21/11/09 v Folkestone (RFU Senior Vase) Lost 03 - 53

HASTINGS & BEXHILL’s spirited draw at Horsham a fortnight earlier was revealed as a false dawn in the third round of the RFU Senior Vase on Saturday, as the team fell apart in the fourth quarter, leaking five embarrassingly easy-to-score tries in the course of ten minutes.

For the first time, H&B seemed to roll over, with several players watching motionless as Folkestone jubilantly ran riot with the ball.

In mitigation, some gave their all - and certainly for the first 50 minutes there were signs of attacking verve in the backs, and H&B managed to pressurise Folkestone with everything but their finishing, despite their lack of set piece ball.

For the first 10 minutes of the second half and trailing by a theoretically catchable 14 point margin, H&B played intelligent, effective rugby. They moved the ball out contact, where in the first half they were either penalised or turned over far too often, and in the process created scoring chances they should have taken, had their confidence been higher.

But Folkestone - faster and fitter than some of H&B’s leaden-footed squad - hit back, running the ball at every opportunity, and the tries mounted, as the visitors’ defence foundered.

It was a bitter experience for a team that a fortnight earlier had shown not only how hard they could fight, but that they could play a bit of rugby too. True, on Saturday they were badly let down by a couple of key players making themselves unavailable, one at the last minute. As a result they scarcely won a lineout, which had provided them with a stream of fast ball at Horsham, and they suffered in the scrum. With such a small squad compared to their league rivals, it’s hard to rise above team-mates’ lack of commitment.

Added to that the indefatigable Ben Campbell was unwell on the day, though he gamely came on as a substitute. And more ominously, Kit Claughton’s reconstructed knee is still giving him serious problems and curtailing his mobility.

There were good moments, skilled passages, brave actions - but on Saturday this looked like a team lacking the quality, the fitness - and ultimately alas the will - to compete at this level. Relying on a handful of able players to carry them just won’t do in this league. The performance at Horsham made H&B’s future look rosy. Saturday’s gave it a leaden hue. The squad will hope the latter was as misleading as the former turned out to be. But they’ll need to dredge up a set of skills and qualities more tangible than hope if they want to regain that winning feeling.

H&B: Sheppard, Hopkins, Spatchurst, Clifford, Adams, Pearce (Umpleby), Madigan (R McManus), Piotrowski, P Claughton (c), K Claughton, Petty (Campbell), Diedericks, Sandeman, Steadman, Lee.