Maidenhead Rugby Club Mini Tournament

Under 12’s Report

This years tournament was almost a repeat of last years: played in bright sunshine albeit with a bracing wind and with the Maidenhead squad just failing to gain the ultimate reward. This year’s nemesis was Ruislip whereas last year’s was Windsor.

The weekend started in ominous fashion – with a call from Hazelmere on Saturday evening withdrawing from the competition. The Coaching Team had the option to reduce the tournament to 5 teams or try and put a second team out. A frantic round of calls found 6 willing volunteers to turn out at very short notice. This allowed Maidenhead were able to field two teams: the Purples and Reds

If the weekend had got off to an inauspicious start the first Maidenhead move of the tournament could not have been bettered. The Purples played the large but immobile Winchester in the first game and in the opening minutes, a sweeping move saw the ball moved through at least a dozen pair of hands for Chris Bennetts, who is in a fine run of form, to go over for a wonderful try. Unfortunately, the team was never quite able to reach these heights again although great support and mobility saw Maidenhead score 4 further tries through Oliver Small, Luke Knowles, Ollie Styles and Elliot Hawkes. A feature of the match was the return to form of Tom Hocking whose illusive running set up a number of try scoring situations. Maidenhead 25 – Winchester Nil

The second match was against West Country visitors Cleve. Tom Kay, whose powerful running was a feature of the day, burst through a number of tackles to open the scoring. This was followed up by a try for Scott Lowden, who has returned to the club after a couple of years absence and a second try for the ever-alert Elliot Hawkes. Maidenhead 15 - Cleve Nil

The Purples knew that the key games were to be against Windsor and Ruislip. The Windsor game had added importance, as revenge was required for last year’s tournament defeat. Maidenhead could not have made a worse start to the match as a telegraphed pass allowed Windsor to intercept 15 meters from the Maidenhead line for an easy score. Maidenhead looked for the equalising score and this came from yet another powerful run from Tom Kay.

This left all to play for in the second half. The Purples looked to have the game sown up when Sam Stefan went over wide out on the left. Windsor, who have a well balanced side, fought back well and scored an equalising try close to the final whistle. So Maidenhead’s only consolation was that this result denied Windsor any chance of defending their title. Maidenhead 10 – Windsor 10

The final match was against Ruislip who had looked the form team all day with a large mobile pack and outstanding pace on the wings. A draw would give Ruislip the title whereas the Purples required a win to succeed. Maidenhead started well and were unlucky not to get the opening score but the close driving of the Ruislip forwards held the key. Ruislip were on top for long periods of the match and only some determined tackling from Mark Williams and Tom Lewis kept the Maidenhead line clear. Steven Garrett, who played an aggressive game in the loose, had to be substituted following one particular corner flag incident and Scott Lowden came on in the centre. The Maidenhead scrummage, lead by Mark Williams, Ashley Hanks and Patrick McSweeney had held up well all day but began to creak in this game and the possession dried up. One try was to decide the match and ultimately the competition and that came half way through the second half as a Ruislip forward drove over from close range. Despite some determined runs from the second row pairing of Tom Plumer and Luke Knowles there was no way through and Ruislip ended up deserved winners. Maidenhead Nil – Ruislip 5

So, Maidenhead Purples had to settle for runners up spot and the Fair Play award.

The Maidenhead Reds were up against it all tournament but only really suffered on the score board against Ruislip and Cleve. The Windsor and Winchester games were both very close and it was a very creditable performance by an inexperienced team. Jack Robinson and Mitchell Batten both did well in their first Tournament appearances. Andrew Foot and Drew Allen both tackled like demons. Chris Lennox impressed with his catching and running from full back. Chris Parrott and Tristan Wray passed well with the limited ball available. Scott Lowden showed his versatility in playing most positions in the backs. Ashley Hanks and Andrew Jones contributed to what was a solid set piece performance from the pack. Oliver Small and Tom Morgan who split the hooking responsibilities were terriers in the loose. The only Reds try came from another strong run from Tom Kay against Windsor. It was decided not to play the Purples v the Reds as this would have had no effect on the final competition result.