Folkestone Under 11's v Ash Under 11's

Report by Andre Double:

In the presence of a sizeable gathering of parents, Folkestone’s Under 11’s got their home season underway with a fixture against Ash (scheduled to play Dover too but alas, Dover didn’t turn up at our age group). With Ash only bringing a squad of eleven players and Folkestone having 21, we couldn’t get three teams playing and so, we agreed four quarters with Folkestone bolstering the Ash side and our boys chopping and changing more than we would have liked. Alfie Dove, George James, TJ Leather and Ben Povah all volunteered to help Ash at various times, very sporting and the fact that they were in Ash colours didn’t diminish their commitment.
From the Ash kick off which was followed up, a penalty was immediately conceded by the away team , opting to go for touch, Tom Reina’s bearings were unusually off course as the ball was grounded in goal. A first for the Under 11’s - a 22m drop out was taken which saw Ash produce a good drive up the middle. A knock-on brought play to a stop and the first scrum of the day and the front row of Toby Walton, Lewis Hammerton and Kieran Dorrell secured a good ball. Archie Green gave a solid platform to Joseph Faiers who raced up the line, only to have the ball turned over (stolen) by Ash. The result was some more pressure from Ash, who were clearly growing in confidence. Folkestone had other ideas and Cohen Double came up with a good steal in the lineout, before putting in a burst upfield to gain some territory with several Ash players hanging off him.
The intensity from Folkestone was there for all to see, with Lewis “The Hammer” Hammerton his usual combative self and Cameron Brown showing good aggression in attack and defence. Despite a terrific side-stepping run from Thomas Reina, after he was put away by Thomas Cloke, defences on either side stood firm and the first quarter drew to a close, the score 0-0.

Enter the changes, Folkestone reshuffling and replacing all of the forwards and three backs!

With Tom Reina’s re-start uncharacteristically long, a scrum on halfway was conceded. Tristan Parmenter and Tom Kedwell obviously didn’t read the Ash script as they stole the opponents ball. The ball somehow emerged on the Ash side, enter George James helping Ash and running at his team mates with direction and purpose. Folkestone’s defensive presence is showing good collective early signs and any ideas Ash had about forcing their way over the gain line were put on hold until some great interplay combined with the odd missed tackle (and perhaps a couple of crafty fend offs) sent Ash over in the corner, the score 5-0 to the visitors and the end of the first half.
The third quarter kicked off and Ash seemed to be having trouble with the off side line. Cameron Brown resuming kicking responsibilities found an excellent touch. Not long after though, an avoidable knock on meant possession was again conceded in an attacking area of the pitch. The result a lineout to Folkestone. Enter Toby Walton, leaping, securing and running like a wrecking ball leaving Ash players scattered everywhere, Toby crashed over to level the scores. They say you are at your weakest after you have just scored. Well, Folkestone were clearly still thinking about Toby’s try as they lost a scrum, the territory that went with it and then their discipline with a high tackle. From the lineout Folkestone seemed to do everything right, the pressure was good, tackles were made and Ash were forced back. Only the ball ended up in the Ash’s most dangerous pair of hands rather fortuitously and a try was awarded to Ash. The score, Folkestone 5 – 10 Ash end of third quarter.
With time for one more quarter and the reporter running out of ink, Folkestone seemed to rally. ‘Veterans’ Parmenter and Green formed the second row and after being awarded a penalty for jersey pulling (or was it pulling of the Under 11’s bibs, last worn by wee Jimmy Krankie?) good initial work from Walton, a burst from Green, who popped the ball to the supporting Parmenter who drove forward and then all together the forwards made nearly twenty metres from a driving maul, with Parmenter smiles abound at the bottom after holding on and grounding for the try. Now Folkestone 10 – 10 Ash. Joseph Faiers took a great catch from the re-start. Not long after Tom Kedwell repeated the act by looking solid under the high ball. With the scores level, Folkestone grew in confidence, Faiers and Parmenter again teaming up down the right touch line. Some good running rugby to finish what was an enjoyable match, played in an exceptional spirit of the game. The result, a draw was perhaps a fair one, with both teams taking a large number of positives from the game.

Attendance: Good
Referee: S Cloke (10/10)

Folkestone: Alfie Dove, Archie Green, Cameron Brown, Dominic Bowden, Ethan Holt, Ben Povah, Kian Supple, Cohen Double, TJ Leather, Thomas Cloke, Tom Kedwell, Thomas Reina, Lewis Hammerton, Toby Walton, Kieran Dorrell, Billy Evans, Tristan Parmenter, Leon Gurr, Ryan Adams, George James.