Match report and photo courtesy of the

Maids cash in on class difference (03.09.05)

Scrum-half Gareth Edwards looks to move the ball

THE gulf in class between South West 1 and South West 2 was dramatically exposed at Braywick Park on Saturday afternoon, as Maidenhead brushed aside High Wycombe in the first round of the Powergen National Trophy. Indeed, Maids rarely exceeded a canter, and should probably have put 70 points on their hopelessly outclassed opponents.

The one-sided romp began in just the second minute of play, when club captain Mark Ruddick initiated a breakout from Maidenhead’s 22, which culminated in a penalty 10 metres shy of the Wycombe line. Full-back Rob Hawkins kicked for touch, and hooker Richie Craig was driven over the whitewash from the resulting lineout. Hawkins hit the upright with his kick from the touchline.

However, having seized the initiative, Maids seemed reluctant to press home their advantage and took another 24 minutes to add to their tally. For most of that time, High Wycombe remained penned back inside their own 22, and only held out through a complex blend of desperate defence, helpful refereeing and basic mistakes from their tormentors. On the rare occasions they did escape the confines of their own half, the best Wycombe could manage was a couple of missed penalty kicks.

Thankfully, the fans’ frustration was finally ended on 26 minutes by inside centre Simon Cripps, who chipped ahead before retrieving his own kick to touch down in the corner. The elusive Danny Martin added a third try six minutes later, stepping inside his man before jinking his way in under the posts. Hawkins added the extras to make it 17-0, effectively ending the contest. As half-time approached, the visitors visibly wilted in the heat, and Maids took total control. In the scrum, the hosts were regularly pinching possession against the put in, while in the lineout they were stealing almost every throw. Alex Greer almost benefited from one such turnover on 39 minutes, but it was Hawkins who had the last say of the half, when slotting a penalty from a central position to make it 20-0 at the interval.

Maids began the second half where they had left off, with scrum half Gareth Edwards leading the way. But once again Wycombe rode their luck to deny Maids an easy score. Their luck finally ran out on the hour mark, when Cormac O’Byrne was driven over the line just to the right of the posts, presenting Hawkins with an easy conversion for 27-0. Minutes later that became 34-0, when a regulation backs move put Martin over in the corner. This time Hawkins made the difficult kick look easy to seal Wycombe’s fate. To their credit, the visitors refused to lie down and fought back to score a converted try of their own, largely due to lazy defending around the fringes. But any thoughts of a miraculous comeback were quickly squashed by a late try from Cripps, and a typically florid but slightly fortunate score from substitute Piers Morgan, redeeming himself following an earlier mistake. One further conversion from Hawkins, and a woeful miss from Ruddick, made it 46-7 at the final whistle, earning Maids a minimum of £4,500 in prize money.

Maidenhead: Johnson, Craig, O’Byrne, Mueller, King, Vorster, Gallena, Jones, Edwards, Ruddick, Cripps, Hammond, Martin, Greer, Hawkins. Subs: Blackwell, Morgan, Ayres, Nisbet.