Camelot Colts 3 v Maidenhead Colts 15
Sunday 22nd January 2006

Arriving with just one prop and no fly-half, coach Gordon MacDonald was able to give some players the opportunity to try new positions. Chris Adam made good debut at No 10 and Tom "I played prop for school once" Plumer relished his new found role in the front row.

The first half saw Camelot first on the score sheet with a well taken penalty kick but Maids soon replied with an ingenious try. Adam kicked down field and the Camelot defender who received it probably wished he hadn't as Alex Cannon arrived to tackle him. Cannon hacked on the resulting dropped ball and Chris Parrott was there to pounce as it crossed the line.

Maids then applied sustained pressure, and from a ruck 5m out, scrum-half Olly Styles moved the ball quickly to Andrew Mitchell who passed to Cannon to score the corner. Unfortunately as he touched down Alex found a buried flint with his knee and he took no further part in the match.

The final score of the half, and indeed the match, came from a classic number 8 move. Joe Thomas picked up from a 5m scrum and committed two defenders before releasing Styles to score in the same corner. Dave "why is always right in the corner" Hodgson went close with the conversion attempt.

In the second half the two teams largely cancelled each other out. Maids' renowned defence absorbed a long period of Camlelot pressure, often self-inflicted by giving away too many silly penalties. Maids own attacks broke down with either poor handling or choosing the wrong option.

In the end it was a satisfying win. Now everyone is looking forward to the full squad getting back together in preparation for the return to BBO league action in a couple of weeks.

Maidenhead squad:
Cannon, Grant, Hodgson, Standfast, Dean, Adam, Styles; Plumer, Shearer, Robinson, Mitchell, Jones, Johnson, Parrott, Thomas, Christian, Richardson, Stefan, Batten