Winchester rifled by U16s big game ammunition

Maidenhead U16s 10 v Winchester U16s 5

Sunday 8th November 2009

Hampshire champs slugged by Berkshire's best

Winchester Silvertip Soft Point rifle ammunition gives the hunter "superior and dependable knock-down power to bring home that Trophy Buck."  Well, Maidenhead U16s now have another set of antlers to hang on the clubhouse wall, after the reigning champions of Berkshire showed those with similar bragging rights in Hampshire, just how the west is won these days.

The first damp and chilly Sunday morning of the season saw rugby that was far from dreech.  Maids started fast with a pressing kicking game and determined rucking producing turnover ball and disrupting Winchester’s forward effort.  Winchester by contrast looked happier with the ball above ground and made progress whenever they could keep a maul going.  Much of the first quarter was played in the middle third with neither side making much of the possession they enjoyed.  A fine penalty kick to touch brought the first score for the visitors.  Driving from front ball at the first lineout, Winchester made 10 metres before Maids forced them into touch.  Stealing the Maids’ lineout ball, another drive took them to within striking distance and Maids were pinged for offside when the ball was produced.  Kicked to the corner, the throw was wayward and flapped untidily back to the scrumhalf's left.  Winchester's openside flanker peeled from the tail and ran round the front at pace.  Caught unawares, two tacklers were carried over and the try was scored.  The conversion, across the breeze, never looked on.

Stung into action, Maidenhead came back hard and Seb Coric was almost over within a minute.  Maids battered away but the Winchester defence was firm and they countered with a huge kick down the wind cleared gratefully to touch by Tom Eckles isolated against three chasers.  Maids continued to press and Winchester cleared desperately to touch three times in a row, only for Maids' throw to be judged not straight or to be snaffled by the excellent Winchester front jumper.  Frustrated by the lack of success in the lineout, Maids opted for scrums from penalties as it was obvious that their front row had the better of Winchester's, and that Maids could rely on their own scrum ball and at least expect to disrupt the visitors'.  Despite all the pressure, Maids could not score the points they deserved and were then set back by a sinbinning for some frustrated retaliation.  Inevitably the half closed with Winchester pressing for another score and trying to make their numerical advantage count.  That they did not was down to the home dominance in the scrum, determined counter-driving in the lineout, and big tackle after big tackle in midfield.

You would never have thought that Maidenhead were a man down as the second half started.  The forwards tore into their work, driving past the ball but staying on their feet, bossing the breakdown as well as they ever have.  Coric, Winter and Balfour were heard described in this period by a Winchester touchline supporter as "the best back row we have played against".  By this time the big Winchester loosehead was in Mark Hine's pocket and the visitors had nowhere to hide at the scrum.  Maids even began to win some lineout possession with Kaya Baxter moving back for a longer ball beyond the opposing front jumper's reach.  The pressure told and Winchester gave up a kickable penalty 30m out, which Fraser Brooks missed with a hurried attempt.  Winchester looked bewildered by now, not sure how to find their way back into the game.  They even failed to get their 22m dropout to go forward and soon gave up an even easier penalty chance.  This time Brooks took his time and slotted it.

Maidenhead surged forward with Brooks cutting through almost to the line and then Louis Basson just unable to complete a certain scoring pass to Michael Anderson.  Fittingly the winning try came from the forwards recycling five or six times until Alex Avery crashed over wide left.  8 points to 5.  "That's out of Fraser's range", said his Dad.  10 points to 5, Fraser disagreed.

It felt like the end of the game but there were still 20 minutes to go and Winchester did begin to get back into it.  They started to try the wide outside and showed some pace and enterprise.  Just one move really caught fire when the fly half dummied a clearance kick in his own 22, dropped a shoulder and broke the line; two passes later an unwise kick wasted the opportunity.  Otherwise it was all a bit sideways.  In truth both backlines looked better in defence than in attack; bruising tackles more noticeable than lyrical creativity.

This was a tough game where two strong sets of backs cancelled each other out, and two strong sets of forwards stood toe-to-toe.  Maidenhead earned a narrow victory with the best display of ball-winning any home supporters can remember, and some stand-up-and-be-counted defence.  Lock'n'load for the rest of the season: varmint and small game rounds not enough, let's go with the 20 grain, 3 inch, big bore sabot slugs.  We're hunting bear.

Squad: Avery (capt.), O'Flaherty, Kaye, Reid, Whiteford, Baxter, Hine, Winter, N Jones, Balfour, Coric, Andrews-Jones, Surya, Brooks, Smith, Basson, Thomas, Olivier, Anderson, Eckles.