Beccles got 2012 off to the perfect start with a convincing bonus point victory against Canvey Island.

The hosts, who had lost all 12 of their Division 2N games before the weekend, went behind when their fellow strugglers created an overlap and scored in the corner.

The home side did not let this get to them and when the ball fell loose to B&B Skip Hire man-of-the-match P Wilson he made a charging break, offloaded to Lake who in turn fed Long to crash over from close range. Wade added the extras to make it 7-5.

Canvey made mistakes due to the amount of pressure being put on them in open play and in the scrum and when their scrum-half tried to clear his lines, he was charged down by Larrauri to score the second try for the home side. The try was again converted, making the score 14-5.

The best play of the match came when the ball was spread to Long down the line who in turn passed to Durak, only to be held up just short of the line. Quick ball from the forwards allowed Cooper to break the line and find Wade an angle to score under the pos ts. A conversion and a further penalty from Wade capped off a fantastic half of rugby, making the score 24-5.

The second half was a much more scrappy affair and Canvey hit back with a breakaway try created in their own half.

Beccles continued to probe but could not put a finish to good passages of play. Eventually, a mix- up gave Williamson the opportunity to dive on the ball over the line, giving Beccles the all important bonus point, with Wade converting.

With the game already won, Beccles' defence gave away the ball to Canvey and they made the most of it, scoring in the final play.

The win means Beccles are just one win away from getting themselves out of the drop zone.