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U12s champions at Cleve for 3rd year running 23rd April 2006 |
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Maidenhead Under 12s retained their title to make it a hat-trick of wins at the Cleve Festival on Sunday. The first game was a tense affair against old rivals Clifton, as the side struggled to find their game after an early start and a long-ish journey down the M4. Markus Olivier gave Maids the lead with a powerful run, but Clifton fought back to level things and it looked for a while as if that was how things would stay. In the second half, however, Chris Dow read an opposition play well and came in off his wing to intercept and run two thirds of the pitch to make the winning score. The next opponents were…..the 2nd Maidenhead squad that had entered the Tournament on the basis that there was to have been a “B” group. Sadly this was not to be, but the 2nd squad overall acquitted itself very well against strong opposition, with Hal Orchard once again showing strong leadership skills (and great handling skills) and some strong defensive displays, not least from Shiv Khindria, Dhruv Surya, James Balmer and Steve Carn. In the all-Maidenhead clash the 1st squad unsurprisingly came out on top, although they were made to work for it by their club-mates! Tries were scored by Dominik Bart, Will Thompson, Fraser Brooks, Thomas Eckles, Daniel Andrews-Jones, Markus Olivier and Max O’Connor, with the pick of these being Will Thompson’s scorching run into space and onto a perfectly weighted pass from Fraser Brooks. Salisbury provided a sterner test in the next match, but Maids were scenting the hat-trick now and a solo effort from Markus Olivier was followed by a lovely passing move rounded off by Dominik Bart to give a 2-0 winning margin. The final game of the pool was against Walcot, from near Bath, and although their opponents had some large and physical forwards and one strong centre, Maids did not let them have a look in until the very end. A barnstorming performance from Edward Kaye in particular provided a platform for Chris Dow, Leo Smith, Thomas Eckles and Markus Olivier to give their side a 4-0 lead at half time, with Thomas and then Fraser Brooks extending this to 6-0 after the break, before Walcot got a consolation as Maids let their concentration slip. Having won the pool, Maids discovered the format for the tournament dictated they had to play Clifton again – the latter having finished 2nd – in a “final”. Maids showed they were better prepared for this game, and Markus Olivier personified the side’s will to win with two strong runs early on, each resulting in a try. From the kick off after this came a solo try of real beauty from Sam Maguire: catching the kick at speed (despite a team-mate’s call for the catch), Sam ran through and round the Clifton defence before they could react and scored. Will Thompson got a final 4th try for Maids after the break before Clifton, fighting to the end, scored with the final move of the match. 21 tries scored for: Markus – 6; Thomas – 3; Dominik, Chris, Will, Fraser – 2 each; Daniel, Max, Leo, Sam – 1 each 3 tries conceded. Squad: |
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