A rather turgid display by both sides in this League match.

Folkestone 2ndXV 10 Ash 1stXV 14
Saturday 5th October 2019. Shepherd Neame Kent Rural 4. Report by Steve Hughes.

Folkestone fielded a mixed side due to injuries in the 1st XV who were without Eustace, Brooks, Roots, Godden J, Deakin and Ellis. Captain of the day was Jamie Stewart in the absence of Will O'Donnell. The opening three minutes set the pattern for the rest of the game with a scrum, penalty, line out, penalty, line out, penalty scrum and it continued like that for most of the game. The ball failed to flow and the wings on both sides were redundant for most of the match.
Recent additions to the Senior Squads were included in this game which saw Dan Pitkin, Dan Sherratt, Ciaran Hughes, Thomas McKenzie, Charlie Hewitt, Will Thomson and Rory Ball-Reeder taking part and looking promising for the future of the Club.
Breaks in the early stages by Aaron Robbins and Jamie Stewart kept Ash in their own half and Rory Ball-Reader got close to the visitor’s line but the attack was repelled. Ash missed a penalty, but Folkestone kept the pressure on with Sherratt, Porter, Beale and Hughes in the fore and maintaining territorial advantage.
Thomas McKenzie was clearing the ball off the top of the line out to give Jack Cox time to set the line in motion, but it never really flowed out to the wings.
However, just prior to half time Ash created an overlap out on the right to run around and score under the post for a converted try. 0 – 7.
The second half followed the pattern of the first half and there was such a flurry of replacements I just couldn't keep check!!!
Jeremie Cowell carried the ball over for Folkestone only to be held up but from the resulting scrum Jack Cox scored but failed with the conversion. 5 - 7.
Ash retaliated with the best move of the match when a miss pass saw their left wing cut inside and streak to the line with ease. The conversion then gave Ash a 5-14 point lead. Folkestone hit back with a series of pick-and-drives and it appeared that Ciaran Hughes scored an unconverted try. Final Score 10 – 14.

Folkestone could have played a more expansive game which would have benefitted them against a heavier Ash side who were strong in defence. However, with such a number of players showing promise it will be interesting to see the format for next week’s game.

Team: Rory Ball-Reeder; Will Thomson, Fred Hewitt, Mason Colchester Long, Luke McAdam; Aaron Robbins, Jack Cox;
Bob Porter, Gareth Webber, Dan Sherratt; Jake Beale, Ben Lewis; Ciaran Hughes, James Stewart (Capt.), Tom MacKenzie.

Subs: Jeremie Cowell, Kieran Smith, Dan Pitkin

Scorers: Jack Cox 5; Ciaran Hughes 5.