Match report and picture courtesy of the

Maidenhead crowned Berkshire Champions

A DECISIVE first-half offensive earned Maidenhead a second Berkshire Cup title in two years on Sunday, as they out-fought and out-classed National League club Bracknell at fortress Braywick.

Having advertised a 2.30pm kick-off for a game which actually started at 2.15pm, fans were still arriving when the scoreboard already read 14-0.

For those who missed it, Dave White got the hosts off to a flier, taking a short pass from the increasingly bulky yet still inspirational No.8 Piers Morgan, before crashing over the whitewash. Fullback Danny Walton added the conversion.

The second score followed just minutes later, when a conventional backs' manoeuvre ended with Daryl Brady touching down.

Walton again bisected the uprights to make it 14-0 with little more than 10 minutes on the clock. If Bracknell were hoping for a let-up in play they were to be sadly disappointed, as the hosts continued to carry the fight to their more illustrious opponents.

Indeed, Morgan wasted a two-man overlap minutes later, before Walton extended the lead to 17 points with a penalty, awarded after a prolonged period of pressure inside the Bracknell 22.

This pattern of play continued for a further 10 minutes, allowing Walton to slot two further penalties to underscore Maids' almost total dominance.

Bracknell finally put some points on the board just before half-time, when their fly-half scuffed the ball over the bar from 25 yards to make it 23-3 at the turn.

The score was probably more than they deserved, but it did seem to give them a lift. Indeed, Bracknell went on to enjoy their best spell of the game just after the restart, when a long, raking kick to the corner flag set up good field position, and from the ensuing catch-and-drive their blind-side flanker drove over in the corner for an unconverted try.

A few nervous looks were exchanged, but the hosts responded in style and settled the result on 48 minutes, when Morgan side-stepped two tacklers and carried play deep into enemy territory before off-loading to Brady, who exchanged passes with White before streaking away to score yet another converted try.

A second catch-and-drive try gave Bracknell some consolation, but it was the hosts who finished on a high, Walton sealing a 100-per-cent kicking record with his fourth successful penalty of the afternoon to make it 33-13 at the death.

Maidenhead 2nds: Groves, Prince, Dibb, Logan, Hollingsworth, Thomas, White, Morgan Morris, Nesbit, Brady, Searle, Andrew, Charles, Walton. Subs: Cox, Douglas, Greenham, Miller (all used).

Happy Miller's tale
A SUPERB team effort powered Maidenhead 2nds to the Berkshire Cup title on Sunday, in a rip-roaring victory over Bracknell.

After the match, Maidenhead 2nd XV coach Chad Miller was almost bursting with pride, saying: "They (Bracknell) are a couple of leagues above us, so we were expecting to be the underdogs, but we played some superb rugby.

"I'm really elated that we came out all guns blazing and put in a terrific performance.
"It all transferred seamlessly from the training pitch.
"And the fantastic thing about it is that it's a genuine 2nd XV.
"We really stuck to the spirit of the competition. "We had a couple of players who had made an appearance for the 1sts this season but that's it."
County officials messed up last year's final, awarding the cup to Abbey when the game ended in a draw. An appeal to the RFU saw the decision overturned and the cup was shared with Maidenhead, but Miller was determined there would be no such mix-up this time around.

He explained: "We wanted to win it outright this year, so the first thing I asked the ref was what will happen if it's level at fulltime! It was a big thing for us."

Miller enjoyed a 30 second cameo appearance in the second-half as a blood replacement, and received generous applause for his contribution.

Having spent years as a regular in the 1sts, Miller is used to the attention, but he was delighted some of the younger players were enjoying the big occasion for a change.

He said: "I have got to say a huge thank you to all the people who came down and made it a really good cup day. "It does make a heck of a difference, especially to the younger guys, who have probably never experienced that before. And if they liked it, it's a great incentive for them to step up a level and do it for the 1sts next season.

"I'd also like to say thanks to the skipper Pete Nesbit for all his help behind the scenes and his leadership on the pitch."