Match Report
Home Vs. Sevenoaks
Maidstone 36 – Sevenoaks 3
This week the undefeated Mighty Maidstone Barbarians were host to long time rivals Sevenoaks V's.
With last years crushing defeat to this side still fresh in the minds of those who played, this was a game we werent going to let them forget.
The Barbarians started a little sluggishly, my nails bitten down to the pink stuff as I saw the Sevenoaks well drilled forwards moving the ball around like backs holding the Barbarians in their own half for the first 15 minutes.
With some words of encouragement from the sidelines (and words of rage from Trevor) it was Paul Arthurs that put a plug in the visitors ball handling. Almost mockingly he beckoned the biggest man on the pitch, the following result was a clattering thump and a moan from the crowd, it was Arthurs on top, he ' d secured the ball.
With Maidstone now in possession for the first time the Barbarians wasted no time to unleash the backs, with all eyes on Nunn breaking through his opposite number the ball spread wide to outside centre Eddie followed closely by winger Ace Knight and flanker Ben Foskett.
With the Sevenoaks backs stammering at the sudden turn of pace, an overlap was created like those seen on the training pitch. Eddie scored a converted try under the uprights as if he were un-challenged, although he ' d really broken through 3 or more defenders.
Receiving the kick off however was poor, with the Barbarians making many mistakes at the breakdown, a succession of penaltys saw Sevenoaks breach our 22 for the first and last time of the game to score 3 points from a penalty.
Furious at this stain on our otherwise clean sheet Trevor Bradley took action, with words of rage followed by action. I wouldn 't usually like to see a prop being the first man chasing the kick, its actually quite concerning. Regardless of that, the collision was mind numbing. The poor soul under the ball certainly wasnt expecting it as demonstrated by a yelp and whimper.
Following from this single action, the Barbarians played in a way worthy of a team being top of the league.
The ball rarely leaving the Sevenoaks 22, let alone their half from here on in, the pressure was immense.
With the likes of Colin Frost and Ben Foskett punching devastating holes in the forwards and the backs splintering what defense was left it wasnt long before Maff Newman tricked his way under the posts with superb dummying of the ball for the 2nd converted try.
Whether the team had seen it or not, the crowd around the pitch was growing, a sight once unusual for us 5th but now becoming more frequent. W ith the crowd cheering us on it was Maidstone ' s flankers who were first to the ball on the kick off, Foskett had his eyes on the prize, beating his man to the ball. Within minutes Maidstone had scored again thanks to some fancy footwork from Colin Frost bringing the first half to a close.
The team talk at half time focused upon the sheer volume of penalty mistakes we were making, it was an extortionate number compared to a whopping fat 0 from the visitors.
The 2nd half began with more dominance from the home side. Mike Gammon making his presence known continually attacking the visitors unprotected half backs at the break down. This annoyed the visitors but, as the referee said, no rules were broken in doing so.
The following attack saw Richard Nunn break away. Tossing aside his opposite number he barreled across the line with a defender on his back, the result was an un-awarded try for Maidstone.
Unphased however Maidstone won the scrumage thanks to some useful hooking from team sponsor Alex Craven, Maidstone spread the ball to a speeding Ace Knight who proved to fast on his feet for the stunned visitors.
Yet another kick off received Maidstone rolled the ball across the pitch in the forwards. Mike Gillies controlling the momentum of the game carefully planning his breaks to ensure we kept possession.
It was not in vain, with further pressure in the visitors half, Colin Frost now dominating lineouts and Alex Craven proving unbeatable at hooking it was only a matter of time before the rolling onslaught were to pay off. A break from the back row saw two quick phases commence with the third crashing over the lines in the hands of Gillies.
With the final 5 minutes of play, Maidstone brought onto the pitch two substitutes, Captain to the flank and Richard Foskett to the wing . Within minutes both had made their presence known.
Foskett with a superb driving tackle cutting short an offensive blindside break off the scrum and Quinny who somehow managed to pick a fight with three different guys and amusingly beat them all at a game of wrestling, something they were all surprised about and sheepishly apologized for soon after.
With the only defensive play required from Maidstone dealt with ....... errr sufficiently? We started a succession of fast paced play, with immediate support Maidstone rucked and mauled their way across the pitch swiftly to see Mike Gillies score again between the uprights.
The final kick off was received by Maidstone and quickly spread back across the pitch, a fumbled ball was booted clear of the pitch by Sevenoaks. The referee now called for the last play.
Maidstone had possession, we could chose to end it now or score again, we chose to score again.
With a text book lineout from Frost the maul was set and driving. A panicking Sevenoaks pack had no answer and piled into the maul leaving an enormous gap for Harley to pick and run through.
Certain we had scored again we cheered only to be told yet another try was un-awarded. He'd only gone and slid off the pitch, something I'm sure he wont be doing again.
Another superb victory for the Mighty Maidstone Barbarians, another game demonstrating the importance of focused training drills being put to good use. Its simple, its effective and it scores trys.
Big hits, fast support, communication and positioning, all from training. Ive said it before and Ill say it again, a team that trains together plays together and a team that plays together wins together.
We've found more areas to work on but for now, weve gone from worst to first and retain our position at the top of the league .
Maidstone 36, Sevenoaks 3.
Point scorers in alphabetical order:
Ace Knight 5
Colin Frost 5
Maff Newman 7
Mike Gillies 10
Paul Edwards 5
Richard Nunn 4
Man of The Match
Ben Foskett - Superb offensive lines a key player in most try scoring opportunities.
