Diss youngsters on rugby tour

Diss U10 were based at Butlin's in Bognor over the Easter weekend for a rugby tour.

Diss 15, Petersfield 20

Saturday saw a one-hour trip to Petersfield 40 miles away.

Diss started slowly and were soon 15-0 down to a large and spirited opposition. A change of personnel at half-time saw the score revert to 15-15 but a last second surge saw the match go to 20-15 in favour of Petersfield.

The scorers for Diss were John Joe Smith, Luke Burridge and Joe Hegarty.

Considerable thanks should be recorded for Petersfield who were able to accommodate Diss' requirements to find an alternative team to play after the original proposed opponents, Portsmouth called off.

Diss 30, Petersfield 10

A much better start from Diss saw them stack up a useful 25-0 lead by half-time courtesy of tries by Campbell Young, Joe Hegarty, Tony Brown, Tom Storey and James Hutcheson.

The second half saw Petersfield claw back two scores but the ever-present Hegarty ran through the whole opposition team late on to put the result beyond doubt.

Diss 20, Bognor 15

This game, arranged at the last minute, saw Diss having to line up against the Bognor U11 side, straight after they had played the Diss U11 team.

This was to prove a tall order as the opposition included some very big lads indeed.

It was agreed that U10 nine-a-side rules would be adopted.

Diss triumphed with the team performance of the weekend. Hegarty surpassed even his own usual effort, running in four tries instead of his normal hat-trick and spirited defending by the whole team, particularly Burridge, Young and Alex Leeder resulted in a extraordinary win.

On the whole, an enjoyable weekend with the Diss boys a credit to the club.

Now that the Diss U10 parents have experienced a tour, more are likely to follow.

Lessons have been learned, particularly about how such an event should be organised.

Ireland is the suggested venue for the second tour when Diss become the U11 side later this year.