The win was Whitstable’s fifth is a row – four of which have come in the league – although they were given a real test by their neighbours on a day when conditions were far from conductive.

Blues skipper Ben Cliff had said beforehand that he expected a challenging afternoon from the Castaways and he was not disappointed.

He said: “We’ve had a few close games against Faversham and this was no different. The weather certainly did not help, it killed the lineout which was not good for us because we’ve worked hard to make it more of an attacking threat for us. They had a few attacks in the second half but never really looked like scoring and we always felt we were in control.

“They tried a bit and afterwards their captain said the difference between you and us is that you are well drilled, you can see you train together.”

Faversham put the first points on the board with an early penalty but Whitstable responded quickly with a try from Fly-half Marck Olive.

Will Reid and newcomer Jamie Piggins both also crossed the line before half time although a mistake by centre Luke Bowers – when he failed to ground the ball behind his own line – let Faversham in for a converted try.

The home side’s only other points came from another penalty while Ben Cliff’s try, this time converted by Andrew Huey, ensured the bonus point for the visitors.

Faversham’s cause was not helped by a coulpe of yellow cards but Cliff said while the game was occasionally feisty thing never got out of hand.

Tony Cairney marked his return to the side at centre with some excellent defensive work while 18-year-old winger Reid continues to improve in leaps and bounds.

Despite the win Whitisble lost top spot on points to Brockleians who ran out 57-0 winners at home to Snowdown.

The Blues are at home to Askeans on Saturday (3PM) and will be hosting a VPs lunch.

Match report credit to KM group