Speedy Gannets kill sluggish Stones

When the days prior to the game mostly consist of frantic whatsapp messages begging Moles players to play and then on gameday itself your're confronted with the sight of of your hooker nursing a black coffee because he 'went to a friends house last night' you could be forgiven for thinking that today might not be your day.

However,to Captain Bens credit he somehow managed to raise 16 1/2 bodies,the 16th being a 17 year old with no adult rugby experience and the half being himself and it was game on,on a surprisingly perfect day for rugby at Mote Park.

The Gannets started like a house on fire with a quickliy recycled crash ball finding it's way to Martin Povey who did what you do when you're Kents strongest man and brush bodies out of your way en route to the try line.

A raft of penalties (bites figurative tongue) led to the Stones being camped out inside the Gees five.With the forwards being repelled by some excellent Gannets defending they elected to spin the ball out to the backs.A combination of a steal from Connor Watkins and the home side over commtting at the maul led to Craig Duvana receiving the ball and sprinting the length of the field to touch down ubder the posts.

The Gannets were pretty much already cruising at this early stage but again,penalties pegged them back inside their five where this time a superbly weighted clearance from Connor caused chaos in the Maidstone backs and Perri seized upon a botched kick for touch for the score.

Enough was enough said the ref and yet again the Gannets were marched back the length of the field where this time the defence was breached by what can generously be described as a slightly forward pass.No worries though.This was only a minor setback and half time was imminent,a sentiment that was reinforced when Deniss sliced through the home defence soon after for a 5-28 halftime lead.

The visitors started the second period much as they did the first with backs and forwards combining bruising runs with with excellent link up play and it wasn't long before Deniss crossed for what he thought was his second score only for it to be ruled out for an alleged forward pass.The Gees pressed on nonetheless and it was Craig Duvana that added his second when seemingly surrounded by tacklers and going nowhere,burst free and once again sprinted under the posts,this time from the 22.

With the game in the bag the Gannets then proceeded to pretty much switch off with an albeit lucky bounce off a Ben Baker kick for clearance allowing the Maidstone winger a clear run in for a score and then some poor cover tackling allowed them to further reduce the arrears either side of Deniss' second score..

An overall excellent team performance today but Connor Watkins at 10 has to be the Gannets man of the match,being directly responsible for two tries,kicking all but one of his conversions and superbly marshallling both backs and forwards throughout.

Next week the Gannets host Vigo who beat Maidstone by a similar score last week so a tough game is indeed anticipated,especially after two narrow Gannets wins last season.

Until next time...