Gravesend Vs Mustangs – 29th November 2008

On yet another dark and dreary winter afternoon, the Mustangs came up against a young and very competent Gravesend side, who had only lost once this season.

Having survived a couple of earl attacks by the home side, Maidstone finally managed to get some territory and possession and following a good attack on the left which was halted just short of the line, winger Andy Cairns picked up from the base of the ruck and dived over in the corner to open the scoring after 12 minutes. Mike Laurenson kicked cleaverly in the opening 20 minutes, regularly driving Gravesend back into their own half.

However the signs were starting to look ominous as the Gravesend running game started to punch big holes in the Maidstone defence and only some scrambling defence kept the home side at bay. Eventually the pressure told and Maidstone conceded a try and from this point onward it was pretty much one way traffic. Maidstone were often the masters of their own downfall though, with some slack tackling often allowing Gravesend to make a lot of ground beyond the gain line. Gravesend scored 2 more tries before half time, however with the score 19-5 to the home team, Maidstone were still just about in touching distance.

Crucially however, the 2nd half started badly for the visitors as Gravesend scored twice in the opening 5 minutes to effectively seal the win. Again, it was Maidstone’s weakness in defence that allowed the home side to score fairly freely. Frustratingly, most of the tries came from turn overs and with the Maidstone defence slow to react, Gravesend were quicker in thought and feet, combined with some very good off loading, carved up the Maidstone mid field.

Ultimately, Gravesend were just too good for the Mustangs on the day. The scrum struggled for most of the game and due to not having the regular lineout jumpers, the Mustangs weren’t able to secure any decent lineout ball and were turned over regularly. The forwards did show however they were more than a match for their opponents in the tight and the team did ruck and maul well. Unfortunately having the ball in any decent area of the pitch was a rarity and to be honest the Mustangs didn’t see much of the ball in the second half. It was however a brave performance by the Mustangs, and although they lost 50-5, other teams would have totally capitulated and conceded far more points.

Looking forward, the Mustangs will have to considerably improve their first up tackling, as too many people slipped off tackles. Also, the team needs to learn to communicate better in defence.

Despite the defeat, there were some positive performances. Ben Court had a difficult job playing at 8, with the scrum often going backward, but cleaned up really well from the base of the scrum. Open side flanker Tom Moon had a terrific game, making a heap of tackles throughout the game. Prop Jim Walker was a constant thorn in the side of Gravesend, making numerous turnovers and some good runs throughout the game, never giving up the cause. Jim is this week’s man of the match.

Div of the Day – awarded to Laurence Waters for leaving Mike Laurensons kicking tee in the changing room for the one and only occasion it was needed.

Finally a big “thank-you” to 3rd team regulars Ross Laing and Mark Fish for stepping up and helping the Mustangs out this week.

Next week the Mustangs are at home to Canterbury 3’s and will be looking to get back to winning ways following this week’s disappointment. With several players returning, and with good attendance at training so that a few things can be worked on, hopefully the team can put right the things that went wrong this week.

Team:-

Laing, Vickers, Walker, Wainhouse, Wallis, O’Brien, Moon, Court, McPherson, Laurenson, Cairns, Glover, Dyke, Stockford, McClintock, Fish, Harvey, Sullivan.

Coach – Gary Whitehead

Physio – Anna Rooke

Manager – Laurence Waters