Vigo II 30 ?
Maidstone IV 10
It was a funny week for the 4th team, availability being a surprising problem. Thanks to those who came up from lower teams to enable our fixture to go ahead, namely Steve Quinn, Scott Andrews, Mike Gammon, Will Arnold and Nathan Fitzpatrick, also Saturday saw the debut of Andrew Brown.
With the 6 newbies on board Madistone were in good spirits as they ran out at a chilly Vigo. They were dampended soon after kick off as Vigo’s visibly stronger pack dominated at the scrum pushing Maidstone back at will. The first score was not long in coming.
The Maidstone team did not buckle, yet bounced straight back and consistently gained ground against what is becoming an incredibly familiar story – a very well drilled opposition!!! The resulting pressure led to a Staples penalty, 5-3 was a fair score line mid way through the first half.
As the tackles flew in from Andrew Brown, Will Rush and Frank the Tank, I thought for a while that this could be the break out game the 4ths had been threatening all season long. However, in reality I think the fact we are halfway through the season and we have already had 60 different players through the team does not bode well for any coherent team ethic or giving us the ability to build on week-by-week performances.
Vigo’s superior strength up front gave their backs a fantastic platform to play from, and with Vigo’s veteran fly half running the show the three quarters always looked a threat, last ditch tackles and a great spirited defensive performance were the reasons for keeping the score of Vigo down.
Maidstone had plenty of chances in the game, with possession swinging back and forth throughout the second half. Vigo, consistently making ground and opportunities, whereas Maidstone ball was more opportunistic. Yet Frank the Tank got back on the score sheet, for the first time since Ashford, restoring some pride to the scoreline.
Stand out performances of the day go to Steve Quinn for his great job at hooker.
Roll on Weavering next week, would be great to finish 2009 with a win!
