Maidenhead entered an Under 11 squad to the Teddington tournament for the first time and found themselves matched against Havant, Chobham and Sutton & Epsom. In the other pool were London Irish, Teddington, Richmond and Ealing.

Our first game was against Sutton & Epsom This was a hard fought game with Maidenhead emerging victorious after good support play from George Thomas fed Hal Orchard to score a try, which Iain Whiteford converted. Strong defence kept Sutton and Epsom out and the game was won.

The next match was against a team of very large players from Havant. Once again Maidenhead’s forwards provided a solid foundation for the backs to move the ball about. In the first half Maidenhead scored a try through George Thomas after a well judged kick upfield from Shiv Khindria. Once again Iain Whiteford converted. In the second half Havant came back strongly and scored a try but were unable to convert and the game was won 7-5. Adam Callaway deserves mention for bravery after a ruck collapsed on top of him, but happily after a visit to the ambulance he was pronounced no more than bruised.

The final pool game against Chobham saw a feast of attacking rugby, with Josh Spooner at the forefont, repeatedly held up with the line within his grasp. Great attacking moves saw Darren Chouls in the heat of the action and Piers Baron heavily involved. In the end pressure told and tries came from Josh Spooner, George Thomas and full-back Matthew Smith after a fine break through the middle. All 3 tries were converted by Iain Whiteford.

Having won the pool Maids went on to face Ealing in the semi-final. Here the squad’s luck ran out, with two fine tries, one by Hal Orchard, one by Sam Maguire, both being disallowed. Despite a very tough battling performance, the side eventually lost out to two scores from Ealing which were allowed.

The whole squad received medals for a great performance at a very enjoyable tournament.

Squad member Daniel Williams deserves a special mention for helping out Richmond in their games against Ealing and Teddington – he played very well for them in both games. Aaron George also stepped into the breach for the game against London Irish.

The squad:

Hal Orchard, Danny Kier, Adam Callaway, Aaron George, Josh Spooner, George Thomas, Iain Whiteford, Piers Baron, Darren Chouls, Sam Maguire, Shiv Khindria, Matthew Smith, Daniel Williams.