Rugby can be an emotional sport and this game was very emotional. Last weeked the visitors saw the league championship ripped away from them by East Grinstead after they had led the league unbeaten for most of the season but 3 disastrous recent defeats saw them eventually finish level on points with the top two clubs but third and out of the promotion places on points difference only. In the first half they looked to still be suffering from that loss but they stormed back with a devastating display in the second half and were deserved winners. For Folkestone this was coach Lee jeffery's final game in charge and his team badly wanted him to go out with a win and they came close to achieving just that but in the end the class of the visitors made the difference but it also meant that these two teams provided an excellent game full of running rugby greatly enjoyed by the large crowd.

Coach Jeffery will be missed at the Burlington. In his 3 years in charge he has got the very best out of his players and set up a coaching infrastructure which has improved performances all the way through the club. Because of a horrendous injury list he has come out of retirement to take the pitch and always given 100%. The Folkestone club is in his debt. He has been assisted on the journey by Leigh Fitchie who has also come out of retirement forced on him by injury. But this season he has shown his commitment playing in the back row and more recently earning rave reviews in the dark arts of the front row.

So to the game. Heathfield & Waldron are always welcome visitors to the New Burlington. Their supporters enjoy the banter of the touchlines and give as much as they receive and their team always play good honest attacking rugby. But at the start Folkestone were very much on top spending much time in the visitor's half but unable to break through the defence. Joe Hull has really come onto his game in the second half of the season and likes to put himself about the pitch. He was putting the opposing scrum half under a lot of pressure. Just as it seemed like Folkestone were not going to break through John Eustace made a splendid interception and broke out of defence. He made 30 yards before passing the ball to Jon Morton who raced over and then added the conversion. 7-0.

Last Saturday Hull suffered a horrible head injury which drew a lot of blood but the New Zealander was giving no quarter and he almost scored after he kicked over the defence but lost the race to touch down but only just.

Heathfield & Waldron are a fine team and opponents relax at their peril. Because they came back into the game taking a quick penalty and they were over. 7-5.

And that was the score at the interval.

In the heat both teams enjoyed the break and took on fluid. It was painfully hot out in the middle. Folkestone were the first team to show when full back Adam Tolman raced up the right wing and delivered his trade-mark kick over the defence and chased it up to score. That score made him the club's top points scorer for the season. Morton added the conversion. 14-5.

That was the signal for Heathfield & Waldron to go up a gear and they went hard at Folkestone. They were almost in attacking down the left wing and only a superb Josh Palmer tackle on the touchline stopped a certain try. This was only the youngster's second 1st XV match and again he impressed.

But the visitors were beginning to get up steam and in a devastating 15 minute period they ripped the home defence apart to score 4 unanswered tries, 2 of them converted. Each score demonstrated the strong running of the visiting backs. So the home team saw a 9 point lead whisked away to lose the match by 15 points.

Considering it was the final game of the season this was one of the most entertaining matches I have seen. The visitors deserved their victory and both teams will look forward to playing each other next season. It would not surprise me to see both of them fighting over the honours.

Today's Man of the Match decision again involved Tolman and McMurray who have enjoyed fantastic seasons. But for me it goes to hooker,  Leigh Fitchie who is a very cunning player who always seems to steal the ball when the game gets messy. He has played in every league game of the Stones' campaign.

Squad:

S Harris, M Roots, L Fitchie, D Short, A Bloomfield, D Ballard, J McMurray, M Murray, W Turner, L Jeffery, M Gardner, J Hull, J Palmer, J Eustace, D Sangiuseppe, J Morton, A Tolman, C Petley