Having broken a long term bogey in beating Folkestone away, earlier on in the season, Lewes hoped to do the double as the Kent side were welcomed to the Stanley Turner Ground. It appeared that snorkels rather than boots may have been the attire of choice, however on closer inspection, the 1st XV pitch was in remarkably good condition. Due to several injuries and other commitments, the Lewes backline had some unfamiliar faces in it who had been promoted from the 2nd XV.

It was Folkestone who started the better of the two sides and drew first blood. One pushover attempt from a five metre scrum had already been repelled but the opposition went over on the second attempt. Lewes losing a player early as prop Tom Gardner was replaced due to illness after the unsuccessful conversion. Head Coach, Chris Roberts did not mince his words with the squad behind the posts and the side reacted accordingly. A period of sustained pressure led to Lewes scoring through Nathan Lowen. A cute flick by Gus Taylor exploited the gaps that Folkestone were showing around the breakdown for Lowen to charge over. Owen Jones adding the conversion. A penalty to the visitors just before the half time break was probably what they deserved to lead 8-7 at the whistle.

The second half started at a far higher level of play than had been demonstrated in the first. Whilst the conditions were testing for both sides, there was no doubting that Lewes were starting to dominate the arm wrestle. Will Feltham finished a team try superbly, having seen the ball move through several pairs of hands. The cliché of being weakest after you have scored rang true again. The jury is out whether the Folkestone kick off was pinpoint perfection or a fortuitous shank. Either way, it fell for their man of the match to collect and race 30 metres downfield. With Lewes scrambling, Folkestone went over to give the easiest of conversions and reinstall their lead (15-12). Sadly, luck became a cruel mistress to Lewes. Having already made two replacements in the game, a further two were required, leading to the side playing their 14 men against the opposition 15. Folkestone capitalised to score again in the corner and extend their lead to eight points going into the last quarter. Further challenge was added when another injury led to the home side playing the final 13 minutes with 13 men. What was extraordinary was this may have been the best that Lewes played all day as they camped in the Folkestone half, almost scoring on two occasions. It would have been the stuff of fantasy and legend had this match been turned around and Folkestone made the long journey home with smiles on their faces.

Head Coach Chris Roberts said after the match "We were not good enough in the first half. Our heads were not in the right place and it showed. We were better in the second half and really dominated large periods of play. To play 1 man down is tough but to play 2 down is almost impossible. That said I was delighted with the play when we were numbers down as we executed and thought through things much better. I'm disappointed but perhaps not as much as Gregor Townsend!"

Lewes 1st XV have a week off next week but the 2nd XV play their East Sussex Final of the Sussex Salver against St Francis. 2pm KO at the Stanley Turner Ground.