Diss lost for the first time this season in a cup game which they chased from the early stages, losing 18-13 to visitors Bury.Both sides made changes to their line-ups from last week, but Diss chose to start with a mixture of youth and experience.

Diss lost for the first time this season in a cup game which they chased from the early stages, losing 18-13 to visitors Bury.

Both sides made changes to their line-ups from last week, but Diss chose to start with a mixture of youth and experience. Unsurprisingly it was the visitors who settled first and took the lead in the 10th minute.

After some promising forward momentum by Diss, possession was turned over by Bury and they put the home defence under pressure with an astute high kick.

Two defenders fumbled the ball and Bury took full advantage, moving the ball swiftly to their left winger, T White, who scored an unconverted try in the corner. Diss responded by attacking from the kick-off and made ground deep in the opposition half.

Bury forwards were caught offside, and Diss fly-half Chris Beaird converted the penalty. The first quarter of the game was played in driving snow and as a result, handling suffered, with lots of stoppages caused by knock-ons.

The match ebbed and flowed with neither side able to gain further advantage until just before half-time. A Bury attack was brought to a halt in front of the Diss posts after the home forwards were caught offside and Bury full-back H Sperling converted to give the visitors a five-point lead at the interval.

The second half began with exchanges continuing to be fairly even, but after five minutes Diss were temporarily reduced to 14 men when blind-side flanker Ben Fiddler was shown a yellow card for retaliation.

The home side were forced into a further change when inside centre Alex Kelsall sustained an ankle injury. He was replaced by Matt Richards, and the team was reshuffled, with Warren Wilby taking over at scrum-half and Will Hemment moving to the wing.

Bury began to mount a series of attacks, and after a mistake in the Diss defence, their outside centre M Ward took full advantage to score an unconverted try in the corner.

Just 10 minutes later, the Bury lead was increased to 15 points, when after slick handling by their backs, Ward scored his second try of the game.

With Diss restored to full strength, the home side began to play their best rugby of the afternoon, and after a fumble in the Bury defence, Warren Wilby pounced on the mistake to score in the right corner.

Chris Beaird made a difficult kick look easy, and the Bury lead was reduced to eight points. The home side continued to pressure, and after Bury were penalised for going off their feet, Chris Beaird converted the penalty.

With time rapidly running out, Diss threw everything into attack and put the Bury defence under continuous pressure. However, the final whistle was blown with the visitors holding on to their five-point lead, and able to progress to the third round.