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U17s 'all-for-one' spirit wins the day against Aylesbury Maidenhead
U17s 16 v Aylesbury U17s 10 Sunday 7th February 2010 |
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This was a pulsating league encounter between two well matched sides - both focused on improving their final league position ... A proper game of rugby! For a change, it was rather nice for those of us watching not to be rain soaked or frozen solid - we were simply cold but dry on this occasion! Thankfully though, the competitive nature of this match, played in a good spirit throughout, warmed spectator spirits. Following a lengthy kick-off delay owing to an injury on the same pitch in an earlier match, Maids started with vigour and dominated early possession as a result. The claggy, heavy surface made it tiring work for all concerned - even the waterboys! Despite missing a few squad members, it was clear that the team was 'up for this one' determined to finish the league campaign on a high. With the deceptive first half breeze in Maids' favour, the early exchanges were won by the home side who retained possession well and went through the phases with fly-half and latest county squad member Matt Collins to the fore. Maidenhead's territorial advantage was rewarded when Aylesbury were penalised for a early transgression at the breakdown. Scrum-half and stand-in kicker Matt Bill, who had a fine game, stepped up to convert a well struck penalty, giving Maids a deserved 3 point lead. Soon after, following further consistent Maids' possession and pressure, Bill slotted another penalty to take the score to 6-0 providing the home side with an useful and encouraging lead. Back row forwards Alex Jones, Jack Fleck and Roza Creffield were in fine form in the loose, and our man-mountain Mike James was a strong presence in the close quarter action. It was clear both packs of forwards were well matched and the result was likely to be dependent upon which pack dominated and best retained the ball. Maidenhead were well organised at the set-piece. Maids' scrum looked solid with the front row getting the technical edge. The lineout was organised and secure with John Cullivan varying the calls intelligently and Flecky and Jonesy rising like salmon on their own throws. Flanker Roza Creffield stole a valuable number of opposition throws to frustrate the opposition. Just before half time, Maidenhead worked their possession well for skipper Mike Habgood to power through characteristically from full back for a fine unconverted score (11-0). The skipper always leads by example in every game he plays, and this was no exception. The half time break came with some confusion over the time keeping - The referee played five minutes short so it was agreed the time should be added onto the second half ... with Maids playing into the wind! Nice! Maids would have to work hard! Whatever was said in the Aylesbury half-time team talk it seemed to do the trick! Maids were slow to react and directly from the restart Aylesbury secured the ball and quickly surged down field with some fine inter passing before releasing their speedy winger to score a super unconverted try to put them back in the match. Further Aylesbury pressure in the wake of the try suggested a change of heart in the visitors camp and it resulted in a penalty award successfully converted to bring the visitors back to 11-10. Game on! There then followed a lengthy period of powerful drives from Aylesbury with Maids pinned in their own 22. Up to this point, Maidenhead's scrummage had looked by far the stronger but Aylesbury's half time changes appeared to inject new impetus, with the visitors now enjoying set piece dominance. However, Maidenhead's defence held firm and all Aylesbury drives close to the line were thwarted with some heroic and selfless tackling throughout the team. Centre Oli Evans put in one of his customary 'big hits' that had everyone's bones rattling! Aylesbury had thrown the kitchen sink at the home side but could not break through - a sign of great team spirit! Finally, Maids broke out from their defensive zone and the last quarter of the match was played out in the Aylesbury 22 metre area with wave after wave of Maidenhead close quarter and expansive attacks. A try wide in the right corner by winger Morgan Davies was just reward and put the game beyond doubt. The conversion from wide out was an impossible task considering the wind but Bill's fine effort came close. The last 5 minutes seemed to last for 10 minutes (it probably did) but at this point only one side was going to add to their score. The final whistle was FINALLY blown on a hard fought but great game of rugby. All players involved on both sides should be congratulated for some fine afternoon entertainment. Phew ... the coaches' beer tasted good! |