After half a day of rain Cranbrook arrived at the well-appointed Folkestone ground to find the rain was stopping, the pitch was well grassed, the wind was gusty across and down the ground towards the adjacent channel tunnel railway line. but how would it play?
The answer was provided quickly during warm up as the players struggled to keep their feet particularly when changing direction. When the game commenced It soon became apparent that Folkestone would want to play an expansive game as their pack was clearly going to struggle at scrum time. This they did with a mixture of kicks to try and get position and attempts to move the ball wider. The response from Cranbrook was similar, but no clear chances were created, the pitch conditions having a decisive influence.
The first score came after 20 minutes when Cranbrook gained good field position and Folkestone had a defensive 5 metre scrum. As Cranbrook pushed them back towards the goal line the ball came out suddenly on the Folkestone side but in goal and the alert Captain Hamish Gillanders was quick to dive on the ball, the conversion hitting the post.
Folkestone responded soon and a penalty kicked to 5 metres was taken at the lineout and Cranbrook were unable to halt the drive to the line. The conversion from wide out was missed.
The pitch by now was turning muddy and that the kick off by Fabian Rimmer gained no height and did not make 10 metres highlighted the difficulty players were facing in conditions more redolent of yesteryear.
Cranbrook had one further chance to score when awarded a penalty close to the posts, understandably they chose to scrum but this time they were penalised, and the chance was lost so the score remained 5-5 at half time and was a fair reflection of the balance of play as Folkestone were competitive in the loose.
Cranbrook were probably content at this point as the slight slope and wind would favour them in the second half. After 8 minutes a good penalty from Theo Rimmer from at least 35 metres put Cranbrook ahead but the home team responded in kind when Cranbrook were penalised. A nice Cranbrook backs move as Theo Rimmer looped round almost produced a score as Folkestone just managed to get underneath him on the try line, and Cranbrook continued to press. Retaining position on the clubhouse side of the pitch substitute lock Josh Parkes found himself with the ball a few metres out, he had the poise and strength to score despite 2 or 3 would be tacklers, Theo Rimmer converting.
Back came Folkestone and a close-range score and conversion levelled the scores approaching the midpoint of the half. They might have had another when receiving another close to the try line penalty, but the tapped penalty was messed up. Whilst both teams commendably sought to run the ball and, in the conditions, there were surprisingly few knock-ons, it was Cranbrook who were looking more dangerous and who had the better field position. At times because of the tied game there was an abundance of kicks in midfield, but as earlier there was no real advantage gained by either side as catching remained secure.
With about 10 minutes remaining Fabian Rimmer was able to put a penalty from just inside his own half well inside the Folkestone 22 with a huge kick. After a couple of passages of play Cranbrook were able to run a move left and the returning centre Rory Goodger was a able to loop around to make the extra man, having the pace to utilize the space, he scored unchallenged near the corner.
Cranbrook were able to see out the remaining minutes comfortably, but the heavy, muddy pitch conditions took their toll as a number of players went down injured and fatigued in the last few minutes as play became scrappy.
A deserved win for the visitors who put the difficulties of last week behind them with a committed and controlled performance managing to play some attractive rugby in the treacherous conditions, but it was the work rate of the forwards that was probably the deciding factor, surely a case of Strength and Honour.
Match report courtesy of Philip Rimmer.