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U14s' comfortable victory at Reading overshadowed by injury Reading U14s 0 v Maidenhead
U14s 46 |
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Chris Dow’s dislocated knee dampened the celebrations as Maidenhead’s U14s scored an emphatic victory over Reading’s Green Machine at Holme Park. The injury happened in the final seconds of a match of otherwise irresistible triumph for the visitors. A cold wind was howling across the pitch when Reading kicked off. The early minutes saw Reading win plenty of ball and show their ambition to run. Several times the ball flowed down their line but there was little forward progress and, as soon as Maidenhead’s canny backs got some possession the ball was kicked firmly down to the leeward corner. Once a side naïvely incapable in windy conditions, these Maids players now know how to use the elements to their advantage. The Reading defensive lineout failed to gather the ball and a series of phases resulted in an opening try for Alex Avery. Avery and his fellow backrower Dominik Bart were prominent in the build up for the second try, ripping the ball from a maul and passing quickly out to Daniel Andrews-Jones whose pace and strength took him outside the first defender and straight through the second and last for another try. The third try came from an unpromising position. The previous day England had conceded a heartbreaker against Wales with players passing wildly back to teammates in progressively worse positions. Something similar now happened, with the ball eventually reaching Lawrence McSwan isolated on his own 22. Where Balshaw had tried hopelessly to kick clear and was charged down and exposed, McSwan simply powered back through the chasing Reading team and ran 60 metres to score. Duncan Jones converted. Now Reading tried to play the ball tighter, their big forwards carrying strongly and punching holes. They were never able to break the line decisively however and, cruelly, just when they had finally and slowly progressed to within 5 metres of the Maidenhead tryline, a spilled ball was hacked upfield and only a desperate defensive tackle at the other end prevented a try. Respite was short as Maidenhead yet again stole the ball from the Reading throw and good backs handling put Markus Olivier over wide on the right. 22-0 at half time and the game was all but over. If Reading had hopes of a revival, they had the stuffing knocked out of them within two minutes of the restart. Solid lineout ball from the right, dummy switch between 10 and 12 and a short pass to Andrews-Jones put him into the gap between the green and white centres with the rest of the defensive line beaten. He simply ran round the cover and that was it. A training ground move executed perfectly in match conditions. Fraser Brooks scored the extras with a dropkick in the face of the defensive charge, having reacted quickly when the ball was blown off the kicking tee. There were three more Maidenhead tries, Alex Avery scoring after a slick inside pass and Olivier after a textbook 5 metre scrum blindside break, both assists by Will Thompson; and a crashover forward’s try by the forwards’ forward, Ed Kaye, whose joy was obvious and infectious. Just seconds later Dow’s painful injury took the gloss off an otherwise satisfying day. He will certainly not be available for what now looks even more like a league decider next week at Windsor. He may even be out for the season. He will be sorely missed but this team will be very hard to beat even without him. Tries: Avery (5min, 33min), Andrews-Jones (11min, 27min), Olivier (25min, 42min), McSwan (21min), Kaye (50min). Conversions: Brooks (2), Jones The squad: |