The 3's continue to rack up league points with a convincing win, their 5th
in a row. Old G's are currently bottom of the league but made Maidstone
work hard for every score.

A bright start for maidstone saw some good hands put Mattinson away and he
needs little encouragementto find the outside and finish in the corner.
Soon after, a driving maul from a lineout saw Jacque Vrey get control of
the ball at the base and again, he needs little encouragement to go for
the line and get the score. This was after a similar drive had seen prop
McIntyre ground the ball but the referee was unsighted- (not unusual for
referees!)

By this time Maidstone were in complete control, with only great
defensive work from Old G's, particularly their open side flanker,
preventing more scores. Eventually another try came with Dom Baxter
scuttling over after good work from Eugene Moore. John Hogarth slotted the
kick to give a 17-0 lead and it was only in the closing minutes of the
half that Gravesendians managed to put any pressure on the maidstone 22.

The second half saw Old G's make a bright start and apply some pressure,
but they never really looked like scoring. Quick ball and a searing break
by Shaun Charlton saw Maidstone back in the tries when he fed Eugene Moore
to put him in under the posts. Soon after, again following quick ruck
ball, it went wide to Pete Mattinson who had some work to do but finished
neatly in the corner ( see last weeks report for how it is done).

Not to be out done the Springbok bull, Vrey, picked up close to the line a la Rory Underwood, to touch down in the corner while in the air and then completed his hatrick with a more characteristic drive from 5 metres out.

A solid performance all round, with Maidstone again dominating scrums and
line out, Fish commanding the kick-offs and Chris Francis showing his
versatility by hooking and throwing in, after youngster, Mike Hill had to
leave the field with a rib injury. A dogged performance from Old G's who
never gave up, and their 7 was a pain in the side all afternoon. He was my
man of the match.

Finally, two old faces made welcome returns to the field, Simon Wright and
Ian Wilkinson came on in the second half to add some beef and brawn when
they managed to get to the breakdown. Someone did ask if they were playing
in slow motion, but what do referees know?