Castaways back in groove Rugby

FAVERSHAM DARTFORD V

Faversham returned to action in Shepherd Neame Kent League 2, running in five tries against Dartford Valley at the rec on Saturday.

Nine points from the boot of Ollie Jaynes completed the win, earned with a performance described as solid by coach Rob Dengate.

Dengate added: “We reacted well to the performance of the away side by scoring five very well-worked tries. Due to the long break from the intensity of league fixtures our execution wasn’t as high as it normally is. However, I expect this will improve as we get back into the league and cup fixtures in the coming weeks.”

Back in league action after an eight-week break, the Castaways struggled to match the intensity of their opponents during the first half.

Dartford Valley seemed to be first to any loose ball and were consistently successful in getting over the gain-line, especially in the first 20 minutes.

Two penalties inside the first 10 minutes gave the visitors a 6-0 lead before a move involving Hodges and Jaynes ended with skipper Mcdermott scoring a try which Jaynes converted.

Valley regained the lead after driving Faversham off from their own ball. A mix-up in the back line led to the visiting scrumhalf breaking through a huge dog-leg in the midfield to restore Dartford’s lead.

Gray very nearly hit straight back on an excellent counter attack before a period of sustained pressure resulted in a fine team try finished off by Hodges to put the home side 15-13 in front.

A pushover try gave Valley the lead again but the half finished at 20-20 after a moment of magic from Mills. He collected possession around the halfway line and beat two men before creating a two-on-one with Gray outside him.

Ignoring the option to pass to Gray, Mills used his power and skill to beat two more men before scoring a superb solo effort out wide.

The second half was much more of a one-sided affair and Faversham were unlucky to only add two more tries.

The first came after 55 minutes when Ollie Jaynes found brother Simon in space and he then used his power to run in from the 22 before beating the full-back.

The conversion pushed the score to 27-20 and after Stacey Woolf had been unlucky to be held up over the line, Faversham completed the scoring with a try described by Dengate as one of the best he had seen in a long time.

Jaynes got front-foot ball and Egleton carried strongly before completing a one handed offload to Eddie Stott, who then beat two Valley players in contact before hitting Jaynes with another offload. Jaynes drew the last two defenders towards him before a final off-load to Luke Garnham sent the home side under the posts for a fifth and final try.

Faversham are now level on points with Sittingbourne in second place and eight points behind leaders Cliffe Crusaders, with a game in hand on both.

They travel to Ash in the quarter final of the Kent Salver Cup on Saturday before travelling to Lordswood the week after in what will be a physically demanding encounter.

Team:

Potts, Egleton, S Woolf, Mcdermott, Harmsworth, Mills, Kingdon, Garnham, Tabor, O Jaynes, Gray, S Jaynes, J Hodges, Hall, SanderChampney: Reps:t Woolf, D Hodges, Stott

Debutant Samu Sarate claimed a hat-trick as Faversham 2nds won 39-17 at Folkestone 3rds in a friendly.

Sarate’s opening try followed a kick over the top from fly-half Pete Bulteel, with his second coming after he had broken through the opposition 22.

In between, Jacob GanderComp t o n o u t w i t t e d the Folkestone back line to finish strongly but the home side then grabbed two quick tries. On the stroke of half-time Terry Kindred evaded three Folkestone tackles to score under the posts.

Gander- Compton’s second try was followed by a first for Bulteel, before man-of-the-match Sarante completed his treble.