U17s Rue slips against Ruislip

Maidenhead U17s 0 v Ruislip U17s 14
Sunday 4th December 2005

Having won promotion after an unbeaten run in the first phase of the 2005/6 OBB league season, Maids organised a "Friendly" fixture against Ruislip.

Coach Nick Lee will be glad that Sunday’s performance was not in a league fixture and will be hoping that his team will learn from a hapless performance and focus on their basic skills for their future matches. Having beaten Ruislip last season and buoyed by their earlier league results, Maids may have thought that they only had to turn up in order to win. Too much of their play suggested this to be the case, with normally reliable players unable to find any form

In the first half Ruislip played to their obvious strengths and used the weight in their pack. At half-time the score stood at 0-0, reflecting long periods of rugged and uncompromising forward play, which produced a large number of scrums but little fluid open play. Time and again Maidenhead’s attempts to run the ball down the line were broken up by Ruislip’s tackling of the Maidenhead centres, stopping Maids releasing their wings, who have often proved so effective this season.

The second half started with a strong forward attack by Ruislip, which was stopped by the Maidenhead defence, who even managed to win turnover ball. Unfortunately the Maidenhead clearance was charged down and Ruislip scored a try, which was duly converted. With the Maids’ pack forcing themselves back into the game, play ebbed and flowed, both sides putting in strong forward driven attacks. Basic errors and an eagle eyed referee continued to produce an unusually high scrum count.

Maidenhead’s best opportunity for a try came when prop Brinsley Munn picked up a turnover ball and made an impressive break, only to be brought back by the referee, who had decided not to allow any advantage following a Ruislip infringement. The Maids’ defence were able to prevent Ruislip scoring when their forwards actually got over the try line, but were prevented from grounding the ball. This was later remedied by the Ruislip number 16 who broke through the Maidenhead defence to touch down. The try was converted, leaving the final score at Maidenhead 0 Ruislip 14.