Medway RFC U17s

18 November 2007

In their quest for tough and challenging rugby Medway travelled to Berkshire this week, where they produced some of their most convincing rugby of the season against a speedy and spirited Maidenhead side. Outscored by four tries to one in the first half, the home side gathered themselves to register three tries to two in their favour in the second half, which made for a thoroughly entertaining game.

Quick out of the traps, Medway won the early physical battle, especially in the loose, with the forwards clearing the opposition out of the rucks with gusto and commitment. Medway had the better of the scrum, with scrum-half James Davies constantly able to disrupt his opposite number's delivery from the base, taking advantage of a solid and stable shove. The opposition were living off scraps and Medway took full advantage.

Medway's lineout was also working well, aided by accurate throwing in from hooker Jordan Hannah, and with Maidenhead choosing not to compete when the ball was near their line. Consequently the pack produced a glut of good ball for the backs, and Richard Verrall made the most of it with two tries in the first ten minutes.

The first came from a lineout on the five-metre line. Paul Pierce gathered unopposed at the front, and perhaps Maidenhead expected the maul to be driven over the line. Instead the ball was fed through Aman Gill to Verrall, who forced his way over the line.

The second came from a fine jinking run by Jamie Chapman on the left wing. When he was finally forced to ground, support from the forwards produced quick ball, and Stewart Stockford provided Verrall with another chance to force his way through the tackle to the line.

Maidenhead struck back quickly though, and in their first attack of the game they exploited some poor tackling in the centre of Medway's defence, allowing their fly-half to slide in under the posts. The conversion cut Medway's lead to three points, 7 - 10, and that aberration led the visitors to tighten up. From then on, Maidenhead suffered some crunching tackles from Stockford, Verrall and Tom Bourne. The home side tried kicking over the top, but the back three of Bourne, Chapman and fullback Jonathan Saddington were vigilant and mopped up comfortably.

Back in the home side's 22 for much of the remainder of the half, Medway added another try from Tom Barnes after clean ball from another five-metre lineout was spread wide. Paul Pierce converted, and then Verrall added a penalty from 35 metres out.

At 7 - 20, Maidenhead tried to get back in the game and gained some territory, but were rocked back on their heels as a dropped pass was hacked upfield. With the Maidenhead fullback up in the line, it was a straight race to the ball and Jamie Chapman doesn't lose many of those. Hacking on and then gathering he ran unopposed behind the posts. Pierce converted and the whistle blew for half-time with Medway 7 - 27 to the good.

There must have been an inspiring team talk to the Maidenhead side at the break, as they came out determined to put pressure on the Medway defence. Improvement up front allowed them to recycle the ball through multiple phases, and eventually a second row forward crossed the line near the corner.

The game became a midfield battle, but Medway's defensive line was always quick to put pressure on the Maidenhead backs and handling errors resulted. One such mistake left the ball loose for Verrall to hack on and gather to go over for his hat-trick. Pierce converted and the score was 12 - 34.

Back came Maidenhead, and after a period of pressure in the centre the home side moved the ball wide for their impressive fullback to join the line and dive into the corner.

While the result was never in doubt, it was hugely enjoyable to watch the ding-dong battle of the second half. It was Medway's turn to score, and they did through a crashing drive and offload by Tom Barnes to Jamie Chapman, who danced around three tacklers before shifting it to Joe Jelfs who went under the posts. This time Stewart Stockford drop-kicked the conversion, apparently in a hurry to get back into the fray.

But the last word deservedly went to Maidenhead, who fought back with great spirit. A quickly tapped penalty caught the Medway defence asleep for once, allowing the overlapping left winger into the corner, making the final score 22 - 41.