still needed to score however and as Goodman made the changes in the snow with Ben Brooks coming on and off, Lee Lawton coming on and making two crucial tackles and Peter Key getting on the park Diss managed to keep Beccles out and as Beccles knocked on after a penalty it was duly down to Goodge to kick the ball out of play and hand a great win to Diss and Beccles a first defeat of the season.