Windsor U16's v Maidenhead - League
23rd April 2006by Dr FT Bosh
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Skipper Rehman Grewal leads from the front:
There is an ancient and little known legend, most of which escapes me, that runs something along the lines of; "Te tum te tum te tum te tum te tum te tum tum reason, it only rains on Windsor’s turf, once per every season". Well today was the day and whilst not heavy it was the kind of rain that will be familiar to Peter Kay fans everywhere as a “A fine rain, that goes right through yer”.
It was also a bit of an irony that Windsor U16’s have had to wait until the last day of the season, when they are playing their biggest (and unbeaten) League rivals to be able to put out, arguably, their strongest squad. Maidenhead’s team are organised, very fit and play a driving game in the forwards that is ably supported by creative and direct running from the three-quarters. Windsor played with determination and not a little creativity of their own, but on the day, Maidenhead were just too much for the home side to deal with. Running out winners by four tries to nil.
As one might expect during a St George’s Day drizzle, the opening phases of play were characterised by handling errors and conservatism rather than flair and open running. But Windsor made their presence felt in the loose with strong hits from Tom Birch and Shiv Khara breaking up early Maidenhead forays. The three-quarters also looked secure in defence, but couldn’t get their own running game going. Twenty minutes in, with the game still scoreless Windsor were beginning to frustrate Maidenhead.
As they became used to the conditions, both sides began to introduce more fluency into their game. A well-supported loop move in the Maidenhead three-quarters saw their full back come into the line, with lots of space, momentum and only the Windsor full back to beat. Unfortunately for him, the Windsor full back was Richie Eccles, who “managed” his attacker in to the wing channel and then floored him with a text book tackle. Windsor recycled the ball from the tackle and scrum half Andy Pedder launched a counter attack with a long and high clearance kick for flanker Rehman Grewal and wing Sam Turner to chase. Grewal’s thumping tackle on the covering Maidenhead wing was sufficiently hard to make men of a lesser disposition wince. But Windsor were unable to capitalise on the ground they had made and the ball was eventually cleared.
Grewal was forced to retire from the game shortly afterwards with, what looked like a dead leg, but not before Maidenhead had run the ball along the three-quarters to score an unconverted try in the corner. Eccles demonstrated his versatility, by moving to flanker and the Windsor faithful welcomed Tom Bouch back at fullback. Maidenhead continued to press hard, but were contained for the rest of the half by resolute defence.
The second half started with tempers beginning to run high. Referee Lewis was forced to stop the game and have an advisory word with the captains and front rows that developed into a much stronger warning, sometime later when the handbags had come out. With his right hand twitching towards the cards in his right pocket, he looked reminiscent of a wild west gun slinger considering his options. However, he chose not to “draw” and the game continued.
Half way through the second period, it was becoming harder work for Windsor. Maidenhead dominated the lineout and began to steal Windsor ball. They even got one or two strikes against the head in the scrum. But most telling was their forward’s fitness across the park and in the loose. They got to the breakdown first and in more numbers than Windsor and so took control of the ball. Windsor, as always, defended valiantly, with Bouch putting in trademark hard hits, Turner and Cumplen making the right wing channel a No Through Road and Baldeep Sahota galvanising the forwards with his “never say die” attitude. But in the end the superior Maidenhead fitness told and they ran in three more tries during the last quarter of the game. Windsor came closest to scoring when a break out of defence from Laurence Chetwynd was supported by Cumplen and Pedder, as Pedder broke into the Maidenhead half his kick ahead became a 50/50 ball between Turner and the Maidenhead wing. The bounce went Maidenhead’s way, but the tackle from Turner saw the ball run loose. The Maidenhead forwards were there first and were relieved to kick the ball to touch.
But despite the loss, it was a very strong performance from Windsor, against a side that are deserving winners of the Berkshire U16 League title. The players can take pride in their commitment and determination, but some may wish to consider their fitness training regimes over the summer break – I’m certain there will be options occurring at Home Park for the willing.
RESULT:
Windsor 0 - Maidenhead 22