This rearranged game, from the postponement of last week (due to a waterlogged pitch)

London 3 South East UCKFIELD 1st XV 27 FOLKESTONE 1st XV
24th January 2015 Report by Alan Schofield

This rearranged game, from the postponement of last week (due to a waterlogged pitch), caught Folkestone short in selection owing to players making other arrangements - thinking they had a free week.
With a long journey coupled with an extremely heavy playing area and Uckfield on the fast track to becoming Folkestone’s bogey team, it seemed that The Stones would be stretched to the limit to maintain their upward climb even against a side 15 points below them in the league and that they were – being clogged down by the pitch and an unprecedented number of penalties, scrums and line-outs.
For reasons best known to himself, the referee awarded 29 penalties in the game, (60% against Uckfield) and two yellow cards, also against Uckfield, and as many - if not more, scrums and line-outs. This effectively killed the game from an enjoyment point of view therefore the only satisfaction was going to come for the team that scored the most points.
Uckfield were nearly at full strength against a much changed opposition and they showed this in the opening minutes by testing Folkestone’s defensive wall severely – but it held out, to be relieved by a couple of penalty kicks. But the first cracks appeared when Uckfield took the first scrum by moving the Folkestone eight forwards backwards for 5 metres at some pace. Soon afterwards the Uckfield forwards won the first line out on Folkestone’s ball, and then they won the first ruck, by turning over Folkestone’s possession. All this was ominous.
Three more penalties to The Stones eventually brought them to a kickable position for points on the board, and Jon Morton duly obliged giving an unlikely 3 point lead. Unfortunately this meant that Uckfield resumed their strong attacks down the middle of the field. Following a misdirected kick out of defence, they reached the 5 metre line. From a ruck - immediately after winning another scrum – they simply bundled the Folkestone defence back over their own line and scored a classical forwards try for a 5 – 3 lead after 27 minutes.
The penalty count continued to mount but Folkestone wasted a number of them by failing to find touch, whereas Uckfield were able to make theirs count by finding long touch kicks and winning the ensuing line-out. Therefore Folkestone were largely confined to defence and although there were some individual attempts at running the ball clear – the ground was too heavy for the fast open rugby that has served The Stones so well this season.
Uckfield forwards were a well-co-ordinated group and served their backs well who usually took up close positions for short passing movements. It was from a series of attacks that their second try came after 35 minutes. This time it was converted and 12 – 3 score was no more than Uckfield deserved.
The unparalleled eighteenth penalty of the first half then gave Uckfield the opportunity to increase this lead to 15 – 3 just before half time.
The second half began as the first half ended – strewn with errors. But Folkestone, to their credit, did take control of the game for a continuous period of 20 minutes – playing all the rugby in the Uckfield half. But the home defences held firm. It was against the run of play when a long kick out of defence by Uckfield failed to be fielded and the ball was kicked through with the home forwards and backs charging forward and outnumbering the retreating Stones. So the third try was scored, converted and the score of 22 – 3, in all the circumstances, looked absolutely safe for Uckfield.
Folkestone were frustrated and rattled by their inability to play their normal game, but it was not for the lack of trying. They had the ideas, but were unable to execute them. Whereas Uckfield played a strong forward battle, not always within the laws of the game – and this resulted in the referee, at last, sending two players to the sin bin with yellow cards.
So was it that Folkestone could fight back against 13 men? They pressed for a try, and when they were awarded yet another penalty 5 metres from the line they decided go for the pushover try against the six man scrum. But to the shaking of heads and disappointment of their travelling supporter’s, Folkestone were pushed backwards and the position lost.
Nevertheless, they had another bash at the solid opposition and this time won a loose scrum -and with deft handling moved the ball quickly out to the right wing for a deserved but unconverted try from Ryan Farrow a 22 – 8 score line.
This miserable match was drawing to a close with another batch of penalties – one of them kicked deep into Folkestone’s half – when the receiver caught it, the ball was thrown into the air (or was it a pass?) and one of the Uckfield players gratefully received it and strolled over the try line unopposed for the bonus point and the final score of 27 – 8.
Team: Harry Clewley; Ryan Farrow, Jon Morton, John Eustace, Fraser Nurse; Adam Tolman, James Mead; Karl Tibbetts, Jake Ellis, Tom Carvill; Ben Stringer, Josh Kemp; Will Turner, Charlie Millen, Miles Dempsey.
Subs: Adam Fullerton, Billy Monk, Frankie Morgan.