Match report courtesy of the

Maidenhead strolled to a nine-try rout of hosts High Wycombe in the EDF Energy Intermediate Cup on Saturday without ever really being at their best.

In a poorly refereed match, the hosts had their moments, especially just after the break, tried to run it, moved the ball around neatly and looked solid in the scrum ­ and they certainly never gave up. However, they did not possess a cutting edge, and all their good work occurred outside Maids' 22.

In reality, they never threatened to score. Maids, while lacking some control in midfield backed up with some very average passing, were far too incisive for the home side, with seemingly every back capable of side-stepping or outpacing their marker at will. Had the referee been more even-handed in his approach to the game, Maids only earning one penalty in a bizarre 60-minute spell, the score could have been even more one-sided. Blowing the final whistle five minutes early was the last in a series of erroneous decisions.

But that aside, this match proved the difference in class between the teams; one striving for a play-off place in South West 1 and the other mid-table in Division 2. The match itself was largely a procession from Maids as players tried to outdo each other in the solo try stakes. Max Willcocks got the ball rolling with the first try on three minutes after quick ball, and nine minutes later Jonny Hammond got on the scoresheet after a sidestep opened a gap in the defence.

After being pulled back for a couple of disputed forward passes, Maids next crossed the tryline on 26 minutes when a rolling maul proved unstoppable. Alex Cannon bagged the conversion after an injured Mark Ruddick had been replaced. Then on the stroke of half-time, much to the amusement of the travelling support, Dan Martin skipped in, after a multi-phase move, making use of the huge space available on the right flank because at least eight players were 50 yards away having a fight! Simon Swadling converted for 22-0 at the break.

Wycombe had their best spell of the match in the first 15 minutes of the second half, but their enterprise came to nothing, and they conceded five tries in the last 20 minutes. Willcocks grabbed his second on 56 minutes after a typically robust individual effort, which Swadling converted, while four minutes later winger Stuart Mackay touched down after a period of pressure.

The final 10 minutes saw tries for scrum-half Simon Carter, who was first to the ball as it ricocheted out of the scrum, Alex Gallina, who showed off his pace and running skills, and Mackay, who scored under the posts with the defence stretched. Swadling added two more conversions to his tally as Maids galloped past the finishing post.

The final score was not unexpected, but after a poor effort the previous week against Chippenham, this time for Maids it was a case of "a good day at the office"'.

Maidenhead:
Martin, Cannon, Hammond, Willcocks, Mackay, Ruddick, Carter, Grove, A Riley, Johnston, Gallina, Mueller, Thomas, Parkhouse, G Riley. Subs: swadling (for Ruddick, 27), Craig (for A Riley, 52), Gull (for Thomas, 52), Dibb (for G Riley, 70).

High Wycombe:
Smith, Macfarlane, Mann, Radford, Wilkes, Richards, Thornton, Slater, P Dorling, R Dorling, M Sturgeon, Bunker, Potts, Burnham, Murray. Subs: Downing, Molloy, Bowker, Davis.