U8s turn on the style at London Wasps

Sunday 15th October 2006

Only seven days after winning the Maidenhead Rugby Festival at Braywick Park, Maidenhead's successful Under 8s rugby team put in another great performance on Sunday to defeat Henley's Under 8s in the London Wasps / Highland Spring TAG Challenge at Adams Park.

The match was played as the curtain raiser to London Wasps' Guinness Premiership fixture against Newcastle Falcons and gave these potential stars of the future the chance to play at a Premiership stadium and in front of thousands of supporters.

The week before, at their own tournament, Maidenhead had pipped Henley to the silverware, emerging undefeated from a very tough group which also included teams from Winchester, Aylesbury and Windsor. The tournament was a great success and saw nearly 2,000 children competing, with clubs attending from all over the country and from as far afield as Jersey.

This week's trip to Adams Park was a dream come true for many of the Maidenhead players, as they were able to stride out onto the same pitch that their Wasps heroes would take to only an hour or so later. In their TAG Challenge match, which was played in glorious Autumn sunshine, Maidenhead got their noses in front early on and, despite intense pressure from a well-drilled Henley side, they never gave up their lead. Maidenhead eventually ran out winners by 5 tried to 4. The tries were shared amongst Olie McGregor, Harry Wells, Alex Sutton and Thomas Maclean but everyone on the team played their part and it was Maidenhead's impressive teamwork and superb support play that was probably the difference between the two sides.

After their match, the Maidenhead players got the chance to be photographed with London Wasps' mascot 'Sting' and also 1st XV stars Daniel Cipriani and Rob Hoadley. Maidenhead's coach, Billy Maclean, said "it was a fantastic day for the kids and one which will live long in their memories. Wasps put a huge amount of effort into their community rugby programme and are doing a great deal to encourage and develop the players of the future. We owe a big thank you to Jonny Hutchings and the Community Team at London Wasps."

Maidenhead Under 8s squad:
Harry Wells, Olie McGregor, Alex Sutton, Harry McCaffrey, Thomas Maclean, Athena Peberdy, Gregor Peberdy, Jake Jenkins, Caidan Venables and Marc Hedouin.