A warm sunny day greeted both teams at Diss for what is the final full U13's match of the season (next tournament is 7's).

The match was a good one to watch with lots of movement and play from both sides. It was a fairly even encounter, but Swaffham just had the edge at critical points, particularly at the start when Swaffam ran in 5 unanswered trys. The Diss boys just could not get going and one wondered if the warm weather and lack of matches over the past few weeks had led to a 'holiday atmosphere' across the team. The most striking factor was the lack of support play by team members - there was at times a reliance on individuals and when that broke down the ball was turned over.

After some well-earned water, the U13's started to find their feet and put some moves together. In all the boys scored 4 trys - 2 of them were fine individual efforts from Jaden Johnson, who despite carrying a leg injury that slowed him down was consistently able to show a clean pair of heels to the opposition as he swept around the outside of their defence. Jaden completed his hat-trick by finishing off another try that was down to the hard work of Stephen Chaoldson who drove forward with two fine efforts and finally off-loaded to Jaden to complete. The final try was the best of the match - the scrum won the ball against the head, then the ball was passed swiftly down the line to eventually reach Alex Allott who intelligently did not cut back to the traffic, instead he found space by moving away from the play to touch down for the score. One final mention should go to Kit Brodie for a fine individual 'try'. Kit showed his typical determination to break through the line and out-pace defenders to run free and touch down.....however, it was the wrong line !!! It was a moral score and Kit joins a roll call of teammates that have done the same this season.

The scoreline was a bit harsh to Diss who kept going all through the match and never gave up. Notable points include the scrum which won the ball against the head a number of times - what an improvement this is - it is great to see the forwards coming together as a unit. There was much more passing and this, in turn, opens up the play for the team - they are learning. Equally, there was some good rucking, but what is normally a strong point suffered from a lack of support play to consistently be great. Finally, the team spirit was there - the boys felt like a unit.

Johnny's man of the match was Jake Wolfe - a grinding, relentless effort in the forward line. Jake started this year and has come so far as part of the team. It has been a pleasure to see him develop.

So the season ends but it is worth taking stock to look at the team we have now versus what we started the season with. Even with a number of teammates missing today, there were still 20 players - so lots of subs. There's the foundation and potential for a very good team. They are still developing and have so much room for improvement, but it is clear to see that the raw material is there. With the move to 15-a-side plus a very full fixture list there is every optimism that next year will be a happy roller coaster ride - great fun, lots of smiles, some ups and downs, and with lots of effort hopefully some success along the way.

Thanks to all the team and thanks to all the parents for their unwavering support. Hope no one was burnt in the sun....

Peter Allott
April 2018

Diss Rugby Club

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