Weekly News Round Up  29th Jan 2006

 

A pretty good week for the senior club this week, all things considered although it would be nice to see The B XV get back into winning ways before too long.

 

The First XV move into the top half of the table by virtue of their home win against Beckenham and that means Maidstone have now won their last 4 league matches. That’s the sort of form that will give cause for concern to any opposition between now and the end of the season. As someone from another L2S club wrote to me recently about Maidstone “the giant is starting to stir”. There is no team in this league that is unbeatable, as Guildford have found in consecutive weeks but by the same token, there are no games that can be taken for granted, as bottom club Gosport & Fareham proved against Sevenoaks this week. 

 

A draw never feels like a good result in a rugby match (its like kissing your sister, a New Zealander once told me – and he should know) but that’s what The Mustangs had to settle for down at Thanet Wanderers in the Invicta League.  In truth however, it was probably a better result for Maidstone than for Thanet who have performed very well in the League this year and who beat The Mustangs 27-12 back in October.

 

The A Team travelled to Cranbrook, to take on Cranbrook II in the Mid Kent League.

Despite the number of grizzled old die-hards available down at Cranbrook, they actually put out quite a young side on the day, so it was up to our grizzled old die-hards in the A team to do the business – which they duly did, winning 22-5.

 

The Extra A travelled to Gravesend to take on OG IIIs in a Mid Kent C League match. Two of the Maidstone side, Matt Ruffle and James Benger, had never played rugby before and James Scott, the hooker had never been in a scrum before. All three of them acquitted themselves extremely well as Maidstone romped to a fairly comfortable win, but debutant Matt Ruffle looked somewhat limp-wristed for two-thirds of the match. He later discovered that he had broken his wrist in his first ever match but one hopes that he will be back for his second match before the end of the season. James Benger is “Mein Host” at the Bull at East Farleigh and has been lured into playing rugby for the first time by mixing with the some of the First-Team Kiwis who frequent that particular hostelry. Its amazing what can happen after you get chatting to someone in a pub!!.

Once again, skipper Tony Lea had an outstanding game in loose and line-out and really led from the front.

 

The B XV fielded “a pack of mighty orcs” this week against Cranbrook III but owing to the fact that Cranbrook had no front-row, the game was played with uncontested scrums and Maidstone’s Orcs were given the run around by Cranbrook’s spritely elves to the tune of a 20-5 defeat.  Under Mid Kent Rules, the points are shared so each side comes away with 2 league points.  (If Maidstone had won, they would have gained all three points and Cranbrook would have got a point for turning up) A cynic might say that these rules are open to exploitation but others would say it’s an imaginative and fair formula to tackle the problem of games being abandoned for the lack of a front row. The fact is that a game went ahead that would otherwise have been abandoned. Both sides had the same chance to win and to get something from the game so that just has to be good news (unless your side has a bigger, slower pack perhaps but then they might have lost anyway).  As a foot-note, there is a discussion going on within the Mid-Kent and Invicta Leagues as to whether such games should be re-started with line-outs instead of uncontested scrums.  Watch this space for further detail.

 

Not much to report about The Veterans except that they won at home  by a comfortable margin, this time against Lordswood Vets. I gather that plaudits are due to Centre Richard Weston, who stepped in to play hooker for the first time ever and took a number of balls against the head. As a result, one feels that a certain elderly gentleman “with a foot like a lizard’s tongue” and a comedy moustache had better look to his laurels. (I won’t describe any other parts of his anatomy on the grounds of decency and taste).

 

Next week’s fixtures are all friendlies and are all likely to be at 1pm or 1:30 to enable players to watch the England v Wales game afterwards. The Firsts have no game whilst the Mustangs travel to Medway to play Medway I.  Top billing at home will be the A team who are playing a return fixture against Welsh side Llanishen, (for whom former Maidstone player Trevor McCloud disports himself.), so a fantastic atmosphere in the clubhouse is guaranteed as Welshmen will be outnumbered only 5 to 1 instead of the usual 50 to 1. The 4s,5s and Vets are also at home so there should be a  feast of running rugby especially for the least discerning spectator to enjoy. (One side will need to change and play at the leisure centre. TBA)

 

Don’t forget that subs must be paid this week to qualify for selection next week. £10 per month is fantastic value compared with gym membership or with any other sporting club, but the subs must be paid or the club cannot function and a greater burden falls upon your team mates. Make sure that your skipper or other club official has received your payment or standing order form.

 

Finally, you will find below, the match programme from Saturday’s home fixture. It seems a shame to me that our great Club Captain’s witty and epigrammatic programme notes  do not reach a wider audience amongst the playing membership so it is my intention to reproduce the programme notes from home matches here in this section.   (NB the info regarding Maidstone A v Blackheath is wrong. The A are playing Llanishen)

RE

 

Cover Info

 

Maidstone

v

Beckenham

28^th January 2006

KO. 2.15pm

London 2 South

 

 MAIDSTONE                                                            BECKENHAM

(Red, White & Black Hoops)                                       (Blue & Gold Stripes) 

John Wilford                                         15                    Peter Benham

Tim Porter                                            14                    Chris Hay

(BioMedical Business Partners)

Neil Graves                                          13                    Alex Morrill

Martin Arnold                                       12                    Brendan Moore
(College Road Dental Surgery)

Mark Ryan                                           11                    Reggie Rayner
(Howarth, Clark & Whitehill)

 

Glenn Aukett                                        10                    Pat Wright
(Island Sports)

 

Craig Whitehead                                   9                      Ben Wood

(Island Sports)
 

Rob Jeffrey                                           1                      Phil Burns
 

Tom Rogers                                         2                      Ed Redding

(Mercantile Consultancy Services/ Glosrose)

Simon Hollister                                     3                      Simon Dunford

Sam Johnston                                      4                      Seb Rose

 

Steve Matthews                                    5                      Pat Markey

(Blue Vinny Restaurant, Elham)            

Jon Sargent (capt)                                6                      Jamie Pinn

(Island Sports)

Ed Davis                                              7                      Ludovic Ardouin

 

Ben Court                                            8                      Jared Tipene (capt)

(Handf Finance)

Dan Cummings                                   16                      Glyn Roberts

Cameron Anning                                 17                       Paul Roumph

Eugene Moore                                    18                       Neil Dipple
(Island Sports)

 Players Sponsor Name in Brackets

 REFEREE:       David Robertshaw (Kent)

 Touch Judges: Dave Hughes (Maidstone)

                        Laurie Pinn (Beckenham)                     

 If you are interested in Sponsoring any player in the 1^st team squad, please see Jon Sargent.

Introduction

We extend a warm welcome today to our visitors from Beckenham in our second meeting in the League this season.   Formed in 1894, Beckenham is one of the oldest clubs in the county and has continued to maintain its position as one of Kent’s leading sides since the formation of the leagues.  Having consistently finished well in London 2 South now for a number of years, the opening of their fantastic new clubhouse in 2004 has provided them with the facilities to support their status.

 

Currently lying in 4^th place following a convincing win over Old MidWhitgiftians last weekend, and on the back of an Intermediate Cup run where they made it to the last 16, Beckenham arrive at the Mote today full of confidence.  While we obviously wish them all the best for the rest of the season, we hope that they arrive to find a resurgent Maidstone side keen to reverse the 2 point defeat they suffered in South London in October.

 

 Captains Comments

With 3 good wins on the road in the last 3 games, we’ve managed to pull ourselves a couple of points clear of the relegation places, but with teams still taking points off each other and only 5 points between 5^th and 11^th, we know there is still a long way to go before we’re out of the trouble we put ourselves in during October and November.

 

While there are still a large number of unavailability’s and injuries, we have at least managed to get some consistency in the team over the last month, and confidence has increased as a result of the familiarity this has created.  With the likes of John Wilford, Tim Porter and Neil Graves back and getting game time, and with Ed Davis providing the spark at open-side, we are starting to put together more consistent performances and looking more solid in defence.  With key games in the next couple of weeks against Midwives and Gosport, we have a good opportunity to pull ourselves right up the table and away from the relegation fight. 

One to watch:  Video analysis of last weeks game highlighted the fact that second-row Sam ‘the Phantom’ Johnston seems to be spending a significant amount of time ‘supporting the back line’.  Rugby visionary, or work-shy Kiwi shirker?  You decide!

 

Pilkington Update:  While yours truly managed a whole 80 minutes last week (granted, there’s little more than white tape holding me together at this stage of the season, but it was 80 minutes none the less), Nick is threatening to be playing again in the next couple of weeks (that is if he manages to avoid breaking anything else while he’s away skiing this week).

Enjoy the game
Jon

NEXT WEEK: 3^rd XV v BLACKHEATH

K.O.  2.15pm @ the MOTE

(Plus ENGLAND v WALES in the Club House)

11^th FEB: 1^st XV v OLD MID-WHITGIFTIAN

K.O.  2.15pm @ the MOTE

  

PLAYER PROFILE

 

 

 

Club Shop

 

Don’t forget that the following items are available at the Club Shop!

 SHIRT          RAIN JACKET                   FLEECE         POLO SHIRT

          TRAINING TOP          DRESS SHIRT             CLUB TIE

 Further details are available on the website and orders can also be placed over the bar. 

 
AVAILABLE NOW!

 Limited Edition 125 L3SE League Champions Shirt

 Just £25

See Jon Sargent for details or to order one

 LONDON 2 SOUTH

Team	P	W	D	L	For	Against	Diff	Pts
Guildford	14	13	0	1	499	219	280	26
Portsmouth	14	11	1	2	437	211	226	23
Sevenoaks	14	9	0	5	403	278	125	18
Beckenham	13	8	0	5	336	237	99	16
Jersey	14	6	1	7	346	364	-18	13
Lewes	13	6	1	6	327	361	-34	13
Sutton & Epsom	14	6	0	8	302	304	-2	12
Maidstone	14	6	0	8	269	350	-81	12
Thanet Wanderers	14	5	0	9	306	301	5	10
Old Mid-Whitgiftian	14	4	1	9	194	310	-116	9
Sidcup	14	4	0	10	169	357	-188	8
Gosport and Fareham	14	3	0	11	186	482	-296	6

 

 Results:

Saturday, 21 January 2006
Beckenham	42 - 3	Old Mid-Whitgiftian
Lewes	32 - 27	Guildford
Portsmouth	57 - 0	Sutton & Epsom
Sevenoaks	15 - 29	Maidstone
Sidcup	21 - 19	Gosport and Fareham
Thanet Wanderers	20 - 31	Jersey

 

Other Results

Mustangs           15 – 18            Sidcup 2’s       

A XV                  16 – 17            Lordswood 2’s            

Ex A XV          Walk over         New Ash Green 2’s

B XV                  5 – 21              Lordswood 3’s
Vets                   27 – 5              TJ’s Trojans

Back