Maidstone  13                              Norwich  43

POWERGEN NATIONAL TROPHY – ROUND 2

SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER AT THE MOTE

By Trevor Langley

On a bright, clear afternoon at the Mote, Maidstone tasted their first defeat of the season, going down by 43 points to 13 to a Norwich side that was too strong, too fast and too committed for a much changed Maidstone outfit.

A number of questions have been posed this season about the real strength of this Maidstone squad and its capability to perform in a higher league. Of particularly interest is how it would stand up to a powerful set of forwards and whether there were adequate replacements for its key players. This match provided some of the answers and should spark thoughts in the collective minds of the coaching team regarding future matches when availabilities again limit selection.

The two areas of general concern are the front five and the two centres. Without the solidity of the new prop, Findley, in this game and with Matthews moved into the back row, there was insufficient ‘beef’ in the set scrums and this allowed Norwich to wheel or push Maidstone off the ball at will, even on the home sides put in. Try as they might, no front five can give away a stone a man and hope to dominate the opposition.

In previous games this year, Gary Whitehead in the inside centre role, has consistently knocked his opposite number over early in the game, unsettling the opposition in the process. His absence was noted by the fact that until Claasen came on as a replacement to show what the southern hemisphere means by a forceful tackle, the Norwich three quarter line was in the ascendant.

From the off, the Norwich team played a high tempo, full pressure game and the first casualty of this approach was Nick Sargent who, on nine minutes, was knocked unconscious in making a tackle and had to be replaced by Garret Hines, a New Zealander making his first team debut. At the subsequent scrum, Norwich wheeled Maidstone’s reformed scrimmage and from the restart began a series of moves that resulted in the first of their four tries in the half, by the winger Cannell in the left corner.

The team spirit that Maidstone showed all last season, and in the earlier games in this, was much in evidence as the three-quarters eventually began to establish some rhythm in their attacks and hit back at the visitors. A penalty on the half-hour awarded to Maidstone in front of the Norwich posts, and converted by Craig Whitehead, was scant reward for consistent pressure on the Norwich line but brought the score back to 3-5.

However, an immediate reply by Norwich, set up by a missed tackle in the centre, allowed the opposition to strike back to score a converted try, followed by two further 

goals to take the half-time score to 3-26. While slightly flattering Norwich, it did reflect the balance of play, particularly the ease with which they made ground with the ball in their hands. Whereas they usually got beyond the gain line with a series of planned moves through their fly-half/inside centre combination, which seemed to have time to spare, every Maidstone move in contrast appeared hurried and lacked its usual assurance.

A ham string injury to Howson, just before the break, one of the reasons for the fourth Norwich try, brought about a rejig of the Maidstone back line at the start of the second half with Porter moving to full back and the South African, Claasen, coming on in the centre for his debut. Pritchard also came on for Walker in the front row.

With Norwich trying to build on their dynamic first half, the prospect of a runaway victory was a possibility, requiring a passionate response from the Maidstone XV to ensure they could take away some positives into next weeks league game in Jersey. This they managed although they conceded two more converted tries before in the last twenty minutes, they began to pressure the tiring Norwich team, scoring two tries themselves to bring the final score to 13-43.

The five changes to the team that has won against notionally better teams over the previous two weeks was too much of an obstacle to overcome in this encounter. But the challenges that can be expected in the coming weeks will now be viewed in a more realistic light. It is clear that Maidstone have added a number of talented newcomers to the squad and they have benefited from this game and will gain in experience as the season progresses. The restoration to the team of some of this week’s absentees for next week’s battle in Jersey should plug the gaps which were evident in this defeat.

Team: Howson (Claasen 40); Graves; Porter; Glover; Moore (Houlihan 60); Walker (Pritchard 40); Rogers; Jeffrey (Griva 60); Smitherman; Johnston; Webb; Sargent (Hines 10); Matthews (C)

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