U15 Honours even between leaders of Berkshire and Surrey

Sunday 1st March 2009

Maidenhead U15s 7 v Cobham U15s 7

Berkshire champions Maidenhead welcomed Surrey League Division 1 runners-up Cobham for a friendly game on a County weekend for both clubs. Cobham’s league side lost narrowly to Sutton & Epsom this season but have squashed all other opposition (London Irish, Old Alleynians and Guildford beaten collectively 131-12). 10 Cobham regulars were required by Surrey and 6 Maids by Berkshire so each team had some unfamiliar starters. In fact Cobham travelled with only 13 so Maidenhead volunteers made up their numbers, particularly in the front row.

The first 20 minutes were dour and attritional. Cobham’s Maidenhead-flavoured pack had more control and more ball than the home side but failed to make anything much of the possession. When the ball did go wide, a combination of forced and unforced error negated any threat. With the scraps available, Maidenhead made limited progress and tended to drift laterally and run out of space. Frustrations more than once boiled over and both sides were penalised and spoken to about backchat.

Cobham broke the stalemate with a perfect training ground move. Fast ball from the top of a lineout on Maids’ 22 and the blindside winger sped into the gap opened up by drifting and dummy runs in midfield. His electric pace saw him untouched under the posts for an easy 7 pointer. You might criticise the Maidenhead defence but sometimes the move is just too good and the player too fast. Before the half ended, the same winger was denied a second try only by a full stretch fingertip tackle by Tom Eckles.

The second period saw the home side begin to dominate possession and territory. Maids began to go through phases and win set scrums, occasional turnovers and even the odd lineout. A series of pick and drives saw Sam Balfour adjudged held up over the line. A furious forward assault from the next move led to two quick penalties against desperate defenders. Switching to a wide attack from the second paid off and Leo Smith bullied his way over on the left wing. Dominik Bart made the difficult conversion look easy to tie the scores.

The Maids' forwards continued to enjoy territory and possession, competing effectively in the maul but seemingly reluctant to drive over and clear out when the ball went to ground. All the ball won was therefore slow and led only to yet more narrow channel contact and breakdown. Maids never looked likely to score again. In fact only a last ditch tackle by Dan Shipton denied Cobham a winner the one time they re-entered the home 22.

The draw was a fair result on a day for defences. Both sides tackled well and looked well organised without the ball. Neither showed an attacking rhythm that might have won the game.

Squad: Avery, Trevena, Bart, Winter, Balfour, Basson, Duncan Jones, Eckles, Anderson, Kaye, Nic Jones, Hine, Bello*, Smith, Thomas, Thompson, Nicol*, Whiteford, Hull, Orchard*, Cronbach, Evans, Scolari*, Brooks, Khindria, Surya. *Cobham for the day.