A disappointing display at Pulborough

London 3 South East PULBOUROUGH 1sts 13 FOLKESTONE 1sts 12
Saturday 7th February 2015 Report by Alan Schofield.

The logic of the R.F.U. in arranging the league tables has to be brought into question when The Stones had to undertake the long, long journey to Pulborough R.F.C. which is as near to Somerset as it is to Folkestone - to play on an bleak and windy field near the mediaeval village of Storrington.
Pulborough were looking for their first win since December 6th and needed points to secure their place and avoid relegation. They achieved it by beating a team which, this season, has struggled in away matches against lower placed opposition.
Folkestone never took control of a game dominated by a disciplinarian referee and 26 penalty kicks, three yellow cards and innumerable scrums.
The theme was established in the first 15 minutes with eight penalties, five of which were kicks at goal by Pulborough! Two of them were on target and one hit the posts, but the home side gained a six point lead. And they continued to put The Stone’s defence to the test by using the wind to good effect with long accurate kicking.
In possession, Folkestone were guilty of a succession of mistakes from which their grateful opposition thrived – but, at the same time, conceding a host of penalties themselves. Unfortunately many of the Folkestone penalty kicks were frittered away by failing to find touch, putting them back onto the defensive.
However, the forwards worked tirelessly with Ben Stringer and Josh Kemp putting in solid tackles and helping to promote the thought that Pulborough were going to have to produce something special to break down this defence.
Ryan Farrow and Frankie Morgan combined well to test Pulborough down the left wing. More penalty kicks downwind brought the Folkestone defence into play again but they worked play, in a series mauls rucks and scrums, towards the opponents line. When the ball popped up, from loose play, for Frankie Morgan, he drew his opposite number and fed a fast pass to Richie Bowen to cross the line at speed. 6 – 5.
But immediately Pulborough retaliated when Thomo Murray was isolated and failed to collect a difficult bouncing ball from a long cross field kick. The ball was quickly snapped up and the slightly fortunate try was scored, with the conversion bouncing off the posts, but through them, The Stones were now facing a 13 – 5 deficit.
Ryan Farrow pulled up with a hamstring injury and was replaced by Lewis Howland on the wing. Shortly afterwards many spectators thought that Lewis Howland immediately had reduced this when from the restart Folkestone attacked in strength. Pulborough were penalised, but with being advantage played Folkestone retained the ball in a series of attacks until the referee called the advantage over, just as Howland beat the opposition to touch down with no-one aware that a slight knock on had occurred immediately the advantage was lost.
Pulborough had a player yellow carded just before half time for impeding play – not before time, given the number of penalties given against both sides.
Starting the second half, Folkestone doubled up their work rate - now with the wind behind them, and playing against 14 men –unfortunately they also doubled up on their mistakes passing advantage over by penalties and scrums. Chris Petley twice tried to get things going but was pulled down – and Pulborough were quick and alert in the rucks and mauls, gaining most of the 50/50 balls that were available – not always legally. But Folkestone failed to take advantage as the penalty count mounted - now in their favour. No sooner than the sin-binned Pulborough player was back on the field, they lost another by annoying the referee with their tactics in the loose.
Everything combined to disrupt the normal Folkestone tactics of fast, open rugby, they couldn’t play it – due to a wily opposition and a having to play the game to the capriccioso of the referee’s whistle.
But a glimpse of the true Folkestone rugby was seen when, from a quickly taken penalty the forwards advanced down the left and although held up, Chris Petley broke from the rear of the maul and fed Adam Tolman who neatly side-stepped his opposite number and scored with a relieving swallow dive to bring the score to 13 – 12 with a solid conversion by Jon Morton.
Josh Kemp was yellow-carded for a trivial obstruction but The Stones strived for the winning score. As the penalty count mounted, the stoppages continued, the play was interrupted and the enterprise that The Stones were showing in their efforts was frustrated.
Pulborough conceded two penalties in the final minutes, both well within kicking distance on, or about, the 22 metre line to the right of centre field - but both frustratingly failing in a slight cross wind.
And so the game was lost 13 – 12, with the referee seemingly blowing time without allowing for a number of stoppages. The Stones had the long journey home in the knowledge that tries and penalties that should have been converted into a comfortable lead were thwarted by a combination of failures.

Team: Frankie Morgan; Ryan Farrow, John Eustace, Jon Morton, Thomo Murray; Adam Tolman, James Mead: Martin Murray (Capt.), Richie Bowen, Tom Carvill; Ben Stringer, Josh Kemp; Will Turner, Miles Dempsey, Chris Petley.
Subs: Billy Monk, Carl Tibbetts, Lewis Howland.