Old Whitgiftians 17                   Maidstone  10

Maidstone still have never beaten the ‘Mid wives’ at their own ground. However with the chances created on Saturday they should surely have got the ‘monkey off their back’ this time! Maidstone kicked off uphill, into the wind and sun but undeterred  attacked the hosts continually. Maidstone’s scrum was very solid indeed anchored squarely by McIlroy and Findlay and  as a result  Midwives were showing immediate signs of discomfort. Number 8 Macaskill though reading the game perfectly slotted a penalty for off side. Maidstone got their rolling maul going and when the home side conceded a penalty  on the 22 metre line they choose the lineout option from which they charged to the line and Tom Rogers got a hand on it for the points. Immediately afterwards 2 further rushes up field  and with the line a mere 10 metres out resulted in penalties to the defending side, Mid wives then ‘rubbed salt’ with a try of their own.

A further searing break by tower house Steve Matthews and with line in sight had the ball tackled out of him. A further Macaskill penalty extended the lead and then a penalty attempt by Craig Whitehead cruelly hit the upright to bounce the wrong side just before half time.

Half Time: Old Midwhitgiftians 11 Maidstone 5

With all the elements in their favour it was some disappointment that Maidstone were not able to make better use of the possession they created. It must be said however the Midwives were much more streetwise and savvy particularly in scrum half  MacSweeney who seemed to run and ‘talk’ the match at will. Maidstone pressed the line but were frustrated by some very unnecessary time-wasting. They did not give up and following yet another scrum the ball was passed out wide for Neil Graves to go over in the corner. The biggest mistakes however were not making the touches after clearing their lines, thus giving Midwives chances to counter attack. Macaskill added 2 more penalties but in spite of the efforts of the scrum  Maidstone were not able to translate this possession into points. This was a game they will look back on and know they should have taken the points

Scorers

Tom Rogers, Neil Graves

Team

Maidstone Tim Porter, Neil Graves, Darren Glaasen, Gary Whitehead, Damien Houlihan (Mark Ryan), Glen Aukett, Craig Whitehead, Scott McIlroy, Tom Rogers, Chris Findlay, Steve Matthews, Dan Cummings, Adam Webb, Jon Sargent(C) (Sam Johnton), Ben Court

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