Stowmarket rugby coach Chris Snelling wants complete performance for derby scalp at home to Diss

Chris Snelling has called on mid-table Stowmarket to deliver an 80-minute performance as they look to upset high-flying Diss tomorrow (2.30pm) and keep their unbeaten home run intact, writes Angus Williams.

Second-from-bottom Holt proved no match against former Bury St Edmunds captains Matt Edison and Snelling’s side as they cruised to a 50-14 victory on their return to London 3 North at their Pheonix Park base on Saturday.

But this weekend’s home clash throws up a sterner challenge with Diss, relegated last season, having only lost one of their seven matches under new head coach Nick Greenhall.

Assistant coach Snelling was happy with the performance against Holt but feels they now need to look to eradicate a poor spell which saw the visitors come back with two tries for when Diss visit in a derby match-up.

He said: “Overall it was really pleasing. I just said to the boys that for 65 minutes of that game we played how we wanted to play. In attack we did some fantastic stuff; lovely interplay with the backs and forwards alike and scored some really good tries.

“It’s just ironing out that 10 or 15 minutes, sort of in the middle of the second half, where we let them in for two cheap tries.

“We need to learn to be ruthless and take teams to the sword no matter what the score line is.”

He added: “Today gives us a little bit of momentum to carry into that game, to challenge one of those top three teams at the moment and see if we can take a scalp.”

Head coach Edison, who scored one of the eight tries on Saturday, said this weekend’s contest is a game he will relish.

“Me and Snells have some long running rivalries with Diss over our years of playing rugby so it’ll be nice to get their scalp.”

At the weekend, three first-half tries from the home team practically ended the game as a contest against a Holt side who were missing 10 of last season’s regular first-team players.

Ben Honeyball’s try was reward for Stow’s early pressure. Max Crowe, who broke tackles all afternoon, scored another for the mid-Suffolk men shortly after.

Nic Kegge rounded off the scoring in the first half before being sin binned. But 14-man Stow survived a period of Holt pressure to make the half-time score 21-0.

Stow sealed the bonus point shortly after half-time with the try of the match. Luke Reiman burst through, carrying the ball and half the Holt pack, from his side’s try line to half way vefore offloading to Honeyball who fed Edison to score in the corner.

Holt hit back when wing Bobby Freeman scored following a buccaneering move down the right wing.

But it was short-lived as Dan Garrard scored for the hosts and Kegge notched his second to truly put the game out of reach.

Henry Harrison scored another converted consolation try for his side but Stow hit a half century with substitute Joe Fifield scoring before Kegge completed his hat-trick.

Garrard sent five of his eight conversions over to make it 50-14.