SOUTHEND Saxons won 52-10 at Diss to secure back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

Ross Stalley and captain Ian Morrison both bagged two tries in the victory while Chris Vaughan, Ross O’Brien, Tom Ramsey and Owen Gemmell also touched down.

And director of rugby Josh Ward was quick to praise the performance as Southend dug deep to secure their first away victory of 2018.

“I thought we were excellent,” said Ward.

“We played with purpose and intent from the start and controlled the game really well.

“Our set piece gave us a platform to play front foot ball and we executed it really well.”

The victory came after Southend had beaten Fullerians 41-13 in their previous outing and saw them work their way up to eighth in the London One North standings.

And Ward was pleased by how Saxons were able to improve during the course of the game.

“We lacked discipline in defence in the second quarter but importantly bounced back in the second half,” said Ward.

“Saturday was about backing up and building on our performance last week.

“Each week we want to be better and we will need to be even better when we host Sudbury at the Bridge in our next game.

“We’re progressing weekly and Saturday illustrated an excellent 18 man shift.

“Once again our travelling support was great and it’s a real boost.”

Ramsey also added seven conversions for Southend, who were boosted by the return of their powerful number eight Matt Wagstaff from a dislocated shoulder.

Saxons also handed try scorer Gemmell his first team debut, along with Tom Day, who both came off the bench to help the team secure their first victory away from home since winning at Tunbridge Wells back in November.

And the triumph was also a case of lucky 13 as Southend ended a run of 12 successive defeats on the road.

Southend Saxons: Ramsey, Banks, Dobson, Vaughan, O’Brien, Stalley, Branch, Bailey, Grier, Armitage, Newton, O’Kill, Forster-Knight, Morrison, Wagstaff

Replacements: Campbell-Webster, Gemmell & Day