Faversham

Faversham Castaways secured first win of 2016 with the added joy of a fourtry bonus point in a 22-17 win at Askeans, although it was a far from convincing display. After a 28-0 win in the return fixture, the opening phases suggested a repeat performance was on the cards, although early optimism quickly dissipated and a succession of quick breaks led the home team to within five metres of the line and allowed them to go 3-0 up through a penalty. The visitors hit back and after a couple of half-breaks across the pitch, with Matt Suter leading the charge, the breakthrough came when Nick Kingdon broke two tackles to score. After the break, Faversham again dominated the opening phases and edged closer to the Askeans’ try line with slick passing. However, a careless pass was floated into the path of an oncoming defender who raced 70 metres clear to put the home team back in front. Faversham quickly responded with quick hands putting Billy Egleton over in the corner but multiple chances to put the result beyond doubt went wayward as Faversham proved to be their own worst enemy. The visitors finally secured the game in the final 15 minutes with Dave Tabor repeatedly sniping round the fringes of a weary ruck to take the team into the opposition 22 and Olly Jaynes converting the territory into points with two quick scores in similar fashion, carving through a dog-leg gap left in the Askean line. Askeans profited from a complacent defence to cross for an all-too-easy consolation try in the closing minutes but Faversham held on to win. Faversham: G.sladden, R.chipperton, B.egleton, M.suter, E.stott, S.oatley, N.kingdon, F.iron, D.tabor, O.jaynes, C.harmsworth, J.hodges, C.hunt, J.williams, T.woolf, P.ehmann.

Faversham hosted their first women’s rugby tournament with teams from Ashford, Faversham and Maidstone competing at the beginners’ event. The opening fixture between Faversham and Maidstone – with nearly half of the players starting their first ever game – saw Maidstone steal the win against the home favourites. Ashford showed their experience in game two, dominating the scrums and breakdowns to defeat Faversham and also sawoff Maidstone to win the tournament. Faversham’s women are looking forward to playing their second fixture next month and welcome new players of all abilities to their Tuesday training sessions, 7.30pm at the Abbey School.