FRFC 26 Old Elthamians 20

For those who have been following the results of Folkestone’s young second team this term, they could quite comfortably draw the conclusion that the promotion following last season’s epic performances has been a bridge too far. Those who have taken the time out to watch the young guns pit their wits and abilities against players who are pushing to play first team rugby at a standard as high as National League 1 will know that the results do not tell the full story. Leigh Fitchie has worked tirelessly to build a young team of gifted players who are willing to work hard for each other and take the lessons they learn from playing against more experienced counterparts. Fitchie is no mug; he has cleverly persuaded the likes of Mat Roots, Will turner and Adam Bloomfield, despite their advancing years, to don the white and green hoops this year to share their experience and help guide the younger charges. Folkestone have been building to a win as performances improve week in and week out and at times it could be argued that it was the nervousness or even fear of winning which has hampered them and stopped them from finishing the game a victors.
Saturday’s game was played under a mournful, grey sky with the feel of spring distinctly absent as the temperature struggled to show any signs of rising. Despite the cold, the day presented conditions which were perfect for playing fast moving rugby. Given this, it was with some unease that Folkestone warmed up, balls were dropped, hands were lax and communication was poor. The players were committed but nerves seemed to be getting the better of them. From the kick off this continued. Old Elthamians received the ball and from the ruck broke down the blind side and in what seemed a whirlwind of pace and beautifully crafted offloading and inter passing, scored a try within the first seconds of the game. Folkestone gathered under the posts and took the opportunity to regroup.
From the next kick off Folkestone were more organised and began to get a foothold in the game. It was great to see Dan Woolford back in the fold along with new player Saul Phillips in the centre who had a great game chopping attack runners in defence. Folkestone were holding their own in the scrums despite being pitted against a much larger and heavier pack. The front row of Aaron Robbins, Adam Bloomfield and Mat Roots coupled with the impressive power of young bucks David Jarvis and Ben Gunn in the engine room of the second row provided the power which eventually saw The Stones take the advantage in the scrum. The superbly balanced back row of James Archer, Will Turner and Captain Kieran Smith provided the extra “grunt” needed to disturb Old E’s ball and were able to snaffle the eight or scrum half when they tried to play the ball. After steadying the ship and starting to put some patterns of play together, Ryan Farrow ran a sublime line at inside centre and carried the ball through four attackers before powering over the line to score. Woolford duly obliged by slotting the conversion.
From here Folkestone grew into the game and moved the ball around with confidence and spent a lot of time in the old E’s half. With mounting pressure, E’s were forced to concede a penalty just inside the twenty-two. Adam Tolman took control of the situation and instead of kicking for touch launched a prefect cross field kick right into Dan Cardinale’s arms, who had timed his run to perfection. From here he dived over the line in a movement that was more than good enough to grace the screens of Tom Daily’s TV show, Splash! His joy at opening his Folkestone scoring account was audible from some distance. After such a transcendent move, the exuberance of the Italian was welcomed by the rest of the team and the supporters alike.
Folkestone were now in control of the game and sticking to the game plan, although Old E’s attack runners were causing problems as they had pace to burn and proved tricky to stop at the first attempt. In typical Folkestone tradition, after playing the rugby gave away a penalty which was converted by Old Elthamians. Folkestone, once again took the game back to the opposition and were camped inside the twenty two when a slick passing move was intercepted with the Elthamians’ centre showing a clean pair of heels, running the length of the pitch to score a converted try under the posts.
The half time whistle brought the close of the first half with the score at 14-12 to the National 3 visitors.
Fitchie, aided by Folkestone’s newest member of the coaching team, Mark Spearpoint, delivered a clinical and succinct message to the troops. Woolford was withdrawn through injury, Cardinale moved to ten which saw the introduction of Stone’s other Italian, Luciano Dublino, on the wing. Despite his racing snake physique, the man is strong with a lethal hand off. At this point I must mention Drew Woolford, playing his first game for the mighty 2s this season. In his role as full back he swept with confidence and counter attacked with a masterful edge. Not to be outdone, Mr Angry, AKA Jacob Cooke, used his sizable frame on the wing to close down space, and on reflection I think it right to use the word... intimidate, his opposite number. He is growing in stature with every game and is displaying attributes which “get under the opposition’s collective skin” to great effect.
The second half was commenced with Old Es kicking off to the Stone’s pack. The ball was popped to the blind side where the majestic Tolman got his hands on the ball and unleashed yet more magic. He gathered the kick which had been carefully placed behind the attackers and danced his way through the remaining defence. Fred Astaire would have been put to shame with the quick feet and Latino style hip movements that Tolman graced the field with. To top of the move he then showed Ashton just how to finish a try by performing an “Ash splash” to a much higher standard that its creator. At this point the heaving throng of supporters went wild and were almost delirious at witnessing such poise and grace. The Stones had regained the lead and were determined to learn from past disappointments and the bitter taste that throwing games away leaves in the mouth for some time.
Folkestone now had the bit between their teeth and from the kick off marched back up field with a series of running moves, quick rucks and thundering runs. Following a beautifully placed kick deep into the corner (Sorry, I didn’t see who kicked it because I had my head in a ruck!) the Old E’s fullback dropped the ball which resulted a scrum being awarded to Folkestone. The tight five attacked the scrum and split the opposition pack allowing good, clean ball for the backs to utilise. The ball was offloaded to Dublino , who had cut a fantastic line, as he crashed through three defenders to score in the shadow of the posts. In their own words, the “Italian Stallions” had landed (it could be said that after the celebrations on the club they looked distinctly like prancing horses!)
Folkestone used this opportunity to freshen up the team and sent on Adam Fullerton in place of Archer in the back row, while Ross Bloomfield replaced older (but most agree, more handsome) brother Adam in the front row.
Folkestone continued to play good rugby but could not add any points to the scoreboard. Old Es saw this as an opportunity and upped their game considerably. If it were not for the fresh legs of Fullerton and Bloomfield the younger, along with the great work from the rest of the team the opposition would have started to score points. A good number of minutes passed as the teams were at loggerheads with no movement in terms of points but Old Elthamians started to put pressure on the Folkestone team by playing their rugby in the Stone’s twenty-two. With the crowd a gasp, Tolman, the man who conducted proceedings in way that Sir Simon Rattle would have been envious of, was forced to leave the field with a muscle pull. The crowd’s despair was eased when they saw the erudite Seyhan Fell take the field after a long layoff as one of his legs had apparently stopped working properly. (Please note that this is not a medical opinion but rather one of a front row forward!). He came onto to rapturous applause as the mass of spectators encouraged him on his return. Fell slipped into the fullback role as Woolford, of the Drew variety, moved up to play scrum half. Folkestone remained under the cosh as Es piled on the pressure with well worked drives, sending their gargantuan runners to the gain line.
This pressure was taking its toll as Farrow had to leave the field with injury after playing a game which was way beyond his tender age. His running lines, strength and ability in the tackle seem to be that of a far more experience player. It will not be long before he is knocking on the first team door. When he does arrive he will be there for a long time to come. After a liberal application of WD40 to his rather past-it knees, Bloomfield was summoned back onto the field of play for the closing ten minutes, this meant the Bloomfield the younger was moved to the back row and Turner defying his years moved to the centre.
Elthamians continued to play attacking rugby and finally crossed the line to score which was converted. The tension was palpable of the side line. Fitchie could hardly watch as the closing minutes would be a tough ask for this young team against an older and bigger opposition who had their tails up. Within minutes of the restart, the referee had sent Drew Woolford to the bin for talking too much! (Honestly, he did!) This meant that Folkestone would have to see out the rest of the game with 14 men. Es saw this as an opportunity to snatch the victory. Folkestone worked hard and defended with their hearts and pride on their sleeves. After slaying the running giants time and again, a ruck was formed right under the Folkestone sticks. Proof of the fact that you can’t coach experience was evident as Mat Roots was the first to the break down and managed to get his huge, bear-like paws on the ball. The referee awarded a penalty to the home team which was cleared to touch to see the end of the game. The first feeling was one of relief, which quickly gave way to joy, utter joy. On speaking to the lads on Sunday, each and every one was really suffering with knocks aches and pains and strains. This shows that they really put their all into the game. I can say that I was in such a physical mess on Sunday that if we had lost that game I am fairly sure that I would have been pronounced clinically dead!

I think it fair to say that every man gave his all in the game and that picking a man of the match is almost impossible. Everyone ran hard, tackled hard and did their job better than their opposite number. However, special mentions must be given to Will Turner who shows great energy and the same level of passion as when he captained the first XV many moons ago. (I suppose the fact that Will manages to convince the referee to rest him for ten minutes each game with a convent yellow card gives him the opportunity to catch his breath!) Adam Tolman with more magical displays than Paul Daniels is a vital part of the team as is young Ryan Farrow, whom I have already waxed lyrical. We must not forget the man who hurts as much as any player when a loss is recorded, the man with the plan, Mr Leigh Fitchie. Without his guidance, patience and unfailing enthusiasm the team probably would have withdrawn from this tough league this season.
The celebrations in the clubhouse afterwards told the story so well…

(Editor's Note - a fantastic report of a fantastic performance by our 2s. They've not had it easy with many of last year's promotion winning squad unavailable this season and, of
course, just a few weeks ago there was a question as to them staying together as a squad. But Kieran Smith and Leigh Fitchie have inspired some great rugby from these lads, old and young. Get along to their matches. They deserve much support from all of us.)