Match report courtesy of the

Maids outclass Pen in every department

With perfect conditions for open rugby Maidenhead demonstrated their firepower particularly outside the scrum by dismantling Penryn on Saturday.

After an early penalty by scrum-half Pascoe gave Penryn the lead, a clean break in the centre by Simon Cripps gave Stuart McKay a try in the corner, and after good runs by Danny Walton and Johnny Hammond, skipper Mark Ruddick added to the lead with a straightforward penalty. A long kick by Ruddick who was cleverly orchestrating the visitors’ attacks, drove Penryn down to their 22m line when, with a superb take by Alex Gallina in the lineout, the Maids forwards strolled over with their rolling maul for Richie Craig to touch down in the corner. Ruddick’s kick hit the post.

A sporadic attack by the home side gave Pascoe the chance to reduce the arrears with an excellent long penalty, but immediately Cripps powered through the centre and with support from the increasingly prominent Paul Jones, McKay was sent in for his second try, Ruddick’s kick again hitting the post. Maids were becoming increasingly dominant with every member of the team making their mark, and only lock Giles in the lineout and No.8 Short, putting up much resistance. Just before half-time Walton scored when he deftly grub-kicked through, ran round and touched down for Ruddick to convert.

Maids kept up the pressure when Hammond, always a handful in the centre, made a half-break and held up the ball for fullback Plamus, with the aid of a silky side step, to score in the corner. Maids were now in complete control. The forwards, with Mark Mueller and Jones outstanding in the loose, Johannes Vorster doing his usual cleaning up of scraps in defence, props Ashley Riley and Dave Johnston putting on the squeeze in the front row, and Gallina excellent in the lineout, aided by accurate throwing in by Craig, were having a field day.

Sub Will Lowden came on to add to the home side’s woes and was quickly into the attack with a stream of good ball, but it was Mueller, carrying on his outstanding form, who galloped over for the next try converted by Ruddick. At 37-6 up it would have been understandable if Maids had taken their foot off the pedal but they kept playing good, fast team rugby to increase the score. Penryn tried to run the ball but the Maids defence was very sound and the home side made little progress in attack.

Walton, Cripps, Hammond and McKay are a strong running back line, as good as anything in the division, and were able to break at will. Hammond gave the supporting Walton another try under the posts converted by Ruddick before McKay made one of his staccato sorties into midfield off the wing and put Lowdon in under the posts. After another classy break by man of the match Joe Plamus, Lowdon managed to drop the ball over the line but Cripps completed the scoring with another burst through the centre to give Maids an emphatic victory.

This was a top class performance by Maids where the constant stream of good ball was unselfishly distributed by scrum-half Gareth Edwards and fly-half Ruddick to the strong runners in the backline who did the job. The one blemish in the overall performance was the number of times attackers lost the ball giving the home side turnovers which they had no right to expect. With this in mind, and with a few more kicks going over, the score could have been much higher. Coach Simon Edwards must have been well pleased with this performance particularly with a home clash against Clifton looming on the horizon.

Confidence is sky high
After crushing Penryn on their own soil on Saturday, Maidenhead coach Simon Edwards believes his team can now beat anyone in South West Division 1. Although one victory does not make a season, the humbling of Penryn is the culmination of a resurgence in Maids’ form in the last month which has seen them score points for fun while only conceding two tries.

Edwards said of his squad: “We are ticking along well at present. “There is massive confidence in the team and we have found a style of play which suits us. “You have to remember we are a young side and it has taken a while to find our feet since having a lot of injuries at the start of the campaign. “We now have more experience, quality players and greater fitness levels.” He added: “We are capable of beating anyone in this league and not just on a one-off basis, but regularly. “In the last quarter of matches teams just can’t live with us. “Look at Abbey, Penryn and Cheltenham. “We are dominating and turning pressure into points.” The Penryn clash was a case in point as they ran away after the break, scoring an additional 41 points. Edwards said: “They gave us a good workout for 20 minutes, but we produced one of our most professional performances of the season “It was a display of 15-man rugby with no weak links. “We were also very disciplined. I was delighted with our defence down there. “Not to concede a try against a team we had never beaten on their own ground is excellent.”

Edwards was also happy to spread the praise around his coaching team and players, saying: “The players respect the coaches, and we respect the players. “That’s very important to have that respect and confidence in each other. “Allan Greene and Paul Jelski have been working well with the forwards, they are fit and have the lineout organised really well. “We are a light pack, but punching above our weight.”

For Edwards, the other pleasing factor in Maids progress is that most of the players are local. He said: “Although we have brought in players from overseas to plug the gaps left by numerous injuries and add some competitiveness, 80 per cent of the players in the squad are still local. “It’s the only way to build, from within. It’s a tribute to the club and its colts section. “Buying success is not an option. We have seen at other clubs it does not work.” However, Edwards is pleased with the players brought in to add experience and class, and he singled out Saturday’s man of the match Joe Plamus, who is from New Zealand. Edwards said of the full-back: “Plamus is quality and fits well into our style. “He creates space for others which is important.” He added: “It was also great to see Danny Walton back after 18 months out. “He has had two knee-rebuilds and a hamstring injury, but looks quicker than ever. And he’s a local lad.”

Maids do not have a match on Saturday and are next in action the following Saturday at home to third-placed Clifton. Edwards said of the match: “We can beat them. But it will be a real test of how far we have progressed. “I’m really looking forward to it.”