2nds turn the game around against Dartfordians 2nds.

Folkestone Seconds started the last friendly before the season begins at home against Dartfordians seconds who play league rugby on a par with Folkestone but in Kent Metropolitan Premier 2 West.

The game started with Folkestone receiving the ball and unfortunately for them (and those who made the correct decision to watch the action on pitch two opposed to the going on, on pitch one) Dartfordians bullied the opening stages.

Folkestone showed determination and dedication, however were very much guilty of allowing Dartford to dictate the tempo of the game. Despite Dartfordians controlling the opening stages they found it difficult to take control of the scoreboard.
But by the 35th minute Dartfordians had taken a three try lead and the scoreboard unfortunately read 3-15. Fortunately Folkestone had realised that a bigger pack does not always make a better team and began to throw good solid phases together. These phases pushed Dartfordians back into their own 22, a place that in the opening half an hour no one had seen.

Folkestone seemed to turn a corner and were now the team in charge of dictating the tempo of the game and where beginning to create pressure on the opposition. This pressure led to Dartfordians poorly kicking away possession. The kick was safely collected by Folkestone's right winger Thomo Murray just inside the Dartford half, he then embarked on a darting running which left numerous Dartford players on their back after jumping at air, close to the Dartford line Thommo Murray was dragged down before he perfectly off loaded the ball. This was then recycled down the line before reaching the hands of Ross Johnson who touched down on the brink of half time. Frankie Morgan slotted the conversion to leave the half time scores at a more respectable 10-15.

Half time saw the introduction of the mature Welsh Wizard Adam Bloomfield for Ashley Gilligian at hooker and Kieran Smith for Billy Monk in the second row. As the second half began Folkestone had seemed to grow in stature and confidence after the try and now began to knock back Dartfordians in all areas of the pitch, as opposed to just when they had to defend their own 5m line in the first half.

Folkestone continued to dictate the tempo of the match with scrum half James Mead cleverly releasing the backs when needed and keeping the forwards working around the sides of the ruck when necessary.
With the larger Dartfordian team tiring; the strength, commitment and ability of the Folkestone front row began to show and Alex Evans, Adam Bloomfield and Folkestone debutante Carl 'Tibbo ' Tiberts took control of the scrums.
Solid forward work created space that allowed the backs to send Chris Goldfinch over in the corner taking four Dartfordian players with him as he powered over the line. Another try converted by Frankie Morgan from the touchline.
This score seemed to take Folkestone up another gear. Now the tide seemed to have turned and Folkestone where fully camped in Dartfordians half. David Jarvis who was commanding the tight while wearing number 4 set up a ruck in which another Folkestone newcomer Josh Kemp cleverly picked up the ball from the base and broke through Dartfordians guards and made for the try line unfortunately he was dragged down just short of the line, however Captain for the day Kevin Murray was in support and on hand to receive an out of the tackle offload to score under the posts. Again the try was converted by the super boot of Frankie Morgan.
This try electrified Dartfordians who began to throw the kitchen sink at Folkestone in the hope of saving the game but Folkestone stayed strong in defence with Alex Evans, Jake Ellis and Ross Johnson tackling relentless and Alex Pritchard sweeping up attacking kicks.
Dartfordians pressed the Folkestone line and created an overlap with some close contact running, luckily Thomo Murray smelt danger and sprinted up to collect a loose pass and helped Folkestone break away from their own line, his intelligent play turned defence into a counter attack. Thomo Murray cleverly off loaded to Aaron Robbins who danced through a few Dartfordians players before showing his strength fending off some others which created a hole of space in front of him. Aaron turned his wheels on and sprinted for the line and managed to reach it just in time scoring a great try leaving Frankie Morgan with an easy conversation. The score now stood at 31-15.
With 15 or so minutes to go, Folkestone became guilty of relaxing a little and began to allow Dartfordians to creep back in the game. With Dartfordians pushing for more scores and Folkestone taking their foot of the gas the game became a scrappy affair. This allowed Dartfordians to score one last try before the final whistle after the Dartfordians Number 8 broke from the base of a scrum which resulted in the scoreboard reading 31-20 at the final whistle.
All in all Folkestone came out on top in what really was a game of two halves. With this team being made up of some young players coming out of the youth sides, others studying at University, some boys pushing for the 1st XV and an Adam Bloomfield - Folkestone Seconds have a solid base to build on and if they play to their potential should have a good season.
Squad: 1. Carl 'Tibbo' Tiberts, 2. Ashley Gilligan, 3. Alex Evans; 4. David Jarvis, 5. Jake 'Jiggles' Ellis; 6. Josh Kemp, 7. Kevin Murray (Capt), 8. Billy Monk; 9. James Mead, 10. Frankie Morgan; 11. Chris Goldfinch, 12. Aaron 'Blade' Robbins, 13. Ross Johnson, 14. Thomo Murray, 15. Alex Pritchard.
Subs: Adam Bloomfield, Kieran Smith, Bryce Torrance, James 'Dreams to be Scotty' Stewart.
Scorers: Frankie Morgan 4C, 1P; Ross Johnson 1T; Chris Goldfinch 1T; Kevin Murray - 1T;Aaron Robbins 1T.