With Beccles coming into this match winless, and Ipswich YM with only one under their belt, Beccles were keen to make a statement. The game kicked off and immediately Beccles were able to control possession early, keeping it short within the forwards and then picking holes in the opposition when they decided to go wide. Stable scrums for Beccles were able to give the backs a good platform to play off, although the Ipswich centres were equal to the challenge and held well in defence. The game continued in this fashion for almost the whole of the first half with both teams missing penalties. Only in the last ten minutes until the interval did the game begin to open up; Beccles troubling the opposition forwards with driving mauls off lineouts whilst some last ditch defending on the other end of the pitch, meant that the game went into the second half at 0-0. With both teams feeling like they could be ahead in this close game, the second half started much like the first half had ended with both teams throwing everything at each other. Captain Tris Holtzer was leading by example with his carries, whilst Baldry and Arnold were also contributing their bit. As the game ticked on, it was Beccles who succumbed to the pressure first, as Ipswich YM were able to run in the first try of the game. The game ensued and in a period of no more than fifteen minutes, YM were able to get two more tries past a switched-off Beccles defence. All the tries were converted, basically putting the writing on the wall for Beccles. Despite the steep slope they had slid down, Beccles were able to regather themselves and stick to their strengths. Morton was able to find rhythm with his lineout throwing and soon Hannam and Suchy were causing all sorts of problems for the opposition backs. Not long after the last Ipswich try, they themselves were pinned deep into their twenty-two and with the following lineout, Beccles were able to drive it over for Daren Maeer to touch it down for a try. The game started to flip into Beccles' hands and soon, thanks to the boot of Hannam, found themselves again deep inside the opposition twenty-two with a lineout. And yet again they were able to overpower the opposition with the driving maul, this time Callum Howe on hand to dive over for a try. The eighty minutes were soon up however, giving the game a final score of 21-10 to travelling Ipswich YM. Motm was Blair Hannam.Beccles can only wonder 'what if?', at what the result could have been for them in what was a crucial game in terms of league positioning. Thank-you to the supporters that turned out and those who also participated in the pre-game lunch. Beccles face Crusaders away in Norwich next week, 26th October in another crucial game. If you would like to take up playing rugby again or even start from scratch, come down to Beef Meadow, Beccles; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7:30pm until 9pm. (17 years+)