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Maids’ defensive frailties exposed 16-point advantage is thrown away at battling Quins

Dire defending turned a potential rout into a desperate defeat for Maidenhead on Saturday, as Oxford Harlequins made the most of a languid display from their guests to nick a narrow but deserved win.

In glorious playing conditions at Horspath Road, Maids seemed to have the measure of their hosts in the opening 20 minutes and looked set for a cricket score. Indeed, it took less than a minute to open up the home side’s defences, when scrum half Gareth Edwards pounced on a loose ball before spinning it down the line to flanker-cum-winger Will Lowden, who brushed off two tackles before sprinting away to score out wide on the left. Apparently relishing his new role as kicker, Mark Ruddick made the difficult conversion look easy to give Maids a 7-0 lead.

Despite conceding a try so early in the game, Oxford seemed determined to run the ball at every opportunity. This produced the odd scare for the visitors, but the tactic of keeping the ball alive eventually played into Maidenhead’s hands, when Oxford were caught in possession and failed to release the ball in the tackle. Ruddick sent the resulting penalty spiralling into touch and from the ensuing catch-and-drive No.8 Piers Morgan touched down in the right-hand corner. Ruddick made his second successful conversion of the afternoon and Maids were firmly in the driving seat.

But that was as good as it got for the visitors, as a lack of concentration, composure and perhaps commitment allowed the hosts to come right back into the game. Awarded a penalty for holding on in the tackle, Oxford caught Maidenhead cold with a quick tap-and-go, Henley waltzing through a static defence to score in the corner. Maids replied with another catch-and-drive try, once again scored by Morgan and converted by Ruddick, for a 21-5 lead. But rather than lying down and accepting their fate, the Harlequins stepped up a gear and bludgeoned their way down the pitch in short, punchy drives. Maids eventually conceded a penalty, from which Oxford deployed their rolling maul to score a converted try in the corner, courtesy of Paul Delange.

This proved to be the turning point in the game, as the hosts went on to score a further 26 points without reply. The onslaught began when Oxford took a quick throw-in to set up a counter-attack, then drove play infield before releasing Mawle. He powered past the back-pedalling defence and then drew the final tackle before popping the ball inside to Barry Nutt for an easy score under the posts. Gustafson bisected the uprights and Oxford were within two points of their guests. Minutes later they took the lead, when a downfield clearance was returned with interest, Henley popping up on the end of the line to score a terrific try under the posts. The Oxford forwards then took their turn to expose sloppy Maidenhead defending, when No.8 Jamie Cope broke the line before passing inside for Shaun Baxter to score beneath the posts. Gustafson made sure of the conversion and Oxford were running away with it at 31-21.

Disbelief became embarrassment on 61 minutes, when replacement prop Hocevar side-stepped the Maidenhead back row and ran 30 yards to set up a score for Charlie Mawle. Thankfully, this insult proved too much to bear and Maids finally launched a belated fightback. Adopting their hosts’ tactics of applying relentless pressure down the centre of the pitch, Maidenhead’s pack finally got within striking distance of the line and Morgan peeled off the back of the ruck to score his third try of the afternoon. Ruddick added the extras and Maids were back in the hunt at 38-28 with 16 minutes to play.

Minutes later the gap was narrowed to three points, when Stuart Mackay – perhaps feeling the cold after a long, lonely afternoon on the wing – decided to join a rolling maul and emerged from the pack to score another converted try. With the clock ticking down Oxford were fighting for their lives, with Maidenhead camped out inside their 22. The visitors looked to have nicked it on 79 minutes, when a kick for touch and a well-worked lineout sent Morgan over the whitewash for a fourth time. However, the referee could not tell if the ball had been grounded and ordered a five-metre scrum.

Swapping the speedy but lightweight Alex Gallina for the bulkier Simon King in the second row, Maids went for the pushover. Getting the shove on, Maids bulldozed their way over the try line, but when Morgan dotted the ball down the referee called no try, claiming the bewildered No.8 had made a double movement. The whistle sounded seconds later, leaving a relieved Harlequins side to celebrate their third victory of the season.

If one were looking for excuses, one might cite determined running and brave defending from the entire Harlequins side. But as they had only scored eight tries in their previous seven games, the blame must ultimately lie with Maidenhead, who stood off important tackles, consistently lost 50-50 balls in the loose and – perhaps most heinously – took their upper-table status for granted.

Oxford Harlequins: A Cope, Nutt, Mawle, Henley, Tanner, Gustafson, Edgington, Fourie, Chadbone, De Lange, Dixon, Dawson, Baxter, Vinter, J Cope. Subs: Hocevar, Mason, Cottenden, Maidenhead: Ayres, Mackay, Hammond, Cripps, Lowden, Ruddick, Edwards, Grove, Craig, Johnston, Gallina, Mueller, Vorster, Parkhouse, Morgan. Subs: King (for Gallina), Jelski, Blackwell (for Grove).

Quins defeat due to lack of nous
A DISAPPOINTING defeat away to Oxford Harlequins has all but ended Maidenhead’s promotion hopes for another season.

This fact clearly rankles with coach Simon Edwards, but the normally fiery Braywick boss refused to be too harsh on his young side, blaming the result on a slight lack of experience. He said: “Being 21-5 up 10 minutes before half-time is like being 3-1 up in football. You close up shop. “It needed some bombs into the corners and then keep them there. “But we carried on playing sevens and running it from deep positions. “It’s the lack of an old head in the forwards. “Someone should have said ‘Let’s have 10 minutes of nine-man rugby’. “We should have made them play inside their 22. “When they’re playing in yours it only takes one missed tackle and they score. And that’s what happened. “And once they (Oxford) got back in the game you could see their confidence rise.”

Edwards admitted some credit must go to Oxford, who played out of their skins to secure the points. He said: “They’re not a bad team and I can see them beating a few sides. “Their centres were good, and their back row was very good.” However, he did not believe Harlequins’ deserved their victory, not least because of his side’s two disallowed tries at the death. He said: “They were both tries. After the game even Oxford said they were both tries.” Nonetheless, Edwards admitted it was his side’s atrocious defending that had ultimately cost them the game, adding: “Our one-up tackling was woeful. Our defence, when it was under pressure, was terrible. ”But this is a young side and you’re going to get games like this. I have always admitted we will concede points if we play this kind of game.” “But we’ll sort it out this week.”

Not that this week’s game will be one for experimenting, as Maidenhead entertain unbeaten Weston-super-Mare at Braywick, kick-off 2.30pm. Edwards said: “We have never beaten Weston in the history of the club. “But we’re unbeaten at home this season and I believe we will beat them on Saturday.”