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U15s beat Chinnor Maidenhead U15s 17 v Chinnor U15s 0 |
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A superb team effort that combined steely determination with intelligent, flowing rugby produced one of the best performances of the season as Maids defeated visitors Chinnor 17.0. With the score at 3.0 for most of the match the result was on a knife-edge and the lead could have gone either way. Both teams gave it everything but two excellent tries sealed a thoroughly deserved win. If you needed an example of what a team can achieve when all the players work tirelessly for each other and commit themselves 100% to the cause then this was it. The game saw slick passing to link Forward and Backs, good decision-making and some outstanding individual efforts. On a heavy pitch and in windy conditions at Braywick, fitness levels were always going to be important and the team was running as hard at the end as they were at the kick off. Maids started strongly and just got better, giving Chinnor's tall, powerful set of Forwards a torrid time right to the final whistle. A typical Thomas Simpson run down the wing early on was followed by a steady build-up of pressure from the home side. James Brooks calmed the nerves with a well-struck penalty following an infringement. The Forwards were scrummaging well, the Backs were on fire. Quick hands by the Backs took the sting out of Chinnor's first attack. The visitor's muscular scrum and driving mauls weren't delivering the expected results as Maids counter-attacked aggressively at every opportunity to deny them time on the ball and force errors. Lightening breaks by the Backs quickly turned defence into attack. Michael James and Alex Jones were assured in the line-outs. Paul Sweeney and Josh Turvey on Hooker duty helped Maids win scrums against the head. Flankers Rory Creffied and James Parrot linked excellently with the Backs and ripped possession in the mauls. Matt Bill, Paul Sayers and James Brooks passed like clockwork. David Walker and TJ Hudson weighed in tackling larger players to break up Chinnor's attempts to launch their Backs down the wings. James Brooks kicked brilliantly while jinking runs by Ollie Evans with well-timed offloads kept the momentum high. Chinnor were a strong and well-organised side but couldn't find a gameplan that gained them territory. Maids won turnover ball, rucking over with increasing regularity to launch their attacks. To end the first half with a three-point advantage having played into the wind was a great achievement. But there was more to come. In the second period, play swung from end to end as Chinnor bulldozed upfield but they couldn't break through Maids' resolute tackling. And when a Chinnor Forward did find a gap, Thomas ran half the length of the pitch to tackle him right on the line and prevent a try. Another move down the left looked like it was about to bring the visitors back into the game but Charlie Wickham-Smith had other ideas, expertly intercepting their winger yards from the line. When Chinnor punted the ball upfield, it invariably fell into the welcoming arms of Michael Habgood who used his blistering pace to tear straight back past everybody. The best try of the match - and probably of the season so far - saw Maids forge ahead at a pivotal point in the game. Rory took the ball into contact on the left about 10 metres out with the Forwards right behind in support to drive over. Quick hands from Forwards to Backs saw almost the entire team combine magnificently as slick passing switched play wide to the right where James Parrot and Elliott Reid created the overlap for Elliot to score. From a challenging angle, James Brooks added the conversion to make it 10.0. Chinnor never looked like giving up though. They maintained their composure and continued to drive play into Maids' half. But the home side's co-ordination, positioning and quick-thinking continued to give them the upper hand. Having sent several probing kicks just into touch, James Brooks set his calibration perfectly for the ball to bounce kindly in acres of space where it was met by Thomas's high-octane run, beating Chinnor's last man to the ball. He scooped up the ball and scored under the posts. Brooks again made sure with the conversion and at 17.0 Maids' focus was now on keeping a clean sheet. Connor Murphy's powerful tackling had the desired demoralising effect as Maids caught Chinnor in possession and shut down their Forwards play. The team did everything right today in all departments, especially when the score was only 3.0. And they enjoyed themselves. Result. |
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