Match Report

Cobham 30 v Maidstone 10        

by Trevor Langley

London League 2 South

Away at Cobham, Saturday 21th February, 2009, Kick Off –2.30pm

The final scoreline of 30-10 to high-flying Cobham, did scant justice to this valiant effort by Maidstone. The core of this fine Maidstone display came from the forwards, showing, for the first time this season, solidity in the line-out and parity in the scrum. One against the head in the first half, on the Cobham line, was a fine example of the togetherness this young front row is developing. With back rowers, Jack lamb and Matt Iles again prominent in the loose, the eight is beginning to function effectively.

And this all round display of the pack continued after a major reorganisation at half time, when Neil Graves left the field consequent of an early blow to the temple. With Matt Iles moving to centre and Steve Matthews moving to blind side, Chris Wallis came off the bench into the second row, and the pack continued in their competitive mode.

With only two changes after last week’s loss to Gravesend, the team took the field with a settled look. Mark Ryan’s dodgy knee has finally condemned him to the sidelines for the rest of the season, so Tom Searles came in at full-back with Craig Whitehead moving to scrum half, Sam McPherson dropping to the bench.

Cobham started the game at a furious pace and, with the ball in hand, quickly put the Maidstone defence under pressure out wide. From a scrum 30 metres from the Maidstone line, in mid-field, with the three-quarters all lined up one way, live wire scrum half, Smedley, broke to the blind-side and fed the ball to wing Gregory who rounded his opposite number to score half-way out. With opposite wing Green adding the conversion, Maidstone found themselves seven points down after ten minutes.

With ball in hand, Maidstone began to find their own rhythm and caused considerable problems for the home side. From a line-out deep in the Cobham 22, a swift move left down the line saw Gareth Hill held up in the corner but swift recycling allowed Tommy King to plunge over, bringing the score back to 7-5.

With Maidstone increasingly causing problems for the home team’s defence, a needless chip ahead saw Cobham sweep back down field. And while this thrust was repealed, Cobham established field position once more and gained two penalties in swift succession, allowing them to take a 13-5 lead into half-time. But for a missed penalty by Searles and a disallowed try for crossing, this could have been a drawn half and emphasised the need for greater ruthlessness by Maidstone when chances appear.

Considering the reorganisation that took place at half-time, the first 30 minutes of the second half was a heroic effort by Maidstone. With ten minutes on the clock, Maidstone hammered at the Cobham line, moving the ball left, right and back again with the final pass just going astray.

In contrast, Cobham showed why they are up with the leaders in the league, when a loose clearance from the Maidstone 22 was fielded by their full back and he swiftly moved the ball wide for winger Green to outflank the Maidstone defence to score in the corner.

But Maidstone demonstrated their developing mental strength by getting back on the scoreboard. From a penalty 30 metres from the Cobham line, Tommy King took a quick tap and, with the Cobham defence in disarray, the ball was quickly cycled to the right wing where hooker Sam Rogers popped up to score.

With 20 minutes remaining and an 18-10 scoreline, Maidstone continued to press at every opportunity. Indeed, their strong defence upset the slick Cobham three-quarters on more than one occasion, causing a series of handling errors. But with the pace eventually beginning to sap at Maidstone’s legs, turnover ball was quickly recycled by Cobham to score under the posts and, right on the whistle, a second try from a scrum blindside move gave the final scoreline a distorted look.

There was no shame for Maidstone, and lots of positives, from this defeat that demonstrate the team is increasingly competitive in this league. And with so many young faces, all eager to learn, this can only presage a rosy future.

Team

Sam Bailey; Sam Rogers; Luke Debnam (Martin Maytum 60 mins): Andy Bacon; Steve Matthews: Matt Iles; Jack Lamb; Ben Court: Craig Whitehead ; Tommy King: Gareth Hill; Neil Graves (Chris Wallis 40 mins); Martin Arnold: James Sullivan: Tom Searles

With ten minutes to go, and the scoreline at 18-10, Maidstone were still pressuring the Cobham line. But a turnover ball allowed the Cobham full back to start a counterattack and from this point Maidstone ran out of steam and conceded two late tries to put an undeserved gloss on the score.