DESPITE a brave performance Beccles RFC were beaten 34-17 by Diss in the final of the Norfolk Cup on Sunday. Beccles led at half-time but two late tries by Diss saw them win by 34-17.

DESPITE a brave performance Beccles RFC were beaten 34-17 by Diss in the final of the Norfolk Cup on Sunday.

Beccles led at half-time but two late tries by Diss saw them win by 34-17.

Beccles were able to field their strongest team and they were led out by captain Ling in front of a 500-strong crowd.

The crowd supported Beccles excellently all afternoon and the players would like to thank them for their support.

The start Diss made to the game showed why they are currently flying high in London Division Two, two leagues above Beccles. Their pack was driving the ball well from the line-out and they had soon scored a converted try and three penalties to go in to 16-0 lead.

Beccles began to play their way into the game with their front five beginning to get on top of their opposition.

From a Diss scrum on their own line Beccles put them under pressure and turned over the ball. Geyser was driven over the line by Musker McIntyre man-of-the-match Hinsley for a try.

Beccles soon scored again after a number of drives at the line. The ball went out to Sale who dummied the winger to touch down in the corner.

With Beccles well on top they rounded the half off with another score. The ball went loose at the back of the lineout and Hall reacted fastest to score. Wade added the conversion and Beccles led at half-time by 17-16.

Diss started the second half well but could not find a way through the Beccles defence. It took them 20 minutes to get through for a converted try to go into the lead.

Diss were lucky not to go down to 14 men after a tackle after the whistle by one of their players. To make matters worse, Beccles were reduced to 14 men soon after when Rob Wilson was yellow carded for a similar offence.

The extra player gave Diss the opportunity they needed to close the game out and scored two more tries as Beccles began to chase the game. This gave a final score of 17-34.

The Beccles players were disappointed with the result but can take heart as they matched their higher league opposition for long periods of the game.

Beccles travel to Billericay on Saturday and need to win to keep up their slight chance of promotion.