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The Gravesend Swans welcomed Maidstone's Barbarians to the bowl.
An even sided match between two familiar teams, this one could have gone
either way.
The game started with Maidstone running down the hill into the Gravesend
pack.
As the forwards muscled with each other, the gravesend pack finally
turned over the Maidstone offence.
With Gravesend pressure forming under the pace of their awesome pair at
10 and 12, Maidstone were pushed back onto their own lines.
A call to "pick and go" secured Maidstone's defense and earned back
valuable ground, once again with the ball falling lose, the 10 and 12
were on the sprint.
Ian Davis put an end to the attack and his opposite number with an
incredible driving tackle into the ground.
With one half of the imposing threat eliminated Maidstone now controlled
the pace of the game defending their lines against the forwards.
Maidstone put up a solid defense for the majority of the first half
until a disastourous play occured which saw Gravesend's Flyhalf use the
hill to build the momentum required to steam under the posts for 5
points.
The second half saw gravesend kicking into touch early on for the start
of a new style of play.
The flanking pair of Maidstone jumping in the lineouts dominated for the
entire second half securing and presenting most if not all the put ins.
The Maidstone Lineouts went from strength to strength, with the
Gravesend calls figured out, the gaps closed and the lineouts earning
ground the Maidstone offence was back on.
Pushing the Gravesend side up the hill we looked close to scoring with
continuous pressure from the backs and forwards alike.
Gravesend's response was their rhinocerous of a prop storming his way
down the hill, tossing the majority of Maidstones forwards asside.
This brute of a player was beaten not by power, but by wit. With his
head hunkering down for another vicous headbutt, a body dived under his
using his own momentum to pull him crashing face first into the ground.
With the rhino finally down, Maidstone regrouped. Gravesend again using
their flyhalf to attack the defensive lines of the visitors.
Maidstone already clued up to this attack man marked the 10 with our own
raging bull, Kenton Oxley.
As the ball entered his hands, the sheer power of Kenton flatened the
ten time after time.
The final play of the game saw Gravesend put in a scrum, the break was
on and the ball shifted to the wing, with ball in his finger tips, the
Maidstone flanker ran through him.
With a hard thudd, the winger with ball in hand landed off the pitch,
the game was over.
Two evenly matched teams, Maidstone had become the dominant team in all
types of play on the pitch. Maidstone had been beaten not by fitness, or
by skill, but by the pitch, the infamous bowl.
Final score:
Gravesend 5, Maidstone 0
Team Details:
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Copyright(c) Maidstone Rugby Club |
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