Maidenhead Under 13’s faced stiff opposition in the Maidenhead Tournament last Sunday. Their group adventure kicked off against Blackheath in the day’s first match. The visitors had arrived with an impressive reputation, and it took them no time at all to frank the formbook, scoring three quick tries, to take complete control of the game. They added a fourth just before half time to lead 20-0 at the interval. Credit must be given to a fine performance from Maids in the second half, eye catching tackles from James Emmanuel, Simon Standfast and Greg Burgess kept Blackheath at bay. Maids also had their attacking moments with good runs from wingers David Geneen and Burgess, and some excellent driving from the back row, in particular, Adrian Griffiths. But Maids were not able to break down a well-organised defence and the tie ended 20-0 to Blackheath.

Maids second match was against long distance travellers Worcester, who had also looked impressive in their first encounter. This was a very well balanced affair with possession limited to the midfield areas. Robert Morgan threatened to break the deadlock for the Braywick side with a timely interception, racing half the length of the field, only to be caught by a superb last gasp tackle from the Worcester full back. The visitors upped the pace in the second half and Maids had to tackle fiercely to keep them out. Prop Kaz Jasnikowski received an injury for his troubles, while Ben Sedler, Dominic Shepherd and Henry Newcome all made brave stops to ensure Worcester did not cross the try line and the tie finished 0-0.

Maids were yet to score their first try of the competition and they were hoping to play a more expansive game against Hampshire raiders Winchester. Following a knock on, Maids were awarded a scrum on the half way line. A quick heel gave scrum half Peter Neill the chance to feed full back Matthew Wardle who had joined the three quarters on the blind side. In a well coached move, Wardle chose his line of run intelligently, catching the Winchester defence flat footed as he went all the way to score a fine try. With their tails up, the Braywick side continued the pressure with a turnover close to the visitors line. From the resulting five-metre scrum, Neill popped the ball up for fly half Alex Barnett to dive over for the second try of the game. With half time approaching, Maids sensed that another score would effectively finish off the tie, and they were punished for a lack of caution as the Winchester right wing gathered a loose pass to sprint the length of the field for a breakaway try.

At 10-5, Maids turned on the style in the second half, Neill and Barnett releasing their three quarters whenever possible. Centres Michael Rubber and Simon Standfast worked well together as a team gaining valuable yards with explosive runs. Following a good tackle in midfield by flanker Jamie Plumer, the centres were away again. Good hands from Rubber and a superb pass to winger Geneen gave him the space to beat the defence on the outside for a great try. Maids completed a 20-5 victory with another excellent effort. This time good work from the forwards in a rolling maul, Emmanuel and Sedler controlling the move. Once the ruck had formed, Neill fed Plumer who crossed the gain line with a strong run and with centres Rubber and Standfast again backing up well, they released winger Greg Burgess for a try in the corner.

The home side were now on the ascendancy and were hoping to chase Blackheath all the way at the top of the group. Their next apponents, Bristol based Cleve, had very different ideas and the visitors were a try up after only twenty seconds. Following a poor kick off, the ball was returned with interest as their strong running outside centre carved through the startled defence to score. Things got progressively worse for Maids with Cleve doubling their score before half time and adding three more tries in the second period.

Playing for pride, Maids last encounter was against Datchworth from Hertfordshire. With tired legs, Maids summoned up enough energy to produce their best rugby of the day. Full back Wardle started the 30-0 rout, receiving a well-timed pass from Rubber after he had made a break through the middle. Winger David Geneen continued his impressive individual performance with a devastating run, beating two players for speed on the outside before cutting in to beat another three to score the second try. Flanker Tom Robinson got his name on the score sheet, arriving at just the right time to pick up the ball from the back of a ruck and dive over from close range. This followed good work in the tight by prop forward Neils Pedersen. Geneen scored his third try of the day, finishing off another beautifully worked move through the three-quarters.

With the forwards dominating proceedings, Maids added two more tries in the second half. The very busy Ross Carne helped himself to one following a five-metre scrum, climbing over a mound of players to cleverly ground the ball and Robinson got his second of the game, again scoring from close range.