Castaways’ improvement comes far too late

Lacklustre Faversham allowed visiting Footscray to build a 28-point first-half lead on their way to a convincing Kent 2 win on Saturday, writes Jack Williams. There was little for the home crowd to celebrate in the first half as the Castaways struggled to get into the game. The normally tenacious Faversham forwards were subdued by the bigger and bulkier opposition and were unable to control possession as they are often used to. The heavier and more mobile Footscray pack dominated the scrum, moving the pack around to ensure the following breakdowns were also controlled. Faversham struggled to retain possession and any inroads into the opposition half saw the ball overturned and returned, Footscray’s fly-half’s powerful boot pinning Faversham back in their half. A sequence of missed tackles proved the catalyst for tries coming for backs and forwards alike. The Footscray backs took first blood with a crash ball runner breaking away from weak first tackles to cross. The forwards came shortly after with a rolling maul off the line-out trundling over from 10 metres out. All too quickly Faversham were staring at a 28-point deficit going into half-time. The second half saw Faversham bring a much better structure to their game, holding the Footscray attack at bay they could finally start moving forwards, albeit slowly. The Footscray defence afforded them little space to run but the Castaways persisted and eventually found their way to the line. Repeated rucks down the middle opened up the slightest gap and with numbers out wide Pete Bulteel threw a wellplaced miss-pass directly into the hands of Craig Hunt to cross. This would prove Faversham’s only highlight of the game. Although they managed to hold off Footscray for the remainder of the game, a lack of energy and enthusiasm from both sides in the final quarter saw the game come to a stagnated end.