Match report and picture courtesy of the

MAKESHIFT Maids had a close shave in their opening home game of the campaign at Braywick on Saturday, when only the final whistle prevented a Lazarus-esque comeback by the Cornishmen. With an injury list reading like a phone directory, coach Simon Edwards was forced to field new arrival Max Willcocks in the centres, alongside usual fly-half Mark Ruddick, while Danny Walton and Colt Alex Cannon took the wings.

This ensured new boy Simon Swadling kept the No.10 shirt, while Gareth Edwards lined-up at scrum-half. Last year's star fullback Joe Plamus was one of five first-choice backs watching from the stands, so he was replaced by old faithful Rob Hawkins, whose metronomic kicking ultimately proved decisive.

Thankfully, Maids' pack was largely intact, which was just as well, as St Ives rarely spun the ball wide and gave their hosts a serious work-out up front with their constant pick-and-go tactics.

Indeed, the game was largely a forwards battle for the first quarter, punctuated by a single penalty for the hosts, which Hawkins expertly converted from all of 35 yards.

But that began to change on 23 minutes, when the Maidenhead backs finally gained some clean possession and began flinging the ball wide at every opportunity. Willcocks proved something of a revelation, with his strong running and slick handling leading to two half chances before he benefitted from some quick thinking by Cannon. Caught on the touchline, the young winger seemed to have run out of options, but a neat flick over his shoulder gave Willcocks a clear run to the corner. Hawkins missed the difficult conversion, but Maids had a useful eight-point advantage.

Both sides were then reduced to 14 men, after Ashley Riley and Louis Stevens exchanged handbags, before half-time gave both sides a welcome rest.

After the restart St Ives were straight onto the front foot, but paid the price when Willcocks intercepted a telegraphed pass and sprinted from inside his own 22 to touch down under the posts. The conversion made it 15-0 and St Ives looked despondent.

Matters got worse for them on 56 minutes, when a stirring passage of play ended with Swadling dotting down his own grubber kick. Once again, Hawkins made the conversion and at 22-0 St Ives seemed dead and buried. Maids obviously thought so too, and promptly took their foot off the gas.

It proved a mistake, as the previously dejected Cornishmen suddenly found room to manoeuvre. The onslaught began with a trade of penalties, as Grant Thirlby and Hawkins took the score to 25-3. From the restart the real carnage began, as Maids conceded a penalty and St Ives kicked for touch. From the resulting catch-and-drive, and a couple of failed sorties, St Ives prop Tony Stevens rolled over in the corner to make it 25-8.

Maids still looked pretty smug, but the visitors proceeded to wipe the smiles off their faces with a barrage of scores. Firstly, the St Ives backs managed to string five passes together to put scrum-half Stuart Turnbull over in the corner. Thirlby missed the extras, to which Hawkins replied by bisecting the uprights from just inside the halfway line. St Ives were unimpressed and promptly scored a third try in the corner, with substitute Michael Tuilua making the most of a two-man overlap to jog in on the wing. An identikit effort on 43 minutes should have narrowed the gap to five points, but this time Edwards put in a bone-crunching challenge and shook the ball loose as the winger dropped over the line.

With the clock ticking down, St Ives did get within a score of their hosts with another regulation backs move. But with the home crowd gripping the edges of their seats, the referee finally relented and blew the whistle, sending the Maidenhead players back down the tunnel for a right rollicking. Indeed, if St Ives had a kicker to match Hawkins, they would almost certainly have carried the day.

Maidenhead: Hawkins, Walton, Willcocks, Ruddick, Cannon, Swadling, Edwards, A Riley, Craig, Grove, Gallina, Mueller, Lynch, Parkhouse, Windeyer. Subs: Dibb, Morgan, G Riley.
St Ives: Snee, Baigent, Hart, Thirlby, Trescothick, Sanders, Turnbull, T Stevens, Trivett, Noott, L Stevens, Skinner, Corin, Boase, Brooke. Subs: Wills, Gaigher, Tuilua.

Maids are off-message
MAIDENHEAD coach Simon Edwards was both annoyed and relieved to claim maximum points against St Ives on Saturday, as his side surrendered a 22-point lead to eventually win by just five. He said: "We were 22-0 up and dominating. St Ives were playing their normal nine-man game and saw it wasn't working, so they started throwing it about. That's hard to address once it happens. In the end I was just pleased to get a result, but more pleased we dominated for 60 minutes. We got a win against a team who beat Cleve last week, with a side that was put together on the day. That's two weeks in a row we've had major disruptions before kick-off. The backs had hardly played together at all. But Willcocks and Swadling showed they are both major signings and will put pressure on the full strength side. That's a big plus. One negative is that we let them back in the game. We've made St Ives think when we go down there they can win it. But against a full strength side they've no hope."

Things are looking up for tomorrow's trip to Bracknell, with Simon Cripps, Joe Plamus and Jonny Hammond declaring themselves fit again. Former teammate Stuart Mackay now lines up for Bracknell, and the players are all looking forward to seeing him again. However, Edwards warned against targeting him, saying: "This isn't Maidenhead versus Mackay. He's just one fifteenth of the side. Beat Bracknell and we beat him. We are the underdogs, but we just need to go there and do a job."