Match report courtesy of the

Saturday 24th February 2007

WINNING ugly never looked so good.

Maidenhead may well know how to win with a swagger but this season they have struggled to scrap wins. On Saturday this young side showed it is maturing nicely as Maids switched to plan B and won by getting down on their hands and knees and fighting for every point in the blood and the mud at Braywick. This 27-5 win over an in-form Bracknell side should go down as one of Maids most impressive of the season.

No, Maids may not have run-in eight tries, or dazzled in the backs but they did produce a thoroughly professional performance to beat the league¹s form side and they did so without ever approaching their fluid best. Four tries to one hardly tells the full story of the game, nor of the ferocity of the battle and the excellence that the home team achieved in the defence against a team who had won their previous four games. Former England flanker, Chris Sheasby clearly had his troops fired up and ensured the opening exchanges were packed with the kind of heat that you would expect from a Berkshire derby, with Bracknell signalling their intentions from the off as they emerged a hungry, aggressive unit, determined not to be brushed aside.

The visitors appeared to revel in dumping Max Willcocks and Jonny Hammond on their backs time and time again in the opening minutes. And Bracknell could and should have gone ahead but Maids were stubborn in defence and gradually worked their way into the contest, not through their dazzling backs but through the endeavour of their pack. Alex Gallina was superb for Maids in the line-out, and his first catch set the platform for the forwards to produce a perfectly controlled drive which was only stopped when the visitors dragged it down inches short of the line. Stuart Mackay was on hand to knock over the penalty to put Maids ahead.

Buoyed by the score Maids stepped up a gear and suddenly a drip of Maids domination turned into a downpour when a bruising Simon Cripps' run ended with him crashing over in the corner for a superb individual score that put Maids 10 points clear. Cripps had looked second favourite when he collected the ball 30 yards from the line. But the Maids winger has shown he is almost impossible to put down when he gets a sniff of the line, the three Bracknell defenders who were left in his wake are well aware of that now.

Maids then shook the visitors to their bootlaces with a second try within 10 minutes. It came immediately from a Maids line out steal by Alex Gallina just inside the Bracknell 22, as the backs cut loose Max Willcocks drew his man and flicked a delicate floated pass out to the flying Joe Plamus who was under the posts in a flash. Home nerves did begin to jangle just before the break when the elusive Jamie Vernon carved through the Maids midfield, and set up Kenny Barry to score as the sides went in 15-5.

The second-half failed to match the first-half fireworks. Maids defence was superb and Cripps did finish off another well-taken try, following a half-break by Willcocks and a well-angled run by Alex Cannon who gave Cripps a free run under the posts. Hammond gave a gloss to the final score with a try in the dying minutes. Maids did play much of the second period against 14 men after Dave Budge received a straight red card for foul and abusive language towards the referee.

It was an impressive performance, Greg Riley and Mark Mueller led stoutly and without fuss in a pack as Maids¹ working parts started to purr nicely. Nearly everyone played their part, Joe Plamus tormented Bracknell with his verve from broken play and Cripps¹ trademark straight running provided the perfect outlet for Willcocks¹ sweetly floated passes and trickery. Gareth Edwards drove his pack on brilliantly and gave Maids a blend of fluidity and solidity throughout the game which was enough to see them through.

But this will have been hugely pleasing afternoon for Simon Edwards who watched his young side show glimpses of maturity as they won a game they may well have let slip earlier this season.

Maidenhead:
Plamus (Canon, 56), Cripps, Hammond, Willcocks, Mackay, Ruddick, Edwards, Johnston (Grove, 75), Craig, Blackwell, Gallina, Mueller (Gull, 75), Jones, Windeyer, Riley.