U10s bloom at Newbury

Sunday 19th April 2009

Maidenhead U10Bs starting to bloom in Newbury sunshine!

Maidenhead's U10Bs travelled to the Newbury Festival on Sunday and put in a performance that reflected, in a day, the long winter and early spring they have already experienced this season!

They allowed the first game against Petersfield to pass them by without a try in reply (0-15) although showing some brave stout defence particularly from Banks, de la Fuente and Holden. They then started to find the rhythm and confidence of other recent tournaments (remember Beaconsfield: 21 tries scored to only 1 conceded?) late in the second game against Winchester, where the try-scoring run of Cowland (silky and powerful like JP Pietersen) woke them from their slumber in a 10-5 defeat.

Cheltenham, though evenly matched and certainly no better than our boys, took their chances and whilst we tackled better, we failed to trouble the scorer!....0-20!

Promise of an early spring was finally fulfilled against hosts, Newbury, as we buried them 15-5, with tries from Hickey (England's O'Driscoll-to-be?!) linking well in midfield: Thomas blasting his way down the wing like Thom Evans and Sanders with a classic, Flutey-like run.

So, on to the Shield Final against Hungerford we did go, with restored spirit and confidence, and we did not disappoint ourselves, finishing 25-5 winners: an early try by Gregory settled our nerves and we started to put together extended phases of play, ball in hand, always with an eye for the break. Next up was Luke Curran (aka Luke Fitzgerald!) with a step to put away try number two. Webster, in formidable form all day (and that despite a nasty ankle tweak) scored a really mesmerising try which opened up the midfield chances to be taken by our very own try-machine today, T. Maclean, who jinked and stepped his way to score two tries before the final whistle.

Spring has arrived at last and with it some silverware too!

Maidenhead U10Bs: Banks, Cowland, Curran, de la Fuente, Gregory, Hedouin, Hickey, Holden, MacLean, Sanders & Webster

Mixed bag for Maidenhead U10As at Newbury

Sunday was a roller-coaster day of mixed emotions for the U10As who, in a long, energy-sapping day at Newbury showed both the best and worst examples of how they can perform. In the end they can feel proud of finishing third in a tournament which had attracted some of the best teams from England and Wales.

Up first came Cheltenham who were this year's Gloucestershire county champions and a team very proud of that record. Maids were determined not to see another slow start dash another tournament, such as the one which had cost them so dearly at this season's Saracens Festival. No chance of that here... they burst out of the blocks and left Cheltenham bowled over by the quality of their free-flowing attacking rugby and rampant back division! First McCaffrey scored, then Wells and then McCaffrey again and again! Cheltenham could offer nothing in return, as Maids' defence swarmed all over them. 20-0 to Berkshire's best!

Next came last year's runners-up, Pencoed, from across the border. Whilst the constant haranguing of the ref by their over-zealous coaches left a lot to be desired, the quality of the Welsh boys' rugby did not - they had an immensely powerful pack - which Payne, Smith and Lawrie did well to stand up to - and some backs whose running and side-steps Gareth Edwards would have been proud of. Pencoed took a well-deserved lead, but Maids fought back through tries from Jenkins and Wells. A rare wayward pass from Sutton saw the Welsh snatch an intercepted try and despite being encamped on the Pencoed line for much of the last part of the match, Maids had to be satisfied with a very creditable 2-2 draw.

In the first two games, Maids had probably put in their two best performances of the season but then came the horror-show against Newbury! The 90-minute waits between matches undoubtedly sapped their strength and in their third game Maids looked lethargic and cumbersome. Passes were misdirected and often dropped; tackles were half-hearted and often missed altogether. Newbury clung on to an early score to inflict only Maids' second defeat of the season. This sparked them back into life and it was Petersfield who took the brunt of the backlash! Peberdy and McGregor went close, but it was McCaffrey and Wells who each scored twice, with one for Jenkins, Adamcsik and Sutton, as Maids chalked up a comprehensive 35-15 win.

Undefeated Pencoed had won the group, but Maids marched into the Vase final, with overall 3^rd place up for grabs against old rivals, Windsor. With silverware at stake, no one was going to stop Maids now - time after time, they knocked Windsor back, and made them look a shadow of their former selves. The final score was 15-5 to Maids, with player of the day McCaffrey (2) and Wells again touching down. In a day of contrasts, it was nice to see Maids finish with the more palatable, champagne version of their rugby as the sun shone down...roll on Brean Sands!!

Maidenhead U10As: Adamcsik, Jenkins, Lawrie, McCaffrey, McGregor, Payne, Peberdy, Smith, Sutton & Well