U10As' undefeated record is not good enough

Sunday 12th October 2008

Undefeated record at Maidenhead Tournament is not good enough for the As

The U10 As faced some stiff competition in their pool, with perennial rivals Henley and Newbury making up two of the six teams.

Despite the early morning fog, Maids started their campaign in impressive style, romping to a 25-0 victory over Aylesbury. Payne, Jenkins (2), Wells and McCaffrey all ran in tries, thanks to some great productive work at the base of the scrum by Sutton. Lawrie made an impact with some big tackles after coming on at half-time. They were not quite so explosive in their second match against Oxford Harlequins, but still cruised to a 15-0 victory, with tries from McGregor, Wells and Jenkins.

Next came local rivals, Henley Hawks. The Hawks scored first, using their powerful, mobile pack to good effect. However, Maids fought back strongly and spent much of the second half encamped on the Henley try-line. Eventually the pressure told, as Jenkins burst over for the equalising try. The referee also controversially ruled out a try from Meadows, arguing he hadn't put the ball down with two hands! Strong performances from Adamcsik and Webster on the flanks were also worthy of mention in this titanic struggle.

With the matches now being played out in glorious October sunshine, Maidenhead's penultimate tussle was against unfancied Tring and this turned out to be Maids' only disappointing result of the tournament. They went ahead early on with another Jenkins try, following some good play from Green and MacLean. However, despite dominating possession, Maids took their foot off the gas in the second half and conceded a late try, to surrender a victory that was well within their grasp.

This meant that Maids would need to beat pre-tournament favourites, Newbury, to finish the day as runners-up. Newbury needed a win to take the title. The game was an end-to-end battle, with Maids twice taking the lead, through Jenkins and Wells, but twice they were pegged back. In the end, Newbury hung on for a 2-2 draw which suited neither side, and Henley were crowned champions. Maidenhead, despite being unbeaten all day, had to settle for third place overall.

Maidenhead As: Rory Adamcsik, Moose Green, Jake Jenkins, Oliver Lawrie, Thomas MacLean, Harry McCaffrey, Olie McGregor, Harrison Meadows, Saul Payne, Alex Sutton, Angus Webster, Harry Wells