Ellis bags five as Luton crush Diss

The hosts were in a confident mood after the impressive win at Westcliff last weekend, as they took control of territory and possession straight from kick off.

They were rewarded for their good start in the seventh minute too.

Tom Wilmore was quick to seize on an opportunity to dive over for the first try as Diss’ defence struggled to keep up after some good hands saw Luton go close, with Rik Hobbs converting.

Diss responded straight away as Luton tried to spread the ball out wide inside their own 22, only for Pete Chartier to intercept and touch down under the posts.

He also added the conversion to draw the visitors level.

It didn’t take long for Luton to get back in front though, as Rik Hobbs spotted space behind Diss’ defence line to place a grubber kick through for Ellis to gather and race 30 metres to touch down for a converted try.

Luton started to break through at regular intervals, but Diss held firm and were able to clear their line thanks to the strong wind behind their backs.

The pressure finally told in the 19th minute when Ellis pushed off some weak defence to grab a converted try and make it 21-7.

The visitors responded well again and were in for their second try, after an error in Luton’s 22 gifted them the ball and a couple of plays later, Charlie Crotty forced his way over.

Luton kept piling the pressure on to Diss’ defence but they were only able to extend their lead in the 34th minute.

Wilmore crossed for his second of the match after collecting the ball at the back of a driving maul to dart down the blind side and score an unconverted try, making it 26-12 at the break.

The second period was all one way traffic as Luton took advantage of the conditions to run in seven unanswered tries.

The first of which came in the 44th minute when a good break from Rik Hobbs was supported by Doug Fluker who managed to evade a number of defenders to touch down for a converted try.

Luton were in again two minutes later when a poor clearance kick landed into the hands of Chris Davis who drew in the lone defender to feed Matt Yang for a walk-in try.

The hosts had to just wait four more minutes to add to their tally when Ellis crossed for his hat-trick, when he eased past some poor defence to score a converted try.

Ellis was in again six minutes later when he managed to barge his way past a posse of would-be tacklers to touch down out wide and bring up 50 points for the hosts.

The hosts were in again in the 63rd minute when Ellis proved too powerful for the visitors once more, as he easily broke away to score his fifth try of the game and extend Luton’s lead to 55-12.

Luton were not finished there and after some sustained pressure on Diss’ defensive line, Ryan Staff was too big and strong as he barged his way over from close range with Rik Hobbs adding the conversion.

The visitors couldn’t really get their hands on the ball and were made to pay with the last play of the game.

Substitute Aiden Kenny found himself in open space after a long cut pass to touch down with Jake Hobbs adding the difficult conversion to take the final score to 69-12.

Paul Allen’s side, who are now fifth in the table, are back at home this weekend, with Letchworth Garden City the visitors.

Luton: Elborn (Duffy 49), Irvine (Shepherd 40), Pacey, Albone, Nelly, Staff, Elston, Yang, Wilmore, R Hobbs, Davis, Ellis, J Hobbs, Lewsey (Kenny 49), Fluker.

MOM: Tom Wilmore.