U9s make it three in a row at Burnham

4-5th May 2008

Maidenhead's Under 9s clinched a magnificent hat-trick of titles at the Burnham-on-Sea Rugby Festival over the bank holiday weekend. Following victories at the same tournament in 2006 and 2007, they again swept all before them with some scintillating rugby and returned from one of the country's biggest junior rugby competitions as worthy winners.

The tournament is played over two days and this year attracted 68 teams from right across England and Wales. The Under 9s section saw Maidenhead pitted against tough opposition from Cobham, Hertford, Bedford, Old Rutlishians, Marlow and Pembroke in a round-robin format, with the top team progressing to the final.

Maids' season has been successful, but somewhat erratic, and the boys were determined to finish on a high.

They started slowly, with a hard-fought 5-0 victory against Pembroke, but soon got into their stride with good wins against Old Rutlishians, Bedford and local rivals Marlow. Then a 10-0 defeat of Hertford ensured Maids' final group match against pre-tournament favourites, Cobham, became a 'winner takes all' clash. The Surrey side needed a victory to take them through, whereas Maids' 100 per cent record meant that a draw would be good enough for them.

The match was worthy of the final itself, with both sides playing some powerful, bone-jarring rugby. Cobham's early score was the first that Maids had conceded all tournament, but only helped to strengthen their resolve. Maids resisted wave after wave of attack before launching their own counter-offensive; Harry McCaffrey's electric pace saw him exploit a gaping hole in the Cobham defence and he ran half the length of the pitch to level the match and secure Maids' safe passage through to the final.

With the trophy now within touching distance, Maids turned on the style and tries from Olie Macgregor, Jake Jenkins and Harry Wells (2) saw them ease past a Bromley side that looked shell-shocked by the intensity of Maids' rugby and their passionate supporters. The match ended 20 - 5 and a fantastic weekend was rounded off perfectly when England international, Lee Bears, re-presented Maids with the gleaming trophy for them to take back to Maidenhead for another 12 months.

Maidenhead Under 9s: Saul Payne, Alex Sutton, Olie Macgregor, Thomas Green, Thomas Maclean, Jake Holden, Gregor Peberdy, Harry Wells, Harry McCaffrey, Jake Jenkins, Billy Maher, James Banks, Zac Sanders, Rory Adamcsik