BRAINTREE RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB 2014/15 SEASON.
Any copy queries to BRUFC Publicity Officer John Troup on 07860-179347.

BRAINTREE...7 DISS...55 (London North East Two)

SEVEN games and seven straight defeats – that was the depressingly stark statistic staring Braintree in the face after they were torn apart by a rampant Diss side at Robbs Wood on Saturday.
The black and ambers were taken to the cleaners by their Norfolk visitors, whose powerful pack used the driving maul to maximum effect as they swept the hosts aside.
And with Tree losing top points scorer Kingsley Joslin to a serious shoulder injury which is likely to keep him out of the side for months things look like getting worse before they get better for Tree.
Joint coaches Gary Coote, Brian Joslin and Dave Gilder put together the biggest pack they could muster in a bid to match Diss up front, but they were a poor second in the mobility stakes to their opponents.
Consequently Tree’s forwards weren’t able to secure the ball that would have given their talented back line the chance to show what they could do.
Diss scored the first of their eight tries after only five minutes when a penalty to touch triggered a short range score which was converted by the visitors’ impressive fly-half Jamie Peacock for a 7-0 lead.
On 14 minutes Peacock kicked another three points from a penalty after Tree were penalised for coming in from the side, and then stretched their lead to 17-0 by converting a 22nd minute try by winger Tom Holt which was triggered by his superb pass.
Fellow winger Giles West added a third try on 26 minutes, Peacock converting to stretch his side’s lead to 24-0, but the prolific kicker blotted his hitherto perfect stats when he was unable to convert scrum-half Jamie Burroughs’ fourth try on 28 minutes.
Trailing 29-0 at half-time things couldn’t get much worse for the black and ambers, but they soon did.
It took Diss just four minutes to add their fifth try when Holt completed his brace following a devastating driving maul, Peacock’s conversion putting the men from Norfolk 36-0 to the good.
Eight minutes later the Diss forwards combined effectively once again to secure their sixth try from close range, with the inevitable Peacock conversion stretching their advantage to 43-0.
Tree rang the changes, bringing on all three replacements, but it didn’t stop them shipping a seventh try on the hour, although Peacock’s missed conversion pegged the score at 48-0.
The home side then enjoyed a brief period of possession which saw fly-half Elliott Dawson come back onto the field to score a consolation try which was converted by outside centre Joss Adams. 7-48.
It provided only brief respite though, a yellow card for hooker Chris Halford forcing Tree to play the remainder of the game with 14 men, and prompting an eighth converted try for the visitors.
Joint coach Joslin said: “We were already struggling for numbers after losing Dave Baker to a knee injury last week and now Kingsley is going to be out for some time.
“Our pack did their best but they were completely outgunned which meant we couldn’t secure the scrum and line-out ball which could have given us a platform from which to supply our backs.
“It’s difficult to see where a win is going to come from at the moment but we’ll keep going and hope to find some inspiration from somewhere.”
Tree will hope to regroup and lick their wounds this weekend when they are without a fixture as a result of their decision not to enter the Essex Intermediate Cup this season, and return to London NE2 action at home to Norwich on November 15.
BRUFC: Olley, Crane, Adams, Randall, Abbott, Dawson (Stanhope), Joslin, Fairchild, Halford, Perry, Fitzearle (Lanham), Carslake, Spearman, Benfield, Smillie (Stephens).