On Sunday 8^th October 2000 Maidenhead experienced the highs and lows of their first Festival of Rugby, organised by Cobham RFC at Fairmile Lane near Esher. The weather was kind and the pitches heavy from the previous heavy day’s downpour.

The home team displayed some good attacking rugby to wear down Maidenhead’s good defensive qualities. These were ably demonstrated by Guy Sears, Toby Harrison, Jason Merritt and Ryan Sherwin, although Cobham won a greater degree of possession from rucks and mauls to create their two scoring opportunities and win 0-14.

Maidenhead regained their composure to display good attacking moves in their match against Chobham, setting up a blind side opportunist try for scrum half Jonathan Lowther. New found confidence enabled Paul Roberts at fly half to drive through to score whilst Jamie Ford playing at full back converted. The ebb and flow of the game enabled Maids to develop good passing resulting in tries for swift footed Oliver Woodward to extend the lead. Sustained attacking play eventually led to another try to make the score 19-0

In the semi - final Maids were unable to sustain possession against a well-drilled Rosslyn Park team. The tenacious tackling of William Page helped to provide an opportunity for an early score from Woodward with conversion by Alec Roberts (full back) However, Rosslyn improved their rucking and mauling to create to second half scores and win 7-14.

All was not lost and Maids re-grouped for a third place playoff against Camberley and fierce forward play forced Christian Shepherd to retire for a short time. Luke Fletcher demonstrated the teams spirit by making the first of two thrusting solo breaks from loose maul positions. Individual runs from Guy Swaddling demonstrated Maids balance and resolve to attack , eventually resulting in a scoring opportunity against larger opposition. The linking back play between Robert Whittle helped George Colbourn to drive through and score, although the various conversions would not seem to go over.

Maids eventually ran in a final try from Paul Roberts to win a well deserved third place with 17-5 scoreline.

Match Reports - 8th October 2000

Game (1) Maidenhead Vs Cobham
Maidenhead’s first game was against the home team who later went on to win the tournament and prove just how strong they were. The game opened with Maidenhead putting Cobham under pressure but a good break by Cobham ‘s backs created a try which was successfully converted half time score 0-7. Another converted second half try made the score 0-14.

Game (2) Maidenhead Vs Chobham
The match was closely fought in the opening minutes. However from the scrum Jonathan Lowther quickly collected the ball and scored a much-needed blind- side try to get Maidenhead off the mark. This was soon followed by an excellent individual try through the middle from Paul Roberts, which was cleanly converted by Jamie Ford. Maidenhead now began to flow well and a pass from Toby Harrison on the right though to Guy Swaddling running diagonally, passed a wide ball out to Oliver Woodward on the wing who ran the ball in for a try. Another try nearly came within the next few minutes when Paul Roberts crossed the line but the ball was judged as held up, this was followed closely by another run from the half way line by Robert Whittle who was taken out only a yard from the line. The pressure finally paid off when Paul Roberts crossed the line in his second try. Final score 19-0 putting Maidenhead into the semi-final.

Game (3) Semi - Final, Maidenhead Vs Rosslyn Park
Superb tackling from William Page put the pressure on right from the start. Excellent passing from left to right led Jason Merritt to move the ball across the centre spreading an excellent pass out to Oliver Woodward who was able to run the ball over the line for a try, this was ably converted by Alec Roberts half time 7-0.

Rosslyn Park piled on the pressure right from the start of the second half and superb defending by Christian Shepherd, Guy Sears Jason Merritt and Ryan Sherwin kept them out. However sustained pressure from Rosslyn Park earned them a well-deserved equaliser levelling the score, despite excellent tackling from Alec Roberts and William Page.

Rosslyn Park continued to apply pressure in the Maidenhead half and scored a second winning try with the last move of the game. 7-14

Third place play-off: Maidenhead vs Camberley
Fierce tackling took its toll early with Christian Shepherd sustaining an injury to the forearm. Guy Swaddling scored an excellent individual try through the middle avoiding several tackles to cross the line. Camberley quickly returned to level the score. Luke Fletcher won the ball from a maul, and took advantage of a blind side move, providing a power run from deep in his own half brushing the opposition aside only to be held up over the line. However an excellent team effort saw the ball cross the field from left to right with George Colbourn driving through numerous tackles to score. Paul Roberts sealed the victory with his third try of the day for Maidenhead to win 17-5

In the U11 final Cobham eventually beat Rosslyn Park to win this tournament, Rosslyn Park were second and Maidenhead came third. A very good result against well disciplined teams.

Maidenhead U11 Team:

Forwards:
1) Luke Fletcher (Prop)
2) Toby Harrison (Prop)
3) Guy Sears (Prop)
4) Ryan Sherwin (Hooker)
5) William Page (Hooker)
6) Christian Shepherd (Second row)
7) Jason Merritt (Second row)
8) Jonathan Lowther (Scrum Half)

Backs:
9) Paul Roberts (Fly half)
10) Guy Swaddling (Inside centre/scrum half)
11) Robert Whittle (outside centre)
12) George Colbourn (outside centre)
13) Oliver Woodward (left wing)
14) Alec Roberts (full back/ right wing)
15) Jamie Ford ( full back )