Sunday 23rd November 2003

On Pitch 2 the Maidenhead teams played with great enthusiasm in awful weather conditions. The forwards fought very hard against in the scrums rucks and mauls with Max Miles, Dominic Messing and Oliver Peach particularly prominent. The first period was a very tight affair with Henley just managing to squeeze over to score a try in the corner at the death.

The second period of play was notable for the continued vigour of the play. Connor McCarthy and Riku Tsujiyama were particularly effective as half backs, controlling the game with some skill and inventiveness. Again the forwards were getting stuck in and didn't let the bigger Henley pack out-muscle them. Connor Dowling scored a fine individual try showing the whole of the Henley team a clean pair of heels as he turned on the gas. Jonathon Heron was also making some very incisive breaks and the period finished a draw at one try apiece.

The final period of play was all Maidenhead as the team settled down and adapted to the weather conditions. Forwards and backs linked well and Maidenhead ended up worthy winners two tries to nil. Overall, Maidenhead ran out victorious outscoring Henley by three tries to two. When considering that this was their first game in a Maidenhead shirt for some of
the players this was fine performance characterised by great team spirit, hard work, excellent handling and loads of enthusiasm.

On pitch one, Maidenhead were keen to avoid a repeat of last year's mauling at the hands of Henley. The team put on a splendid display of fluent running rugby coupled with some real menace from the forwards. From the off Maidenhead were getting stuck into the Hawks, causing them to spill the ball through aggressive pressure in defence. The first try came from a slashing run from Tom Hudson who took play right up to the Henley line before he was brought down. However, William Cadden was in close support and picked up to power over the line. However, this seemed to spur Henley on and after a period of sustained pressure and some indifferent tackling they crashed over to level the score on the stroke of half time.

The second half was very evenly matched until another defensive lapse allowed the Hawks to power through from a maul near the Maidenhead line. However Maids were not done yet and some excellent driving play by Jamie Townsend, Johnny Naish and Hugh O'Connor put Henley under constant pressure. Ben Alderson put in a commanding performance at scrum half linking well with Rory Harte whose tactical kicking was a key to Maidenhead's momentum. Maids' second try came from another forward drive, with William Cadden again bursting over the line from short range. Both teams battled hard to break the deadlock, but good tackling by Hannah Edwards, Oscar Thomson and Tom Hudson ensured that the match ended as a 2 try apiece draw.

This was a performance that the team can be proud of considering the poor conditions in which it was played. The handling and adventure was a pleasure to see between two very evenly matched sides..