BASILDON 32 BECCLES 10

Beccles lost to Basildon on a pitch that resembled a ploughed field more than a surface for playing rugby. Beccles struggled to contain their heavier opponents in the slippery conditions and lost by 32 – 10.
The Bulls were hit by a number of late call offs which meant a few changes were made to the side that beat Upminster. Penny made a rare start at fly half and Maeer came in to the back row.
The game started badly for Beccles when the Basildon winger scored under the posts early on. The Bulls were quickly back in to the game. They won a penalty in the Basildon 22 and Hadridge took it quickly. He fed Johnstone five yards out who crashed through the tacklers to score. The conversion was missed and the score was 7-5.
Poor tackling meant that Basildon added two more tries before half time. After a shirt change at half time so the referee could tell the mud covered players apart Basildon then added another try.
Beccles stepped up their efforts with some good driving play by the forwards. Rix was picking up well from the base of the scrum. He led the team superbly and was made the White Horse man of the match. Beccles got on the scoreboard again when a driving maul finished with a Rix touch down.
Beccles were now fifteen points behind with ten minutes left. They tried to add to their score but struggled to get through the Basildon defences. In the end it was Basildon who added another try to give a final score of 32-10.
This week Beccles entertain league leaders Saffron Walden at Beef Meadow (KO 2:30).


Keith Johnstone Beccles Press Officer