HISTORY OF MAIDENHEAD RUGBY CLUB
(THAMES VALLEY)
founded 1921

A chance conversation between Roy Bonberry and Bill Turner back in 1921 was the instigation of local rugby in Maidenhead and the first friendly game on Cookham Moor marked the beginning of our history. Formation of a club quickly followed, for Berkshire Wanderers (now Reading) was the only other club of note in the Thames Valley. The attraction of Maidenhead's high society brought players and fixtures of quality to the newly formed Club and, with the talented duo of Turner and Bonberry, the randomly chosen hoop colours of magenta, violet and black were quickly to become synonymous with fast, open rugby and a hectic social life.

1926 saw the move to its first, permanent home at Kidwells Park where the Club remained for some years. Indeed the old staircase which led down from the first floor dressing rooms in the Swan Inn now resides in the present Bonberry Bar, a permanent reminder of those early days.

Due to the outbreak of the Second World War, there was a gap in the Thames Valley playing record of some 9 years, but in 1948 rugby started up again with a victory against Slough by 41 points to nil, and with only 14 players.

Mike Davis was 1st team skipper in the early 1960's when a change of name and site was considered. 1967 saw the move to Braywick and the adoption of Maidenhead R.U.F.C. as the Club's official name. Unfortunately Roy Bonberry passed away in 1983 whilst still Club President. He had played a major part in the Club's progress, being an official in various forms for over 60 years.

The 1970's were a big step forward for Maidenhead, first under the captaincy of Martin Gulliford who introduced high standards of playing and training and then under Derek Harris, Derek's captaincy saw Maidenhead winning the Berkshire Cup twice and in the 1974/75 season he steered the side to 36 wins from 38 games, amassing over 900 points. Successive captains Dick Brown,Allan Carter, lan Boyd and Nigel Crosland continued to lead their sides to further victories in the Berkshire Cup.

One of the highlights of the I980's was the match against Harlequins in the 3rd round of the John Player Cup, at The Stoop. Many of the players still remember that game clearly today and often relate many anecdotes from the day's events.

The 80's and early 90's saw the development and growth of the strong Mini and Junior Sections. Dedicated work from first, just a few and then, an increasing number of helpers and coaches, saw this section of the Club grow into the enormously popular and successful section that it is today, fielding over 300 registered players between the ages of 5 and 17.

The introduction of the National Leagues, in 1987/88, saw a large re-organisation of rugby throughout the country. Most of the old 'friendly' fixtures disappeared, even at 2nd, 3rd and 4th team level, as League rugby filled more and more of the Saturday fixture lists. Originally placed in South West Division One, Maidenhead won promotion in the 89/90 season only to return to S.West One the following season. This division proved one of the most difficult from which to gain promotion and apart from that brief excursion to the then National League Four, Maidenhead remained in S.West One throughout the 1990's, despite some excellent playing performances.

2001/02 saw Maids one of 4 clubs relegated after an injury-plagued season. The following year in a bid to return we won 17 of 22 league games but finished 3rd, missing the play-offs by one point. Finally 2003/4 saw a return to South West I, with only one league game lost all season.

The first season back in 2004/5 saw a rocky start but a fine recovery, and Maidenhead finished 5th overall. The season was also noteworthy for Allan Greene's 600th game for the Club, and subsequent "retirement" to the coaching team. Maids finished 5th again in 2005/6, despite some great performances and 100 tries scored in the league. The 2nd XV also had a good season, winning the County Cup once again. Elsewhere the Vets saw international success, beating Finland!

2006/7 brought new challenges, with 2 long trips down to Cornwall, as well as the addition of 2 more local derbies against Bracknell and Reading. Maids finished 3rd, just missing the play-offs for promotion, despite beating eventual league winners Mounts Bay both home and away. Centre Max Willcocks was the league's leading try scorer. The 2nd XV finished 2nd in their league (only on points difference), reached the semi-finals of the Berkshire Cup and reaped the benefits of a strong squad competing for all positions.

The 1st XV squad is in good shape for 2007/8, and we look forward to another closely contested season as we push for promotion. The aim is to maintain as high a proportion of "home-grown" players in the squad as possible, and the presence of a number of young players is testament to the success of the Junior section in developing local talent to feed through to the Colts and beyond. (One recent Churchill Cup game featured three recent Maids players in James Haskell, Nils Mordt and Thorn Evans).

Whilst not winning any silverware last season the Colts put together some great performances (notably a 72-0 win over Reading) and built a great team spirit under the dedicated captaincy of Luke Knowles. After making the finals of the Maidenhead 7s, Maids pulled off a dramatic last ditch win against Gloucester champions Stroud in the first round of the National Cup, coming back from 20-7 down to win 21-20.Though a mid-season dip saw them knocked out in the 3rd round by Old Redcliffians, a good run in the Plate was eventually halted by Exeter, with the game played in the magnificent Sandy Park stadium. In the BBO league Maids started strongly and maintained their Division I status through to the post-Xmas second phase, eventually coming fourth.

This season should be a strong one with the upcoming U17s having won the U17s BBO league last season. David Pepper has taken on the role of Colts Head Coach.

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