1st XV v Pulborough

FOLKESTONE 1st XV 23 PULBOROUGH 1st XV 5
London 3SE
5th December 2015 Report by Alan Schofield
The portents before this game were that it would be a tight one. The two teams were level on points in the league each having won the same number of games. The last fixture between the two resulted in a 13 – 12 win for the then home side – Pulborough, and in their last match they beat league leaders, Bromley, convincingly.
But an overwhelming performance of sustained determination and fitness saw Folkestone come out worthy winners against a team that showed their league position was merited.
The match took place under floodlights for a 2 p.m. kick-off with a strong gale blowing towards the railway end. And so when The Stones played with the wind it was judged that they would need a 15 point lead at half-time to compensate for this advantage. Wrong!
With Matt Roots and Harry Smith being late withdrawals, it gave the opportunity for 1st XV debuts for Charlie Watson (yet another Stones junior earning his place) and Will Melia – making his first ever appearance for the Club.
The wind took the kick-off to within 8 metres of the Pulborough line which put Folkestone onto the attack immediately. Jon Morton instigated three thrusts deep into to the defence, but Pulborough showed their defence was well organised and resisted some power play by Jake Ellis, Josh Kemp and Tom Snare. Eventually Pulborough conceded an off-side offence that Seyhan Fell duly slotted from in front of the posts. 3 – 0.
We had seen some solid Pulborough defence and immediately from the resumption we saw them running the ball left, then right then left again – cutting through a bamboozled defence and, with a clear overlap, scored a try on the right wing. The conversion attempt was into a full gale from the touchline – and only just missed. Hmmm! A message not to let the opponents have kicks at goal any easier than this! 3 – 5 after only 8 minutes.
But something clicked in the Folkestone squad after this setback. Once again Jon Morton, with long penetrating kicks, put the home team firmly into the attacking half. The forwards then did their work with Kieran Smith and Jack Barton producing some hard yards and denying the big and fit Pulborough forwards possession. Doug Wood is proving to be a scrum half with speed and vision and it was he who set Jon Morton on a strong run going forward from 35 metres out. A quick pass to Adam Tolman who in turn found Chris Petley who cheekily threw a long pass, over two opponents, to Ollie Walton - at speed - who touched down on his left wing to regain the lead 8 – 5.
Pulborough were seeing very little of the Folkestone half and even though they produced some elusive running and showed they had a lot of good rugby in them, but they were pegged back repeatedly by Jon Morton and Adam Tolman’s kicking downwind. But it was the follow-up tackles by Chris Petley and Jon Eustace that kept most of the ground gained. Tom Snare and Will Turner, made individual runs through the defences but not before another 30 metres was achieved. Seyhan Fell increased the lead with another well taken penalty kick after Pulborough ran off-side in their own 22 mts zone. 11 – 5.
Coach Leigh Fitchie substituted Ryan Farrow for Jack Barton to give more problems for the opponents defence and although Pulborough had a brief glance at the Folkestone half - a strong kick towards the posts was charged down by John Eustace giving Jon Morton another chance to clear the lines. This he did with an enormous kick, unfortunately going dead from about 70 metres. From the scrum awarded where the kick was taken, Folkestone won the ball against the head, Chris Petley picked it up and made 20 metres before flicking a pass to Seyhan Fell who cut through on the right before passing to Charlie Watson who shrugged off three tackle attempts before breaking clear to score his debut try for the 1st XV. 16 – 5.
Half time came - and now the test was about to come. Was the Pulborough reputation for try scoring going to overcome a seemingly narrow eleven point margin? And this worry was exemplified when they won the first scrum, strangely easily – but it was about the last thing they did win, because after that they rarely saw any part of the Folkestone half of the field. For a magnificent performance of sustained attack and defence continued in a second half in which Pulborough were overpowered by the strength and fitness of a resurgent Folkestone XV now looking to produce their fifth consecutive win.
An unusual feature of the first half was that only four penalties had been awarded. But now Pulborough were forced into errors that gave away penalties that in turn compounded their miseries and they were forced more and more into defending their line. Seyhan Fell missed a couple of attempts to increase the lead – but kicking accurately into this wind from more than 20 metres was impossible.
Kieran Smith who had played tirelessly in the second row was given a breather and this gave the home crowd the first sight of Will Melia, and it didn’t take long to see that this was yet another player that could fully contribute to this successful blend of players that Leigh Fitchie has put together.
Folkestone nearly scored when Adam Tolman fielded a kick from the opponents, passed to Seyhan Fell who planted a kick intended for Charlie Watson, on the right wing, but was horribly sliced off the side of his boot. This wrong footed Pulborough and only some desperate defending and a bit of scopperloit stopped Ryan Farrow and Tom Snare from crossing the line.
Another score addition was denied after Chris Petley broke again, this time making 20+ metres before Will Melia and Ryan Farrow continued play up to and under the opposition posts. Pulborough again held on, were penalised but captain ‘Moose’ Murray elected for a scrum instead of three points. Fate had it that the scrum was lost and Pulborough hoofed a mighty clearance kick from their own line intended for the hills above Eurotunnel – unfortunately for them Chris Petley not only charged it down but caught the ball and scored a remarkable, and deserved try - converted easily by Seyhan Fell to put the score out of reach of the tiring Pulborough team at 23 – 5 after 74 minutes.
The linchpin of so many of The Stones moves - Will Turner, was given a well-deserved rest and Mike Gardner, resuming his 1st XV career after a long injury, was put into the action for the final minutes. But Pulborough were beaten by a better side on this day – and a side that is looking more and more like a top two team than the bottom two as they were in September.
Team: Adam Tolman; Charlie Watson, Seyhan Fell, John Eustace, Ollie Walton; Jon Morton, Doug Wood; Tom Snare, Jake Ellis, Martin Murray (Capt.); Jack Barton, Kieran Smith; Josh Kemp, Will Turner, Chris Petley.
Subs: Will Melia, Mike Gardner, Ryan Farrow.
Scorers: Seyhan Fell 3, 3 2; Ollie Walton 5; Charlie Watson 5; Chris Petley 5.