Maidstone 4th XV 8
Tonbridge Judds 4th 21
The stage was set…..The 4th team were coming off their best performance of the season against Ashford. With the team being virtually unchanged, victory against TJs was easily within sight.
Selection came and went and we only lost 2 players. Thursday night and no more losses….The captain’s mood was positive. By Saturday we had lost our No.8 and front row. Huge thanks to Steve Pooley for stepping into the fray after his honourable journey from Torquay, if it were not for Steve we would have started the game with uncontested scrums.
After the drama of trying to find 15 players to start the game, the 4th team turned their attentions to one of the top teams in the Mid Kent A division. My, their pack was strong, pushing Maidstone completely off the first few scrums, breakdowns and tackle areas. Personal note to captain….need more time for preparations before games!!!!
Once again after acclimatising to the opposition, all of the Maidstone team upped their game. Playing at a higher level to last week, physical at the breakdown area, committed to the tackle and with Josh Mackenzie demonstrating how vital it is to have a hooker by winning scrums against the head.
TJs piled on the pressure early on, keeping the ball tight. The defence shown by the 4ths all season reared its head again, holding TJs out for long periods. Turning over ball and clearly their lines when they had their chance.
Maidstone settled into the game, with a strong line out, good straight running from the backs and quick recycling play helped them advance up the park. With the try line beckoning, and TJs under increasing pressure infringements lead to a Maidstone penalty in front of the posts. Staples capitalised with 3 pts to take the early lead.
TJs came straight back at Maidstone and after a succession of phases of play a missed tackle 5 metres out enabled TJs to go into half time 5-3 up.
The second half started a little too early for some of us, intravenous drips were probably required to give the guys the energy to keep up the level of performance shown in the first half!!
TJs game plan continued, with hard running from 3 of their key players, 1, 3 and No.8. They also began demonstrating some great skills in the tackle area constantly looking for the offload, keeping the ball alive and spreading it wide enabled them to score in the corner for their second try. The unconverted try left the game delicately balanced at 10-3.
The game then started to fragment, with Phil Shaw-Brown receiving a kick to the head which required a trip to A&E, quickly followed by Chris Finch losing his mouth guard, once found however the TJs captain would not let him return to the pitch as the 5 minutes in the rule book had expired! This was the biggest disappointment of the game. Our lone substitute on the side lines was in the shape of Mr Ewence who’s presence was immediate for all to see with a strong performance, which was needed as most of the second half was to be played with 14.
Soon after Maidstone soon went down to 13, following another injury, luckily by this time a second sub was found and Stone’s could play out the game with 14. Great credit goes to all that fought out the game, and even scoring a fantastically worked try through David Ruaux, brilliantly converted by Broadley. 15-10 is how I feel the game finished as the TJs last try involved a horrible forward pass.
All of the Maidstone team should be proud of their performance, a hard fought game that could have gone either way. Well done to you all, nurse your sores and play like that next week and a victory will be yours!!!
Man of the Match goes to Steve Pooley. The example Steve set on Saturday is an example of how a club should operate, making yourself available to the club where ever you are needed most. Many thanks again!!!.
