1st XV
Matches
Sat 15 Nov 2014  ·  London 3 South East
Folkestone Rugby Club
1st XV
Tries: O Walton
5
10
Horsham
Folkestone lost this game rather than Horsham won it?

Folkestone lost this game rather than Horsham won it?

Alex Ruddock15 Nov 2014 - 22:47
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This was a strange game to have to report on as there were no sensational burst up the middle or outstanding moves resulting in tries.

Folkestone 5 v Horsham 10

Saturday 15th November 2014. Report by Steve Hughes

This was a strange game to have to report on as there were no sensational burst up the middle or outstanding moves resulting in tries.
Instead it was a game of missed opportunities, especially from the home sides’ point of view. They had their fair share of possession but with off loads that were wild to say the least gave the visitors the ability to relieve the danger that Folkestone originally posed.
I think it fair to say the Folkestone lost this game rather than Horsham won it. The difference between the two sides was decided by an intercepted try by Horsham when Folkestone were hammering away at their line with every prospect of scoring a well worked try.
The game was a stalemate for the first ten minutes and then Horsham took the lead with a penalty. 0-3. The Folkestone pack had the better of the set pieces and a major part of this was due to debutant Alex Evans, a prop of some stature, giving the front row some balance and the extra poundage it has needed in previous games. Together with Tom Carvill and Jack Cox, the front row is now a formidable line up and with Ben Stringer and Myles Dempsey behind them they have provided a stable front five.
The early part of the game was played between the 22 metre lines without either side showing any dominance but the game came to light when Jack Cox burst down the middle and hacked the ball on only for Horsham to scramble it away into touch.
Then Folkestone won a lineout on the right and some delightful interpassing spread the ball right across the pitch. A try was imminent but they then threw a silly pass which was intercepted by the Horsham wing on his own line to see him sprint the length of the field to score an unconverted try. 0-10. Folkestone had the better of the scrums and dominated the lineouts with Will Turner, Chris Petley taking quality ball off the top of the line from some excellent throwing in by Jack Cox.
James Mead is a strong, young scrum half with good hands and a long pass to help Will Silvey get the line moving, but Horsham had an aggressive defence which proved difficult to break down. Folkestone succeeded however with a three-quarter movement along the line in the visitors 22m area to find Ollie Walton coming on the outside of the left wing to score but John Morton could not add the extras from the touchline. The score at half time was 5-10.
Of the few chances that were created in the second half it was inevitable that a loose off-load or knock on relieved the pressure on the visitors. Prop Alex Evans gave way to Warren Blandford 12 minutes into the second half.
Horsham are a good side with a comparatively lightweight pack but they move the ball constantly and had the home side frequently under pressure but their defence proved sufficient to keep them out. Will Turner, Richie Bowen and Chris Petley were in fine form in both defence and attack.
Richie Bowen was injured near the end and replaced by Josh Kemp. Then Alex Evans came back on to replace Warren Blandford while scrum half James Mead gave way to Lewis Howland who is travelling back from University to play each week.
As I said at the start, this was a strange game but Folkestone gave their all and but for that intercepted pass would have won this game.
Team: Ollie Walton; Thomo Murray, Ryan Farrow, Ross Dempsey, Jon Morton; Will Silvey, James Mead; Alex Evans, Jack Cox, Tom Carvill; Ben Stringer, Myles Dempsey; Will Turner, Richie Bowen, Chris Petley.
Subs: Warren Blandford, Josh Kemp, Lewis Howland.
Scorer: Ollie Walton.

Match details

Match date

Sat 15 Nov 2014

Kickoff

14:15

Meet time

12:30

Attendance

70

Competition

London 3 South East
Team overview
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