U8Bs win at the Cleve Tournament

Sunday 23rd April 2006

Maidenhead U8's performed superbly at the Cleve rugby tournament near Bristol on Sunday with the A's coming 3rd on their pool competition and the B's winning the cup in theirs.

The A's started well with their first match against Wimborne and quickly gained and a 2 tries to nil lead with magnificent tries from Abigail Dow and Ben Lawrence. However, Wimborne, a strong team, fought back and the game became a very close event with excellent running, tagging and support by both teams. Maidenhead gained a further 2 tries from Joel Greene who demonstrated some amazing dodging and determination, but the game resulted in a 5 tries to 4 win by pool finalists Wimborne.

In the A's second game, the team found themselves against the eventual pool winners, Clifton. Again, this was a very tough game with excellent performances by both teams, and despite 2 excellent tries by Abigail Dow, the result was a 5 tries to 2 win by Clifton.

Determination rose and the A's went into their third game against tournament hosts, Cleve, with all guns blazing, and with great passing, running and team support won the match 5 tries to 2 with Abigail Dow achieving a hat trick and Scott Prince scoring 2 further tries.

In the final game of their pool, the A's faced Walcot and demonstrated what they were really made of with fantastic running and 2 convincing tries by Scott Prince, 2 from William Lawrence and 1 try a piece for Abigail Dow and Ben Lawrence, delivering a match result of 5 tries to 1 for Maidenhead.

Maidenhead B' demonstrated that they were competition winners from the start and remained unbeaten throughout the tournament.

In their first match they faced tournament hosts, Cleve. The B's showed excellent team play and running with tries scored by William Hogan, James Millwater, Christopher Cousins and 2 for Jonathan Matthews resulting in a convincing 5 tries to 2 win.

In their second match, the B's faced Salisbury which was a much closer game. The B's defended well, worked quickly and coordinated well with 2 tries from Shane McKenna and 1 from Christopher Cousins to achieve a 3 all draw.

In their third match, the B's were up against Chippenham and again this proved to be a very tightly fought and nail-biting game, with both teams fighting to the bitter end. Maidenhead again demonstrated strong determination and resilience with 2 tries each scored by Jonathan Matthews and Christopher Cousins and further tries from Lawrence Hull and Nia Gardner. As the final whistle blew the score was settled at 6 tries each.

On points won, Maidenhead B's found earned their place in the final with a rematch against Cleve. The B's were determined to go for the silverware The match was outstanding and extremely well played by both teams. Again, nail-biting but excellent tries were scored by Shane McKenna, a brace from Nia Gardner and a final try from Lawrence Hull. The match ended as a 4 all draw but the B's won the competition, based on overall try count.