MAIDENHEAD Rugby Club grabbed their first ever win at Cheltenham on Saturday, to secure their future in South West 1 and avenge a narrow defeat at Braywick.
Maids coach Simon Edwards was naturally delighted with success over the Tigers, but even more so with the nature of the win.
He said: “It was very much against the odds.
“It was a hard battle against a side that had to win. I think it was a big, last-ditch effort for them.
“They brought in one or two new players, and others came back from injury for the game.
“They had eight changes from the previous week.
“They were big and aggressive and our record down there was we'd never won.
“It was tipping down with rain all through the game, and they knew what had happened to us at Keynsham in the mud.
“You could tell they wanted it. They had targeted it for a win. They certainly put pressure on us, especially in the tight five. It was a very tight game.
“But they only scored through our mistakes.”
However, the coach admitted his side’s second-half performance had been almost flawless.
He said: “At half-time it was 15-14 to them, I think.
“But in the second half we battered them. We knew it would be about ball retention, and we hardly dropped a ball. It was so disciplined.”
The result guarantees Maids’ survival in South West 1, but things might have been very different if they had not lost to Keynsham two weeks ago, as they might now be eyeing promotion.
Edwards said: “That defeat is starting to haunt me now.
“We're four points away from second and third. We could have been two points behind, and still to play them.
“But it’s lovely to be sat in fourth place with a five point gap below us, knowing we’re safe in the league.
“And it’s still only February. It's already a good season. We just have to follow that up with a good finish.”
Despite giving up the promotion race for this year, Edwards was confident his side would be back in the hunt next year.
He added: “After a season like this the challenge has to be promotion next year.”
While admitting he would have to add depth to the squad to achieve that goal, Edwards takes great pride in the amateur status of his side.
He explained: “The top three teams are almost semi-professional. But we're the most professional amateur team.
“All but one of the squad are Maidenhead boys.”

Maids take a break from rugby this week, then entertain Penryn on February 19.