Beccles continued their good run of form with a convincing away victory at Billericay. In boggy conditions it was immediately apparent that the kicking battle would be pivotal. Beccles’ fly half Jaryd Bennett dictated the game well and provided the team with good territory throughout the first half. From the base of a solid scrum in the Billericay twenty-two, the ball was quickly moved wide by the backs, with Luke Wade hitting a fine line to run through for the first try of the game.

Billericay used the slope to their advantage and used their strong ball carrying number eight to good effect. However, any threat from the home side was nullified thanks to some solid defensive work from the Bulls. Gavin Hewitt typified this, when he bravely held the ball up over the try line to prevent the Billericay number eight from scoring. Two penalties from the Billericay fly half gave the home side a narrow 6-5 half time lead.

In the second half it was Beccles’ turn to have the advantage of using the downhill slope. A well executed pre-prepared backs move resulted in Bonner scything through an open defensive hole to score Beccles’ second try. Billericay kept the scoreboard ticking over with a penalty, and a try quickly followed from close range.

In the final quarter Beccles showed their superior quality. B&B Skip Hire Man of the Match Jaryd Bennett was the catalyst for the Beccles attack. Another well constructed backs move gifted Bonner with another try, running through the gap in the defence for his second try of the game.

In the closing stages Beccles continued to dominate the game in desperate search of an elusive bonus point. However, this was soon scuppered when two tries were disallowed, both deemed to have involved forward passes in the build up. Replacement Joe Block was harshly sin-binned for cumulative team infringements, marring an otherwise impressive display from the young front rower.

Beccles will be pleased with their display, with notable performances coming from Cemil Davey-Durak who justified his selection with a number of important tackles, and Reece Ling, who was superb in the set-piece and the loose.

The first team have a week off next week, before hosting Upminster on the 21st February. Meanwhile the second team will look to bounce back from their narrow one point defeat to Diss, when they host Lowestoft and Yarmouth this Saturday.

Team: Stuart Adams, Luke Kelly, Reece Ling, John Walker, Keith Johnstone, Darren Maeer, Robert Hall, Marcus Sale (c), Gavin Hewitt, Jaryd Bennett, Cemil Davey-Durak, Cameron Bonner, Michael Suchy, Sam Harmer, Luke Wade. Rep: Joe Block, Matt Goode, Dave Tieuti.

Tries – Wade, Bonner (2)
Conversions – Wade (3)