Maids hold sway in bruising battle (02.04.05)

MAIDENHEAD emerged victorious from a bruising encounter in far-flung Clevedon on Saturday.
In truth, the final scoreline probably flattered the Braywick side, as flying flanker Will Lowden bagged two classic poacher's tries to put the tie beyond doubt.
However, the players and coach will be content simply to have won this difficult encounter against a very physical side fighting for survival in South West 1.
Indeed, Clevedon started the brighter of the two teams, but their obvious anxiety prevented them from taking an early lead, as panicky passing and poor decision-making allowed Maids to hold them at arms length.
In the end it took them 35 minutes to cross the whitewash, only for Rob Hawkins to pin them back with a penalty kick two minutes later.
Maids then sent Stuart Mackay over in the corner to establish an 8-5 lead at the turn.
But the try really belonged to Mackay’s fellow centre Jonny Hammond, who broke through in midfield and raced towards the line, only to be held up by Clevedon fullback Mike Lowis.
Lacking support, Hammond threw a loose pass to his left, and straight into the arms of a retreating defender.
Undeterred, Hammond pounced on him and ripped the ball out of his grip, setting up second phase ball for Mackay, who barged his way over in the corner.
With the wind in their backs after the break, Maids visibly grew in confidence, only for some carelessness to allow Clevedon to draw level through the boot of fly-half Dan Hawkes.
However, the momentum was undeniably behind the Berkshire side, who first retook and then stretched their lead through two Rob Hawkins penalties.
Several times Maids were held up just short of the line by determined and uncompromising defence, but they eventually broke through to grab a second try, albeit in unusual circumstances. Awarded a scrum on the five-metre line, Maids went for a pushover, only for Clevedon to take the ball against the head.
Fortunately, the scrum-half was caught slightly unawares and spilled his pass to Hawkes, allowing Lowden to dive between the defenders and touch down the loose ball.
Hawkins split the uprights and Maids were on their way.
Desperate to salvage something from the game, Clevedon went all out to narrow the deficit, only to suffer a second counter-punch from the excellent Lowden, who intercepted a loose pass and left the defence for dead as he raced away to score under the posts.
Hawkins added the extras, making the final score 28-8, and sentencing Clevedon to a very uncertain future.

Clevedon: Lowis, Cates, Thie, Harris, Johnson, Hawkes, Vailes, Potts, Morgan, Tucker, McMillan, Durrant, Hughes, Biggins, Rawle. Subs: Hill, Gallagher, Hand.
Maidenhead:Hawkins, Walton, Hammond, Mackay, Cripps, Ruddick, Ayres, Greene, Craig, O’Byrne, Mueller, Booysen, Morgan, Lowden, Jones. Edwards (for Ayres), Lubbe (for Morgan), Eddington (for Craig).