Folkestone 1stXV 10 Deal-Betteshanger 1stXV 36

FOLKESTONE 10 pts v DEAL-BETTESHANGER 36 pts
29th August 2015 By Alan Schofield

Folkestone were disappointed to lose the second of their warm-up matches against opponents in a higher league than their own. But they showed a lot of creative flair and a solid scrummaging technique against a heavy and solid opposition, playing with some interesting tactics.
The Stones play their own game of quick ball from stationary positions with sometimes bewildering speed and interchanges. But to convert this into points needs accurate passing and controlled handling and unfortunately this did not fully materialise on this day.
Deal & Betteshanger had an excellent tactic, well-rehearsed and well executed, of kicking forward and following at speed – and this resulted in some good field positions especially in the first quarter of the game. Realising that they were on the losing side in set scrums to an enthusiastic Folkestone eight they nullified this with some dubious front row play that the referee failed to sanction. In the first half they conceded eleven penalties – but not one of them against the front row, who were able to wink and smile at the frustrated Folkestone coaching team.
Three of the Deal-Betteshanger five tries were identical using the tactic of kicking to the 5 metre line and using an eight man push with momentum to rollover the line. Another was a mid-field interception and a clear run through. Therefore the final score of 10 – 36 somewhat flattered the visitors.
Coach Leigh Fitchie made 12 interchanges using his large substitutes bench – thus giving every player of the 1st XV squad a good run out. He would have been pleased with the efforts in attack and defence. But Deal-Betteshanger stayed with the same team for much of the 80 minutes, which did give them an advantage.
Jordan Godden and Kyle Deakin scored unconverted tries for The Stones – and at least two other clear try opportunities were denied by passing or handling errors. Seyhan Fell narrowly missed touching down following his own kick through and Adam Tolman. Chris Petley and Fraser Hendy all were stopped just short by excellent tackling.
Again, penalty kicks at goal for points were rejected in favour of scrum practice and it was encouraging to see, in spite of numerous player and position changes, how the Folkestone scrum blended together. Had penalty kicks been taken the final score would have been very much closer.
Unfortunately Jon Morton suffered a hand injury which might keep him side-lined for a few weeks, but otherwise the team have come through these practice games against higher placed opposition very well and there is much to look forward to in the forthcoming season.
Next week the team travel to Ashford in the first round of the Kent Shield before the league proper starts on the 19th September away against Bromley. There is now no home 1st XV match at Burlington Fields until October 3rd.