U14s' successful day at Bracknell

Berkshire League
Bracknell U14s 0 Maidenhead U14s 32

Bracknell B U14s 7 Maidenhead Rangers U14s 58

Sunday 8th March 2009

Maidenhead's U14 league squad enjoyed another successful encounter on Sunday, beating a much improved Bracknell side by 32 points to Nil. Results so far this season have shown that the gap between the top and bottom clubs has closed significantly at this age group and much credit should go to Bracknell for their determination and committed approach for the full 50 minutes.

Maidenhead went into this game knowing they could not be complacent and ended up putting in one of the strongest and most structured team performances this season. Despite Bracknell's valiant efforts, Maidenhead's pack dominated the scrums, secured great ball from lineouts and got to the breakdown in numbers to recycle the ball in open play. This gave the visitors a fantastic platform of possession to unleash their incredibly talented back line.

The first try came 3 minutes into the game from a trademark pick and drive over the line from powerful loose head prop Cam Avery. Although much credit for this try must go to second row Bertie Kennedy for his bulldozing 30m run that set up the ruck 5m from the Bracknell line.

The second score came from a set piece backs move that saw Kerins (aka Superman) run in for his first try of the day on the 8 minute mark. 10 minutes later, left wing Emi Repetto made a blistering break down the touchline to score in the corner.

Bracknell then worked hard to get deep into Maidenhead territory and were pressing hard for a score of their own. However the Maidenhead defence was well organised and Kerins intercepted a loose pass to run the length of the field to score his second try, also securing the winning bonus point for Maidenhead. Half time score 20 - 0.

The first 10 minutes of the second half saw some fierce competition for possession and territory with neither side able to make an incisive break. The continuity to Maidenhead's game was disrupted by a string of penalty offences that saw possession repeatedly turned over to Bracknell. The stalemate was finally broken when Bradley Wright smashed through the defence in another perfectly executed set piece move to score the visitors 5^th try. An excellent day for the backs was rounded off 10 minutes later when Right Wing Adam Piper used his pace to beat his man on the outside and score the final try of the match.

This was a particularly pleasing game for the coaches because all elements of the game went to plan and each and every player did their job effectively, contributing to an excellent overall team performance. Epitomising this was Man of the Match George Dutton, Maidenhead's Tight Head prop. George worked tirelessly all game to help secure the platform of possession that enabled Maidenhead to win this game.

Team: O'Keeffe, Piper, Kerins (c), Wright, Repetto, Garius, Hill, Avery, McGregor, Dutton, Fishwick, Kennedy, Horn, Wilkins, Bateson. Replacements: Medcraft for Horn and Egan for Hill.

John Wanklyn, A team coach

Other results
Newbury 10-15 Reading Abbey
Reading 29-0 Aldermaston
Redingensians 0-12 Windsor

Bracknell U14 Bs 7  Maidenhead U14s Rangers 58
Maidenhead U14 Rangers side dominated local rivals Bracknell with a haul of ten tries. The pick of the tries was from Ollie Saunders who took a switch ball at the perfect angle to dissect his way through the defence past five bewildered Bracknell players and to score without a hand laid on him. This, plus further tries from Avery, Harris and Wilkins put Maidenhead ahead by 20 points with only 16 minutes gone. Although Bracknell rallied for a time and even managed one try in reply, the pattern of attacking play continued into the second half. Great runs from Corio, Harris, Garius, O'Keeffe (2) and Repetto (2) saw each on the score sheet. The scoring was finished off by No.8 Martin following another turnover at the scrummage. Final score Bracknell 7 Maidenhead 58.

Team: Kiddell, O'Keeffe, Egan, Harris, Repetto, Saunders, Avis, Hoxley, Bourne, Avery, Fishwick, Wilkins, Medcraft, Corio, Martin. Replacements: Dutton, Hill, Garius, McGregor, Kennedy, Bateson.

Steven Bourne, Rangers coach