No show Maids (22.01.05)

MAIDENHEAD Rugby Club’s faint hopes of promotion were stomped into the mud at lowly Keynsham on Saturday.
On a day when underdogs across the country seemed to be having their day, the previously winless West County outfit played their high-flying visitors off the park.
Using the bog-like conditions to their advantage, Keynsham’s highly committed pack secured the lion’s share of possession in the loose, while excellent defence around the fringes and out wide prevented Maidenhead from using their superior backs’ division.
The net result was a dearth of scoring opportunities at either end.
Notably, the hosts took theirs, while a combination of poor handling and poor decision-making left Maids with just two penalty kicks to their names – one in either half – in a rather humbling defeat.
The early exchanges hinted at a rerun of last week’s low-key win over Clevedon, with Maids taking a narrow lead through the boot of Rob Hawkins, only to be pinned back inside their own half for the next 20 minutes.
Solid defence kept Keynsham out until just before the break, when a converted try from a short penalty move and a late kick handed the hosts a seven-point lead at the turn.
The only highlight of Maidenhead’s generally dire first-half performance was a scintilating counter-attack involving Danny Martin, Stuart MacKay and Mark Ruddick, with the latter dragged to earth just yards short of the try line.
But the undoubted lowlight was the rediculous yellow carding of lock De Wet Booysen for a first offence – and a very debatable one at that.
It was just one of several flakey decisions from the young and slightly bemused referee, who took almost 80 minutes to finally sin-bin one of the Keynsham players, who were creeping up offside almost every time Maids won clean ball. Booysen’s sin-binning also presented Keynsham with their opening score, as winger Harwood crashed over from close range from the ensuing penalty.
The slight but sinewy flyhalf Edson slotted the conversion, and then added to his tally with a penalty kick deep into first-half injury time, to make it 10-3 at the turn.
Maids began the second half with renewed vigour and soon won an eminently kickable penalty inside the Keynsham 22.
Unfortunately, Ruddick went for touch instead of the three points, overhit his kick and watched in frustration as it bounced dead behind the goalline.
Hawkins finally narrowed the gap with a second successful penalty kick five minutes later, but there was no subsequent sign of a Maidenhead revival, whose hopes began to sink into the increasingly sticky mud.
The travelling fans sensed that their side’s long, winning run was finally over, and those fears were confirmed 10 minutes later, when Keynsham crossed the whitewash for a second time.
Edson slotted the conversion and the hosts were firmly in the driving seat.
If any further proof were needed that it was not going to be Maidenhead’s day it came shortly before full-time, when Ben Ayres went for a quick tap penalty, lost his footing and fell flat on his face, with the ball rolling forward as he hit the ground. Then, right at the death, No.8 Piers Morgan had a chance to save face for Maids, but was hauled up just short of the line, with a two-man overlap screaming for the ball outside him.
If one were looking for excuses, the mud did prevent Maidenhead from utilising their strong-running backs.
However, it was a lack of focus or sense of purpose from the pack which finally cost them, as they were outplayed by their desperate but spirited hosts.

Keynsham: Wakers, Tanner, Slee, Bees, Harwood, Edson. Hall, Brain, Williams, Thomas, Whitcombe, Bryant, Hirons, Thompson, Johnson. Subs: Coleman, Howlett, Watts.
Maidenhead: Hawkins, Martin, Hammond, MacKay, Cripps, Ruddick, Ayres, O’Byrne, Craig, Johnston, Mueller, Booysen, Jones, Lowden, Morgan. Subs: Bryant (for Lowden), Nisbet (for Cripps, Blackwell (for Johnston).