Match report and photo courtesy of the

Maids squander winning position

Referee and errors overshadow fine first-half display

In the cold and the wet at Down Grange on Saturday, both teams made an effort to throw away this error-strewn match, but ultimately neither were good enough to do it.

The first half was a bright affair, with two relatively similar teams looking at their best when breaking from disrupted play. Yet it was Maidenhead who had the majority of the genuine try-scoring opportunities and should have had the result in the bag at the interval. The second half steadily descended into farce as neither team could find touch with their kicking, catch the ball cleanly or pass accurately. A sodden pitch, cold hands and an overly officious referee ensured a steady stream of penalties, free-kicks and scrums, and when the final whistle eventually came, it was greeted by a general reaction of relief. But in the Maids’ players minds it will have been a case of the one that got away.

After the hosts’ Simon Humberstone had sliced a penalty kick wide, Maids responded by winning a ball against the head in the scrum, allowing Simon Cripps, playing at centre, to brush past two tackles with a focused run before touching down for an impressive score. Skipper Mark Ruddick missed the conversion. However, things seemed to be going the visitors’ way when Humberstone missed another penalty attempt for Basingstoke, only for Maids to then take a 12-0 advantage on 20 minutes. Alex Gallina won lineout ball which Maids drove to the Basingstoke tryline before spreading it down the line to Jonny Hammond who sprinted over for a well worked and controlled try. Ruddick’s conversion gave the visitors a healthy start. But, as was the nature of the match, Basingstoke soon rallied and reduced the deficit through flanker Simon Appleby who broke down the blindside from a ruck, through a tackle, and over the line. Carl Marshall was on target with the conversion for a half-time score of 12-7. Maids had two more overlaps before the break, but failed to make the correct decisions and the chances were lost.

The second half offered up little apart from mistakes and the opportunity for the Maids followers to see Australian prop Ashley Riley on his debut. Basingstoke levelled proceedings on 57 minutes when scrum-half Jamie Fish charged down a Ruddick clearance and pounced on the loose ball to touch down. Although the conversion was missed, just five minutes later the hosts finally had the lead when Marshall struck home a straightforward penalty. Ruddick did the same minutes later to equalise after Basingstoke had been caught offside. As the match progressed the error count increased, but it was the hosts who could have snatched it, but Garth Jones – with his first effort of the match – missed a centrally placed penalty from just 22 metres which pretty much summed up the contest.

Basingstoke: Humberstone, Lambert, Buckland, Lucas, Jones, Marshall, Fish, Rushworth, Murphy, Townsend, Stirling, Northcote, Crew, Appleby, Dixon. Subs: Lillywhite (for Humberstone, 45), Williams (for Crew, 56), Hampson (not used).

Maidenhead: Edwards, Mackay, Hammond, Cripps, Morris, Ruddick, Ayres, Johnston, Craig, Blackwell, Gallina, Mueller, Vorster, Lowden, Morgan. Subs: Riley for Blackwell, 36), Parkhouse (for Lowden, 36), Cassidy (for Morris, 50).

‘We could have won by 20pts’
It was a case of ‘what might have been’ according to Maidenhead coach Simon Edwards reflecting on his team’s 15-15 draw with Basingstoke.

Edwards was generally pleased with the effort against a solid Basingstoke side on their own soil, but felt that the referee had a detrimental effect on the match. He said: "It was another good performance against a top side, but again without winning. "Unfortunately, I felt the referee spoiled the match for both teams. He had a huge impact and I honestly believe that with a better ref we would have won by 20-30 points. "We gave away more penalties in this match than we have all season. We were ahead with the wind and slope in our favour after the break, so why would we do that?" He added: "At half-time I went over to him to ask for some clarification on what my players were doing wrong but he told me to go away. "The players were asking me what they had done wrong to concede so many penalties, but I couldn’t tell them."

Yet despite this, Edwards is convinced his young team are getting better, although they are still failing to find a killer touch when they have a lead. He said: "We’re getting better as this display and the one against Weston shows. "But we must take our chances against these good teams. We need more self-belief when we are in front. "We have to remember we are in front for a reason. It’s because we deserve to be. It’s not a fluke. "That’s three times we have led well and not finished off teams. "We have to be more clinical." Edwards also believes his squad needs to work harder on the training pitch if they are to deliver on the pitch. He said: "We have to look at ourselves. It doesn’t help that not everyone trains Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is what a winning team needs and would want to do. It can be the difference between mid-table and top."

More pressing is Saturday’s clash at home to Chinnor, kick-off 2.30pm. The Oxfordshire team thrashed a weakened Spartans 81-0 last week, but Edwards believes his team can beat the title contenders. He said: "Bring them on. It’s a local derby, and I’m looking forward to it." Richard Beaumont, a former colt with Maids, is coming up from Southampton University to play on the wing in place of James Morris, who dislocated his shoulder in training. Will Lowden picked up a knock at Basingstoke but should be fit enough to play.