MERSEA ISLAND 10 – BECCLES 10.

Beccles finally broke their Essex curse by picking up a point away to Mersea Island on Saturday. During their three years in the London Leagues the Bulls did not pick up a single point when playing in Essex. This meant their 10-10 draw with Mersea was the first time they had picked up a point in Essex for three and a half years.
Hinsley had a full quota of players to pick from and Beccles sent the strongest team for a number of years to take on bogey side Mersea. The match was played in wonderful weather which suited the Bulls fitter, younger side.
Beccles played up the slope into the wind in the first half and expected to be pinned back for much of the half. The match started with neither side getting within range to score. Some good tackling by the Beccles backline kept the Mersea side from breaking the Beccles defence.
The first pressure was applied by Beccles. After a number of drives at the Mersea line they won a penalty which Holm converted to give Beccles the lead. Beccles were struggling in the lineout and scrum against a well drilled, much larger pack. However, they were the next scorers. A jinking break by Payne ended when he slipped a pass to Holm who cruised in under the posts. He added the conversion to take his personal tally to 10 points, meaning he had scored all of Beccles points. For this he was made the White Horse man of the match.
With half time approaching Mersea were becoming more dominant and the pressure told with the last play of the half. Mersea took a quick penalty and the Beccles players did not react quickly enough, allowing Mersea to score in the corner. The conversion was missed and the half time score was 5-10.
Early in the second half Beccles lost their captain Hinsley to a cracked rib. The Bulls set piece play improved in the second half but Mersea were still able to score another try from a driven lineout to even up the scores.
Mersea had a dominant period after this looking to take the lead. When Thomas was sin binned and the Bulls faced a scrum on their own try line they looked in trouble but some strong scrummaging and powerful tackling allowed them to clear their lines.
After this the match turned in to a midfield stalemate. Beccles created the only half chance before the end. They won a penalty a long way from the posts, however, Holms golden boots fell just short and the match ended 10-10.
Beccles will be pleased with the start they have made to their league campaign. They have faced two of their strongest promotion rivals and finished up unbeaten. They will be hoping to continue their good form at home to Holt on Saturday. Their will be a VP’s lunch before the game (12:15 start) so please come along and support the Bulls.

Keith Johnstone Beccles Press Officer