Folkestone U14’s 14 vs. 47 Maidstone U14 ‘s

On a perfect rugby playing day, a mutual decision was taken to play a game of three periods to enable all players from the two large squads of 24 players plus to gain valuable playing time.

The game kicked off and the Folkestone Squad, true to form, were slow off the mark, conceding 24 points to the strong and determined attacking play of their Maidstone opponents. A further bout of missed tackling brought the first period of play to a close with the score at 31 points to nil in favour of the visitors.

On a very much more positive and uplifting note, the second period of play saw a demonstration of committed and skilful rugby from both sides. The rewards were evident when a long pass found George Way, taking the ball forward and smashed through two tackles to score in the corner. Doug Wood, from the touch line, added the extras, 31 points to 7.

On 38 minutes, following an unconverted Maidstone try, Sid Gurung made a rapid break before skilfully offloading to Charlie Green ,who scorched past the Maidstone winger, to run 30 metres before touching down under the posts. The converted try left the second period scoring 36 points to 14.

The final period of play got underway with a largely unchanged side and now the Stones were really into their stride. It was unfortunate that injury to both George Way and Cameron Sanders resulted in a virtually simultaneous departure from the pitch. Collecting a short distance clearance attempt from the Folkestone scrum half, the Maidstone full back returned at pace, to run the length of the touch line, to score, unopposed.

It should be mentioned that excellent tackling and ripping of the loose ball, from James Evans, Jack Lord, Sid Gurung and Dylan Himbury made the last 40 minutes a great spectacle for the Folkestone supporters. The final whistle saw the score of 47 points to 14 in favour of the visitors. However, the removal of the unflattering first third score would have resulted in a much closer score of 16 points to 14.The lads should take heart from that, especially against a team who have suffered only two defeats in eight games this season.