12/09/09 v Folkestone Lost 05 - 46 

THE first London League Three game of the season proved a game of one half for Hastings & Bexhill's inexperienced new team: The first half, during which they competed fiercely, asked a number of questions of their confident and talented opponents, and looked like a team to take on all-comers.
 
In the second half there was only one team in it. H&B's experimental backline lost all confidence in the face of Folkestone's creative midfield and deadly back three, and what had been a manageable 17-5 deficit at halftime, quickly degenerated into a drubbing, as defensive organisation crumbled and attacking options dried up.
 
But this was not wholly unexpected, given the need to blood new players in unaccustomed positions, and while touchline Eeyores predictably predicted a season of gloom and despondency (their natural habitat, it has to be said), there were hopeful signs for those willing to recognise them.
 
For a start, H&B's pack looks a big, strong unit, with plenty of players willing and able to carry the ball - which is what they did in the first half. In farce the pattern of the first 40 minutes was H&B running through the phases, picking and driving, rumbling the ball forward, then moving it out to the backs. This tactic was 95 percent successful, keeping Folkestone on the back foot, and their capable defence stretched, for much of the half. Trouble was, the other five percent consisted of Folkestone turning over the ball and proceeding to move it fluently through their hands, employing clever running lines to outflank the desperate defence and run in tries against the general run of play.
 
Thus they went ahead after 15 minutes, H&B countered by charging down a kick and working the ball over the line through Mike Lawles five minutes later, only for the hosts to score a second try minutes after that, and a third ten minutes later - again through their pacey, powerful left wing, who brushed aside three would-be tacklers.
 
On the credit side of the balance sheet for H&B were some good lineouts, decent set scrums, excellent ball carrying and far better work round the breakdown than the previous week. Indeed, thanks to both sides' discipline and one of the best refereeing displays they've encountered, few penalties were conceded.
 
The backline showed some promise running the ball, which reached the wings more often in one half than in all the pre-season games.
 
The second half was all Folkestone's, with some dire tackling, which the players concerned will urgently want to work on to restore battered pride. But even amid the carnage, there were crumbs of comfort. The spirit of the team stayed high, and it was they who came back in the last 10 minutes with a brave rearguard effort, and looked the fitter of the two sides.
 
Head coach Simon Casebourne, backs coach Kit Claughton, returning to coaching action after knee surgery, and the players themselves still have a lot to do, and a list of urgent priorities - notably defensive work, handling skills, and that most elusive of commodities, confidence - in themselves and their teammates. There are some players who would have benefitted from a gentler, more protected, journey into the first team coalface; but needs must. With Heathfield at home and Whitstable away as the next two games, and a couple of key pack members likely to be unavailable, the learning curve has to be quick.
 
In the balance against that - and in the light of last season's personal disasters - player morale is high, and the will to improve and to win is there.
 
The next few games will be hard to win for this team-in-progress, but it has shown glimpses of the talent and character required to rise above any early disappointments and build a successful season.

Team: Lovick (Roche), Davies, Spatchcock, Mahoney (Clifford), Adams, Piotrowski (man-of-the-match), Sandeman, M Lawless, P Claughton ^©, Brooks, Campbell, Milham, Diedericks, Vine, Petty (Steadman).