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Maids fell not-so mighty Quins

Depleted hosts grind out victory with professional display

A severely depleted Maidenhead team ground out a satisfying victory over a disappointing Harlequins outfit at Braywick on Saturday In a contest of few chances, Maids weathered early Quins pressure to dominate possession and territory thereafter. They nullified the limited attacking potential of the visitors with some honest forward donkey-work and, while never racing away on the scoreboard, they enjoyed a degree of control which made this win extremely comfortable.

The win was more impressive because of the number of players missing, added to which centre Simon Cripps was substituted after just five minutes because of a head injury. However, it could have been so different as Maids should have been behind after 10 minutes when the visitors created a two-man overlap, following a brilliant chip by scrum-half Anthony Cope, but Ellio Recchio decided to go it alone and was pinned by Peter Nisbet. Maids recovered from this let-off to score the only points of the half five minutes later when a catch and drive move from a lineout saw Piers Morgan peel off the pack of the maul and dive over. Mark Ruddick missed the conversion. His opposite number for Quins, Chris Cooper, then missed a 40-metre penalty midway through the first period, after which Maids closed out the half with few concerns.

After the break, Maids were hampered more by some unusual decisions from the referee than by the visitors, in what was a professional display of ‘to have and to hold’. But this does not mean that Maids did not show any ambition, indeed just three minutes after the re-start a powerful run from second rower Paul Jones saw the gain line broken and the Quins defence back-tracking. Ruddick was on hand to off-load to hooker Richie Craig who delivered a perfect pass to Stuart Mackay to run in and touch down. The conversion was again off target.

To the Quins’ credit, they scored from their only advanced position of the half, with their own catch and drive routine on 47 minutes; Ali Cradock claiming the try, which was unconverted. Maids ensured that this defensive blemish did not herald a Quins resurgence, and they effectively secured the points eight minutes later from a move started and finished by skipper Ruddick. His punt downfield was caught by Quins’ Jaz Tanner, but under pressure from Stuart Douglas, a poor pass was picked off by Ruddick who ran half the length of the pitch to touchdown in the corner. He then regained his puff and composure to knock over an excellent conversion from the touchline in front of the stand. A further successful penalty kick from Ruddick on 72 minutes capped a performance from Maids which although will not live long in the memory, underscored that even when not at full strength, they are determined and competitive.

Maidenhead: Mackay, Douglas, Hammond, Cripps, Nisbet, Ruddick, Edwards, Johnston, Craig, Riley, Gallina, Jones, Vorster, Lowden, Morgan. Subs: Thomas (for Cripps, 5), Parkhouse (for Vorster, 65), Blackwell (not used).

Oxford Harlequins: Noyce, Tanner, Henley, Mawle, Recchia, Cooper, Cope, Fourie, Chadbone, Delange, Dixon, Dawson, Craddock, Vinter, Soper. Subs: Hocevar, Needham, Dowd.

Edwards: ‘What has happened to amateur ethos?’ (13.01.06)
AFTER what Simon Edwards called ‘several unsavoury incidents’ in recent weeks, the Maidenhead coach is questioning the direction the amateur game is taking. Despite enjoying a useful victory over Oxford Harlequins on Saturday, Edwards was more interested in discussing what he sees as a decline in standards at this level.

He said: “Defensively we were solid as a rock and apart from their one try they didn’t look like scoring. “But after that it became personal. I think it’s very sad what is happening.” Edwards explained: “We had an incident with a linesman against Chinnor recently, and then again on Saturday. “Then, on the pitch, we had off the ball incidents in the first and last minutes. “Simon Cripps spent the weekend in hospital and had to see a plastic surgeon. “He has stud marks in the top of his head and on his face which, according to the doctor, looked like two separate incidents. “I can’t cite anyone because I didn’t see who did it, but they had two players who were wearing the same number which didn’t help.” He added: “We are all amateurs and have to go to work on Mondays. Crippsy had to take days off work and that will cost him. “His eye lid was almost hanging off. He’ll be back playing in three or four weeks but that’s not the point. I really do question the way the game is going at the moment. I’m getting disillusioned. “What has happened to the amateur ethos?”

However, on the plus side, his team comfortably secured two points and now have three new overseas recruits added to their ranks. Edwards said: “Brendan Lynch, Adam Ellwood and Joseph Plans have joined us from Ponsonby in Auckland. “They have all played together for a while and will be with us for two years. Brendan is a No.8/blindside flanker and was his club’s player of the year last season, while Adam is an openside flanker and can also play wing because of his sevens background. “Joseph is a centre/fullback who has All Blacks Under 19s experience. “It’s very exciting to have them here, but they will have to play well to get into the team. Despite our injuries, we have a lot of strength in depth and to get selected they will have to be better than what we have.” He added: “However, I’m looking forward to working with them in training. I expect them to add a cutting edge to our training sessions and the second half of our season. “They will learn from us, and we will learn from them.”