Maidstone vs. Jersey RFC

Home at The Mote, Saturday 6 October, 2007, Kick Off – 2pm

League London 2 South

by Trevor Langley

Maidstone played their best rugby of the season but lost this engaging encounter with Jersey because they failed to contain the visitors in the first twenty minutes, allowing four scores against them in this period. Against this fast and efficient side, with four professional players from the southern hemisphere in their ranks, this was too big a handicap to claw back with defeat the ultimate result.

The early lapses came despite an encouraging start with Maidstone playing the game in the Jersey half and dominating possession. It was turnover ball that proved their undoing and from a Maidstone ruck on the Jersey 22, the visitors stole the ball from the back of Maidstone’s scrum and moved swiftly up field for the blind side flanker, Maakafi to touch down in the left corner.  Fly half Swift added the points to give Jersey a 7-0 lead after 5 minutes.

A second goal by Jersey on ten minutes, following a poor clearing kick from the Maidstone 22, saw the visiting full back collect and set up flanker Bell to break two tackles to score.  Two more tries, one by each winger, saw Jersey move to a 28-0 lead after twenty minutes, demonstrating the gulf between the sides at this stage.

Maidstone appeared perplexed by what was happening because when they did get the ball in their hands they managed to make ground and threaten the Jersey line. On twenty minutes, their pressure began to pay off when they were awarded a penalty in front of the posts and Craig Whitehead put them on the score sheet. A try by Arnold, after he burst into the line from a move off the base of the scrum in the Jersey 22, was just reward for a good passage of play by the hosts and the conversion by Whitehead established a measure of respectability. But slack play from the restart allowed a Jersey scrum from which centre Tuia cut back inside to set up flanker Maakafi to score, once more, under the posts, just before the half-time whistle sounded.

The spirit of a side is tested when things are going badly and this was certainly the case for Maidstone. The second half could have seen a capitulation but instead, a dogged refusal to be ground down emerged and Maidstone began to play some spirited rugby.

This turnaround was not easily accomplished and a further try by Jersey flanker Bell, this time unconverted, two minutes after the restart, following a line out and loose maul on the Maidstone 22, to take the score to 10-40, did not auger well. The change came because Maidstone began to make better use of the their possession and, led by Gary Whitehead at fly half, the three quarter line began to function as a unit.

After twelve minutes of the second period, Nick Deissner was put over in the left corner to get Maidstone’s second half response underway. Centres Smith and Bailey were making an impact for the home side and one particularly good break by the latter saw Maidstone gain good position on the Jersey 22 which was finished off by Gary Whitehead darting through a gap in the Jersey defence to score under the posts. Brother Craig added the points to bring the score back to 22-40.

The last few minutes saw Maidstone pressing the Jersey line but they couldn’t add to their score and had to be content with the knowledge they had mounted a stout second half resistance. The message from this game, though, is that resistance has to come in the opening half and that Maidstone have more than enough talent to put most teams in this league under pressure once control has been established.

Team

Rob Jeffrey (Martin Farbrace 63 mins) : Fin Davis; Simon Hollister (Matt Plowman 46 mins): Andy Bacon; Sam Johnston: Ben Court (Justin Murphy 55 mins); Nick Taylor; Steve Matthews: Craig Whitehead; Gary Whitehead: Nick Deissner; Dane Smith (James Ferris 77 mins); Aiden Bailey; Damian Houlihan: Martin Arnold (capt):

Scorers:

Maidstone

Tries: Arnold; Deissner; Gary Whitehead

Conversions: Gary Whitehead (2)

Penalty: Gary Whitehead (1)

Jersey

Tries: Maakafi (2); Bell (2); Morgan; Stevens;

Conversions: Swift (5)