Beccles edged a thrilling encounter at Canvey Island to secure their third London Division 3 NE win of the season, B&B skips man of the match Luke Wade proving the difference between the two teams. The match was an intriguing contest between the heavyweight Beccles pack looking to exert dominance and the home side seeking to move the ball wide and exploit space. Canvey Island started quickly with clever interplay between forwards and backs pinning the Bulls into their 22. Aggressive fringe defence by tackling machine Jack Tipple and disciplined positional play by wings Tom Harrison and Sam Harmer held the hosts at bay. Canvey deservedly took the lead with a penalty kick for offside at a ruck which was followed by a converted try when a high ball bounced wickedly and was gathered by their centre. Beccles struggled to put phases of play together with simple errors or needless penalties relieving pressure on the home side and prevented the Bulls from exploiting their power advantage. Luke Wade struck 3 penalties to keep Beccles in the game before Canvey extended their lead to 13-9 with two further penalties either side of half time.

At half time player coach Keith Rix came on to add steel to the pack and Gavin Hewitt replaced Marcus Sale at scrum half who was struggling with a back spasm. The two reserves soon made an impact with the nimble Hewitt sniping well and some no nonsense defence from Rix. Excellent midfield defence from Canvey kept Beccles in check as the bulls struggled to maintain momentum despite dominance at the scrum where Tris Holtzer put in another solid performance. Centres Sam Williamson and Gavin Starks ran good lines but were isolated too often allowing Canvey to keep on the front foot. Ben Veasey-Lark was assured at full back holding his own in the tactical kicking contest as Canvey looked to play for territory as they started to find themselves under pressure.

After a kick and chase by Canvey a yellow card for killing the ball close to the line reduced Beccles to 14 men with 15 minutes to play. The man advantage and conversion of the subsequent penalty looked to have secured victory for the home side however Beccles refused to accept defeat. Committed forward charges by Adam Edwards and Paul Wilson with strong rucking started to ground down the Islanders. Hewitt cleverly used Robert Wilson's raw power close to the fringes to exploit the tiring defence, Wilson marched down the field on more than one occasion with half the Canvey pack hanging off him. Sale was able to return to the action at inside centre in the last 10 minutes and made some punishing runs to gain ground in the wider channels as the match began to swing the Bulls way. Beccles pressure eventually paid off and they secured a 5m scrum after a charge down by Hewitt. Sam Harmer came into flanker to help the scrum drive for the line and wheel to the openside, Robert Wilson was then unstoppable from number 8 to score wide out. The try was superbly converted by Luke Wade to tie the score at 16-16.

Luke Wade relishing his fly half role then made a clean break from the restart to give Beccles a foothold in the Canvey 22 in the final minutes. Canvey’s defence remained disciplined and options appeared limited however a snap drop goal from Wade gave Beccles the lead for the first time with a minute to go. From the restart Beccles secured the ball and cleared their lines well. The referee who had an excellent match confirmed the line out on half way would be the final action. The home side would not lie down peeling from the back of the line out and breaking the gain line with some telepathic inter-passing by their back row. A thrilling passage of play ensued as Canvey were desperate to keep the ball alive and Beccles were equally desperate to defend their lead. Canvey's rangy number 8 finally threatened the line forcing the Bulls to infringe at the ruck and concede a penalty 15 metres to the left of the posts. The Canvey fullback struck the penalty attempt solidly with the last kick of the match however it just drifted past the upright to enable Beccles to celebrate a sweet victory.

Beccles Team T Holtzer, S Lake, R Ling (c), P Wilson, R Guntrip, A Edwards, J Tipple, R Wilson, M Sale, L Wade, T Harrison, S Williamson, G Starks, S Harmer, B Veasey-Lark Res K Rix, J Giddins, G Hewitt,

Next week Beccles entertain table topping South Woodham Ferrers 3 o'clock kick off at Beef Meadow