Eastern Counties One Sudbury Talbots 29 Ipswich YM 11 Top of the table YM’s 100% record came to a crashing end on a windy, raw afternoon at Sudbury, beaten by a more complete, well-organised and determined side, writes Debbie Taylor.

Right from their own kick-off Sudbury seized possession and scored a converted try within two minutes, before any YM player had yet touched the ball.

Once they got into the game, however, the YM gained possession and territory, playing their forward-dominated, direct, quick-recycling game.

This gained them two penalties, both converted by Barney Horsfield, but there their dominance ended and apart from a similar phase in the second half, which brought the YM’s try, the game belonged to the hosts.

Their pack was the best the YM have come up against this season, and their threequarters were more than a match for the YM’s patched-up back division.

Poor defence and - apart from in their two purple patches - a tendency to run across the pitch with the ball rather than directly forwards, contributed to the YM’s downfall.

Their hosts, by contrast, cleverly wheeled the scrum when they were able, so as to give their ball-carrying back row a good opportunity to break.

By half-time Sudbury had extended their lead to 17–6, through two further tries, an advantage that they doubled by the final whistle.

It was as well that there was nothing riding on this result; the last of this phase of the season.

The YM were already champions of the first half of the season, but were denied the grand slam that looked a certainty before Christmas.

More than this, though, as they move into the second phase of the season, is that injuries have drained them of so many players that unless there is a quick return to fitness on several fronts, the rest of the year could be as bleak as this afternoon was.