Beccles 17, Crusaders 7BECCLES were victorious in their local derby with Crusaders and moved up to fifth in their league. Beccles were missing three of their backs with Payne, Rowney and Sale all unavailable.

Beccles 17, Crusaders 7

BECCLES were victorious in their local derby with Crusaders and moved up to fifth in their league.

Beccles were missing three of their backs with Payne, Rowney and Sale all unavailable. They were replaced by Hall, Gedney and Catchpole.

Beccles started well and were soon in front. Williamson made a break from the halfway line and cut through the Crusaders' defence. He passed to Hoffman who offloaded out of the tackle to Geyser, who scored in the corner (unconverted).

Beccles continued to dominate. They missed one penalty attempt before they scored again. Rob Wilson took a crash ball and went straight through the Crusaders' defence. He crossed the line for a try despite the attentions of three tacklers. Wade added the conversion and the half-time score was 12-0.

Beccles turned round into the wind, and with Crusaders starting to play some good rugby they found it difficult to get out of their half.

Crusaders were dominating territory but the Beccles defence was solid. The forwards, led by Musker McIntyre man of the match David Rix, were carrying the ball out of defence well to relieve the pressure.

When Beccles managed to get in their opponents' half they added to the score. Some good pressure as Crusaders tried to clear their lines saw Johnstone charge down a kick behind the try line. The ball went loose and Lake dropped on it for a try.

As the game moved in to the final minutes Crusaders began to put more pressure on the Beccles defence. They were rewarded with a pushover try from a scrum.

Beccles travel to Wymondham tomorrow for another derby. They will be looking for another victory to continue their climb up the league.