Match report courtesy of the

Saturday 16th Decemeber 2006

Stuck in traffic on the M4 and having to run straight out on to the field was not an ideal situation in which to face a Chippenham side which had already won at Maidenhead.

However, Maids started strongly and only good defensive kicking by home fly half Crockett kept the visitors at bay and Maids had a number of early passing movements in the backs which led to nothing, the final pass always going astray. The tendency to kick away good possession in the early stages was eventually going to cost Maids dearly.

A long penalty from the home 10 metre line by Hawkins put Maids in the lead but subsequent poor touch kicking by Mackay and Ruddick allowed Chippenham to work their way up to the Maids 22, win a penalty converted by Brant and level the scores. Maids prop Riley and home No.6 Waldron were both yellow-carded after an altercation in a loose scrum but, after a good rolling maul and quick passing, only strong tackling in the centre kept Jonny Hammond from scoring and home fly half Crockett's left boot kept Chippenham out of trouble.

The Maids pack were winning plenty of ball, but the tendency to turn the ball back inside by the backs played into the strong Chippenham defensive wall and Maids should have spun the ball wider. Home lock Doyle won his share of lineout ball and the Chippenham half backs Trewartha and Crockett both kicked well out of hand to pin Maids back. Chippenham backs began to throw the ball about and hardly dropped a pass all afternoon but, after a series of attacks well defended by Maidenhead, powerful No.6 Waldron found a chink in defence in the centre to burst through and score an excellent try near the posts, which was converted by Brant to lead 10-3 at half time.

Brendon Lynch, Greg Riley and Alex Gallina were winning plenty of lineout ball but Chippenham began to be hungrier for the loose ball and Maids got bogged down in the very heavy, muddy pitch. Hammond and Cripps both ran strongly in the centre, but were stopped by excellent tackling and, as the game wore on, Maids looked less likely to score. The final pass kept going astray after the initial breakthrough, although home right winger Whiteman always looked dangerous while potential match winner Jonny Hammond was unable to find a way through.

Gareth Edwards kicked well from the base of the scrum and was his normal combative self in what became an increasingly physical game. Brendon Lynch was outstanding both in the lineout and in the loose and Dave Gull showed promise for the future when he came on for Joe Thomas. With Crockett pinning Maids back with long kicks in the mud and the fierce tackling by the Chippenham threes, Maids were unable to find a way through and had to settle for a narrow defeat, just about deserved by a Chippenham side who played far better than their league position indicated and will not lose to many sides in this league.

Maids have played worse than this and won games and were a little unlucky to go down in a fiercely contested game, well refereed, in which defences were on top.