Diss beaten again

They came close to stopping the rot, but it is now six defeats from six for Diss at the start of the London League 1 North campaign.

They trailed visiting Old Haberdashers by just two points heading into the final 15 minutes at Mackenders, but ultimately ended up losing the contest 34-17.

The away side attacked from the outset, placing the home side on the back foot immediately.

Solid Diss defence lasted for a good 10 minutes, but an Old Habs five-metre scrum controlled possession comfortably, eventually releasing Simon Miller to score a deserved opening score.

Diss initially found themselves under intense pressure in the scrummage with the Sanderson brothers both exerting huge pressure on the hosts’ front row.

As time moved on the old heads of Tim Groom and Matt Richards resolved the situation, establishing parity before the end of the first half.

The award of a penalty try for Old Habs proved very harsh due to the fact that Diss actually had the ball at the back of their own scrummage.

However, a series of Diss attacks allowed continuity of play to improve, eventually giving Chris Beaird the opportunity to slot a penalty as the half-time whistle approached.

But that good feeling soon disappeared when Miller seized the opportunity to dot down another try.

To Diss’ credit, they hit the ground running at the beginning of the second half.

For a sustained period Diss attacked the Old Habs line with George Gooderham, Tim Groom and John Laurie all going close.

Old Habs defended bravely, halting the onslaught until Beaird crashed over to bring the Mackenders faithful to its feet.

Beaird stepped up to convert his try to bring the resurgent home side back into the game with at least 20 minutes to play.

Diss now had their tails up and the introduction of Jack Peacock had an immediate effect on proceedings.

A sublime offload from him sent Beaird through the opposition midfield.

He in turn set Cutu Serruys through to run in a try and when Beaird slotted the conversion, the gap was just two points.

Yet, a crucial loss of possession in midfield proved fatal for Diss, and Old Habs went on to score two more tries to seal victory.

The third-from-bottom Blues do not return to action until October 20 away at Amersham & Chiltern, who currently find themselves ninth in the table.