Whitstable are up to third in Shepherd Neame Kent 2 after another impressive attacking display away to Erith on Saturday.

The Blues grabbed eight tries to go with the 14 they scored against Askeans in their previous outing, making it 142 points in the last fortnight, with just eight conceded.

Bobby Powell, who scored five last week, this time claimed a hat-trick with Josh Booty adding two more to his tally.

Mark Harris, James Garland and Sam Holness were the other try scorers. Player-coach Mal Graves admitted the Blues were not quite as clinical as they had been against Askeans but said the result proved again just what they are capable of when they get things right.

He said: “We made quite a slow start and the first half was a bit stop-start. We did not really execute the basics but once we got into our rhythms and our patterns, we played some good rugby. We said to the lads after we’ve gone there with better teams in the past and only just scraped victory. Now we’re winning 54- 0 and we’re analysing it feeling a bit flat which shows the progress the players have made.”

Graves says being able to play a settled side has helped and at Erith the lineout was particularly effective with hooker Harris throwing well.

Tony Cairney had another solid game at centre while experienced second row Duncan Mackinnon has added nous to the pack. The Blues are without a game this weekend but Graves feels Saturday’s performance gives them a good platform for their next two matches, at home to unbeaten Royal Bank of Scotland (who are second) and away to Footscray (fourth).

He also revealed that he gave his players the chance to have a week off from training but they turned the offer down.
He added: “It’s a good place to be at the moment and the boys appreciate that you don’t get anything without hard work. I can’t remember the last time Whitstable were third in this league but the next two games will tell us a bit more about where we are at the moment.”

Match Report credit to KM group