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Maldon RFC Weekly
Match Reports 2007-8 |
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| Saturday 26th April 2008
Maldon 15 - 20 West Norfolk
Maldon ended their season disappointingly with a defeat to West Norfolk in the play-off game to see which team gained
promotion to London Division North-East 4. This defeat means that Maldon will have to battle again next year in Essex
1. On a glorious day with cricket playing on the next field Maldon were very positive and a large crowd were there to
see their efforts. Maldon started off in fine style with skipper Stuart Pearson orchestrating midfield breaks for the
Maldon centres, but the lack of support allowed West Norfolk to cover and stop the threat posed by Maldon backs. The
forwards were not to be outdone by the backs and Chris Pearson displayed his ball-handling skills causing problems to
the defence by linking with his fellow forwards to gain ground. Against the run of play West Norfolk were awarded a
penalty and scored first, 0-3. Maldon responded superbly by varying their attack to which West Norfolk had no answer
apart from last-ditch tackles. Maldon kept on pressing and eventually wing Andrew Yardley was set free by some
excellent passing and duly scored, the try converted by Paul Davison, 7-3. This allowed Maldon to play with more
confidence and the forwards began to dominate the breakdown areas more convincingly. From a ruck Paul Davison made a
break, fed Andrew Yardley who crossed for his second of the afternoon, 12-3. At this point it looked like Maldon
would run away with the game. However, West Norfolk showed great spirit and began to play a more expansive game.
They linked together well to put their second-row over in the corner, but Steve Harris managed to dislodge the ball to
prevent the try. 5 minutes later Maldon wing Ben Rogers stopped his opposite number literally inches from the line.
Maldon then cleared downfield to relieve pressure. Perhaps this escape made Maldon relax, as West Norfolk came back
strongly and with the last play of the half scored after some strong play by their forwards, 12-8 at half-time.
The second-half belonged almost entirely to West Norfolk as they retained possession well, dominated the contact areas
and gained in confidence. The only area in which Maldon improved was in the scrum. The West Norfolk number 8 took
control of the game with strong running in the loose and by directing his pack in rucks and mauls. Maldon were unable
to answer the dominance shown by West Norfolk. The visitors exerted pressure on Maldon for a long period and
eventually the pressure told and West Norfolk scored an unconverted try to take a very slender lead 12-13. Maldon
were guilty of losing the ball in contact and allowing West Norfolk too much time when in possession. Maldon did not
playing badly at, but West Norfolk were simply playing too well for Maldon to link together any phases of play. The
superiority of West Norfolk continued and Maldon became increasingly desperate and started to take risks. Following
another turnover West Norfolk showed great support and eventually the gaps in the Maldon defence were too great and
another score, this time converted, extended the lead to 12-20 with 10 minutes left. At last Maldon managed to keep
the ball in the West Norfolk half and were rewarded with a penalty, kicked by Paul Davison to reduce the lead to
15-20. The last few minutes saw Maldon frantically trying to score and West Norfolk slowing the game down and keeping
the ball tight to stop Maldon from having any chance of a score.
The disappointment of losing this play-off game must be put into context of the whole season. Although the players,
supporters and committee of Maldon Rugby Club are all highly disappointed about losing this game, when reflecting on
the season as a whole Maldon can take pride in finishing second in the league and narrowly losing 2 cup-finals.
After a well-deserved rest Maldon will start pre-season training, looking forward to the next season.
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| Saturday 12th April 2008
Bancroft 26 - 17 Maldon
Maldon travelled to Bancroft for their final league game of the season in an optimistic mood, hoping to finish off the
season with a win. Bancroft, however, had other ideas, and were determined to play a fast, open game. The
non-arrival of the referee did not affect the start of the game, as one of the Bancroft Vice-Presidents was qualified
to take charge. Maldon made an excellent start to the game, with the forwards securing quick ball which allowed
fly-half Stuart Pearson to release his centres and back-row into lots of space, but Maldon were unable to finish off
any of these promising moves, due to good cover defence by Bancroft. Maldon were completely dominant for the first
20 minutes and had at least 2 chances to score, but this was not too concerning at this stage as Maldon were so
superior it seemed only a matter of time before they scored. However, against the run of play Bancroft won a line
out 25 metres out and their open-side flanker simply ran through the Maldon defence, who failed to tackle him, 7-0.
Maldon responded to this by continuing to play some superb rugby, supporting each other closely and running the ball
in a positive fashion. Within 5 minutes a break down the blind-side saw forwards and backs interlinking to create the
chance for Crispin Binder to score in the corner, 7-5. At the kick-off Maldon immediately launched an attack, during
which a Bancroft player committed a high tackle and was sin-binned. The penalty was kicked down the pitch to give
Maldon a line-out. From the line-out the Maldon pack rolled the maul over the try-line with Chris Pearson scoring,
7-10 to Maldon at half-time.
The second-half tactics were to play down in the Bancroft half, using the breeze to gain territory. Bancroft were
determined to reward their large crowd with a comeback, and played with much determination. The Bancroft defence was
very aggressive and the pressure they exerted resulted in an error by Maldon, gifting a try to Bancroft, allowing
them to re-gain the lead 14-10. Maldon continued with tactics that worked, with forwards gradually working into the
Bancroft half, with Dave Redfern and Sam Delderfield-King both standing out with an impressive amount of ground
gained. This positive tactical dominance eventually resulted in a scrum near the Bancroft line which Maldon won
against the head. Number 8 Chris Pearson quickly darted for the line to score his second try, converted by Paul
Davison, 14-17 to Maldon. At this point Maldon simply needed to maintain their grip on the game and keep Bancroft
pinned back in their own half. However, once more Maldon tried to force the ball and be creative. This led to
another handling error, giving Bancroft a simple try to take the lead, 21-17. With a short time to go before the
end Maldon were desperate to snatch the lead back, and became frustrated with the time-wasting tactics of Bancroft.
In their eagerness to score Maldon made yet another mistake, giving Bancroft another easy try to seal the game 26-17.
On 26th April Maldon 1st XV play the Eastern Counties League 1 runners-up (currently this looks like being West
Norfolk) at Maldon in a play-off game. Victory would be the perfect end to a season which has seen Maldon finish
runners-up in the Essex League 1 and defeated in 2 finals. The winner will earn promotion to London North-East 4.
Maldon are hoping for a big crowd to cheer them on to promotion, all will be welcome at the club, 3pm kick-off.
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| Saturday 5th April 2008
Braintree A Veterans 22 - 19 Maldon Veterans
Maldon Veterans had a rare outing, away to Braintree Veterans, a team who play regular rugby, and in fact run two veterans
teams. Due to unavailability, injury and old-age Maldon started with 14 players, so borrowed a player from the opposition
until a number of latecomers gave Maldon enough players to give Braintree a challenging game.
Braintree started strongly displaying plenty of experience and maintained possession well, but could not capitalise on their
chances. Maldon responded well and put pressure on the Braintree line, but some of the team could not remember what to do
with the ball when close to the try line. Braintree worked down the field and some good play by their forwards resulted in
a converted try, 7-0 to Braintree.
Maldon showed signs of improvement and managed to recycle the ball quicker giving their backs chance to run. Braintree
resorted to illegally killing the ball to slow Maldon down, which resulted in a series of penalties. A penalty 20 metres
out saw the aging, slow, ponderous Maldon scrum-half take a quick penalty, finding the space to get past the Braintree
defence, then feeding winger Gary Smith, who scored in the corner, 7-5.
Maldon began to take control of the game and a clever kick and chase by fly-half Jerry Wood almost resulted in a try, but
for an unkind bounce of the ball. Braintree came back from this strongly and picked up a loose ball to allow their backs to
put together a number of passes, which saw their winger score, 12-5. Braintree then dominated the rest of the first-half,
keeping the ball away from Maldon, who began to tire. Braintree were able to cross for one more try, which saw them in the
lead at half-time, 17-5.
In the second-half Maldon regrouped and started to play with more confidence. Against the run of play Braintree were able
to keep the ball in their forwards gradually moving down the field, supporting each other closely. The outcome was a try,
22-5 to Braintree. At this point Maldon were struggling, as although they were winning the ball in the scrum, rucks and
mauls, the line-out was a disaster. Poor throwing-in allowed Braintree to win the Maldon ball frequently. The lack of good
possession was proving difficult for Maldon. However, by keeping the ball on the field and by improving the support play
Maldon gained territory and threatened the Braintree line for a period of 10 minutes. Braintree defended well, but
eventually winger Mark Hockton Snr showed that at least one member of the Hockton family knows how to score by forcing his
way over the line for a try, converted by Jerry Wood. Maldon’s confidence was raised and the pressure on Braintree was
maintained, and within a few minutes Jerry Wood attempted a drop goal, which was woefully wide, but followed up by Rowan
Dyson who scored a try, 22-19.
The last few minutes saw Maldon keen to run the ball to snatch victory, but Braintree showed resilience to hold on to their
lead to seal victory. Braintree proved most hospitable with the provision of post-match refreshments, which were necessary
to revive the aching limbs of the Maldon Veterans. The hard-fought game proved a good warm-up for the Maldon Veterans
Tournament on Sunday April 20th, in which Maldon were victorious last season and are keen to defend their title.
Squad: Matt Ager, Mark Appleton, Barney Binder, Peter Binder, Ian Carpenter, John Chadwick, Tony Curtin, Sam Delderfield,
Rowan Dyson, Nick Foss, Mark Hockton, Lee Lucas, Doougie Milsted, Simon Peacock, Stuart Pearson, Gary Smith, David Taylor,
Tony Walling, Jerry Wood
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| Saturday 29th March 2008
Maldon 30 - 20 Writtle Wanderers
Maldon returned to league action with another win against local rivals Writtle.
Maldon had a simple tactical plan but failed, at times, to stick to it and as a result struggled to
display their superiority for the whole game.
Maldon began positively and made some ground through good support play and by dominating ball retention.
However, on some occasions the wrong option was taken and this prevented Maldon from gaining the
territory that could have allowed them to dominate. Maldon did manage to string a good piece of play
together and this enabled Andrew Yardley to maintain his phenomenal try-scoring record, by crossing the
line for a try, 5-0 to Maldon.
Writtle responded well by slowly gaining ground and some poor discipline by Maldon gave a penalty to
Writtle to make the score 5-3. Writtle were very keen to keep this momentum going and capitalised on
more poor discipline by Maldon to kick another penalty to make the score 5-6 to Writtle. Maldon
continued to allow Writtle to dictate the way the game was played, and Writtle had a period of intense
pressure, which resulted in a converted try to give the a 5-13 lead at half-time.
With the wind at their backs in the second-half Maldon displayed some tactical knowledge by kicking deep
and playing the game down in the Writtle half. Maldon began to link more consistently, and the handling
improved considerably which allowed pressure to be exerted on Writtle. A result of this pressure was a
try for Craig Martin, 10-13. Following this score Maldon played with increased confidence and the
support play improved throughout the half. The forwards began to play as a unit, which allowed Simon
Cheek to score to give Maldon the lead, 15-13. After this try Maldon played the best rugby of the game
by simply using the ball more effectively, moving it away from the contact areas and running into spaces
rather than into opponents. On two occasions the ball was recycled quickly, and on both occasions
accurate passing and good handling saw full-back Nick Halls score twice in the space of 10 minutes to
give Maldon a 25-13 lead going into the final 10 minutes. However, Writtle did not give up, instead they
came back with some determination, and as Maldon lost concentration Writtle crossed the line once more,
and converted the try to make the score 25-20 with 5 minutes remaining. Maldon did manage to play the
correct tactics for the last 5 minutes denying Writtle the ball, and even managed to score one more try,
giving Nick Halls a hat-trick, to finish the game at 30-20.
This victory sees Maldon still in the hunt for promotion, with one more league match away to Bancroft,
and a victory here should see a play-off with Wisbech to, hopefully, clinch promotion to London 4.
Maldon 2nd XV had a superb victory over Rochford 3rd XV, 34-17, in the Merit table Division 4 semi-finals
to book a place in the final on April 12th. Tries were scored by Lee Lucas, Tom Blaydes, Tony Curtin,
Rob Yardley and kicks by Lee Higham.
This victory continues an excellent season for Maldon rugby club.
From the 1st XV down to the mini-rugby sides there has been a number of finals and many more wins than
defeats over the whole season.
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| Saturday 1st March 2008
Wanstead 17 - 22 Maldon
Maldon travelled to Wanstead and got the tough game that they expected. Wanstead chose to play against a strong wind in the
first half and Maldon had an early chance for a penalty, but missed which allowed Wanstead to keep the pressure on by
playing a very effective, tight game with their forwards playing a pick up and drive game plan close to the ruck area.
However, Maldon displayed much better defence than in previous weeks and did not allow Wanstead much opportunity to
capitalise on the amount of ball that they had. When Maldon did get the ball they managed to maintain possession and kept
Wanstead guessing by refusing to play the expected kicking game and mixing up their attacking tactics. Maldon scored the
first try of the game by getting the ball quickly away from the ruck area and exploiting the blind side by a great run by
Sam Bennett, who offloaded to Jerry Wood, who passed wide to right wing Andrew Yardley who scored in the corner. The try was
brilliantly converted by full back Craig Martin, 0-7 to Maldon.
Wanstead responded well and once more played a really tight game for 10 minutes, slowly working down the pitch, eventually
crossing the line due to their forward power, 5-7. Maldon used the conditions well and gained much ground following a
penalty against Wanstead. Maldon kept the pressure on and came close to scoring another try on more than one occasion, but
Wanstead’s defence proved strong. From a scrum 5 metres out scrum-half Jerry Wood displayed all his experience to turn the
Wanstead back row inside out and scored a fine individual try under the posts, which was once more converted by Craig
Martin, 5-14. Maldon continued to dominate the rest of the first half, but were only able to convert this pressure into 3
points, from a penalty from Craig Martin. On the stroke of half-time an error by Maldon gifted the ball to Wanstead who
scored another try, 10-17 at half-time.
The second half saw Maldon against the strong wind, that kindly eased off before too long. However, Wanstead had plenty of
ball which they should have used better. The big difference between the teams was the excellent defence of Maldon, a big
improvement on previous games, with only a handful of tackles missed. Also, greater discipline resulted in just 3 penalties
for Wanstead, none within kicking distance. Maldon had a late scare when Wanstead managed a converted try against the
general run of play to level the score at 17-17. However, Maldon played sensibly, kept possession in contact and patiently
working their was down the field. With only 3 minutes left and a draw looking likely, Steve Harris made a strong run only
to be stopped a few metres out from the line, but quick recycling of the ball allowed second-row Simon Peacock to score the
match winning try. Maldon held out the final 3 minutes to earn a well deserved victory, 17-22.
With close rivals Dagenham winning at East London the top of the table is really close with both teams on 26 points, with
Dagenham having a superior points scored difference. The Essex President’s Cup Final is against Dagenham on Sunday 16th
March and if Maldon maintain their improvements they will have a great chance to win the cup. Next week sees Upper
Clapton visit Maldon, for the next of only 3 league matches remaining.
Team: Craig Martin, Andrew Yardley, Ben Rogers, Steve Harris, Jim House, Stuart Pearson (capt.), Jerry Wood;
Keith Knight, Sam Bennett, Simon Cheek, Dave Redfern, Simon Peacock, Sam Delderfield, James Bennett, Crispin Binder
Subs: John Chadwick (not used)
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| Saturday 23rd February 2008
Writtle Wanderers 17 - 24 Maldon
Maldon began the semi-final of the Essex President’s Shield disastrously. Maldon did not gather the ball from the kick-off, kicked poorly and missed a
crucial tackle. All of these errors allowed Writtle to score a simple try after 2 minutes to lead 5-0. Maldon began to play more positively and made
some ground through good support play and by dominating the contact area. Maldon gradually worked their way downfield, through interlinking between
forwards and backs and were able to stretch the Writtle defence enough to give winger Doug Furn enough room to score in the corner, 5-5.
Maldon then received the next kick-off as badly as the first and put themselves under more pressure, eventually managing to clear their lines. Then by
again linking and playing quickly in both forwards and backs the ball was once more moved out wide to Doug Furn who scored again in the corner, 5-10.
From the next kick-off Maldon caught the ball and produced a wonderful, flowing move which gained them 40 metres, showing what they were capable of if
they could master the basic elements of the game. The reason for Maldon’s dominance was simply the speed at which they recycled the ball and the
support play from all players was excellent. Before the end of the first half Maldon managed another try, this time Andrew Yardley who finished off
another great passage of play with a try under the posts, converted by Paul Davison, 5-17. At this point Maldon looked unstoppable.
Writtle did start the second half very keen to pull level, and were able to follow Maldon’s tactics and used quick ball to release their backs, who
made some ground which some strong forward surges complemented. Writtle deservedly scored a try after a period of sustained pressure to make the score
10-17. Maldon allowed Writtle to maintain this pressure by not retaining the ball and a number of good cover tackles kept Writtle at bay. Maldon then
showed some common sense by trying to play in the Writtle half, and had a couple of breaks, one of which was finished off by Andrew Yardley, again
converted by Paul Davison, 10-24.
In a nervous final quarter Writtle scored another try to make the score 17-24 and they displayed much determination to attempt to level the score.
However, Maldon’s defence was too strong and Maldon won the semi-final to seal their place in the final on March 16th. The key to this victory was an
improved defensive performance, which will need to improve some more if Maldon are to win their final 4 League games and their first final for a number
of years.
Team: Craig Martin, Andrew Yardley, Ben Rogers, Steve Harris, Dougie Furn, Stuart Pearson (capt.), Paul Davison;
Simon Cheek, Sam Bennett, Matt Ager, Keith Knight, Simon Peacock, Sam Delderfield, James Bennett, Crispin Binder
Subs: Andy Weller (replaced Cheek, 50 mins), Chris Pearson (replaced Delderfield, 40 mins)
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| Saturday 16th February 2008
Maldon 20 - 12 Millwall
Maldon maintained their position near the top of Essex 1 with a hard fought victory over Millwall, who are
one place off the bottom of the table. The first half looked promising for Maldon, despite the Millwall
pack exerting pressure at the scrum. However, Maldon repeatedly wasted good field position by giving away a
number of penalties. Working down the field once more good interlinking play amongst forwards and backs
allowed the ball to be moved wide to Craig Martin who scored in the corner to put Maldon 5-0 up. Millwall
responded quickly and poor tackling on the Millwall full-back allowed the visitors to score a converted try
under the posts, 5-7. Winger Craig Martin finished off another piece of good play from a number of players
to see Maldon 10-7 up. However, Maldon continued the theme of the season by scoring tries only to concede
points very quickly afterwards. The kick-off was fumbled near the Maldon line and following a number of
drives Millwall managed to cross the line, 10-12 at half-time to Millwall.
The second half was not very inspiring as Maldon kept on giving away penalties which cost them much
territory. The Maldon pack did begin to compete more positively in a number of areas, but still poor
tackling gave Millwall the chances to make ground. The second half was scoreless until the 70th minute when
scrum-half Paul Davison exploited the blind-side of a ruck to cross the line to restore the lead, 15-12.
Millwall fought back and displayed much determination to get close to the Maldon line, only for Maldon to
demonstrate their ability to defend successfully. After keeping Millwall away Maldon created the opportunity
at the other end for Crispin Binder to score a try with only 2 minutes to go, 20-12. The last few minutes
saw no change to the score, and Maldon stay in 2nd place in Essex 1, behind Dagenham on points for & against
difference.
Maldon play Writtle next weekend in the semi-final of the cup, so the possibility of a League and Cup double
is still achievable.
Team: Craig Martin, Nick Halls, Ben Rogers, Steve Harris, Jim House, Stuart Pearson (capt.), Paul Davison;
Keith Knight, Sam Bennett, Simon Cheek, Dave Redfern, Simon Peacock, Crispin Binder, James Bennett, Chris Pearson
Subs: Sam Delderfield (blood replacement for C Pearson 10 - 15 mins), Jerry Wood (replaced Halls 65 mins), Matt Ager (not used)
Maldon II 31 - 15 Rochford III
Maldon 2nd XV had a fantastic victory beating a much heavier Rochford team 31-15.
Rochford came out of the starting blocks on fire and scored three unanswered tries.
Maldon showed great tenacity and fight however and took advantage of two penalty opportunities, which
Lee Higham sent through the middle to put Maldon to within 9 points at half time.
The half time score was 15-6 to Rochford.
Maldon came out in the second half with a point to prove and a great set up by Maldon fly half Jerry Woods
put front row forward Matt Ager in under the posts. Rochford's "pick & go" approach seemed to run out of
steam through excellent defence and great loose play by flankers Sam Delderfield-King and Andy Notley.
Jerry Woods was again involved in Maldon's second try putting centre Johnny Milne in under the uprights.
Tenacious half back play by scrum half Pete Orin saw Maldon breaking Roachfords defence on several
occasions. Great pressure on a tiring Rochford pack forced errors and kept Maldon on the assertive, and
through great hands from the backline, winger Rob Hockton scored Maldon's third try.
Rochford fought hard but Maldon's defence remained solid and Lee Higham put the game out of their reach
adding another two penalties to close out a fantastic Maldon fight back and possibly the game of their season.
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| Saturday 9th February 2008
Old Brentwoods 24 - 37 Maldon
On a beautiful spring-like day Maldon went to Old Brentwoods hoping to remain very close to leaders
Dagenham. Despite missing a number of regulars Maldon were confident having scored 9 tries when
they faced Old Brentwoods at home earlier in ht season. Maldon started very promisingly and managed
to disrupt an Old Brentwoods scrum, enabling Paul Davison to kick through and win the race for the
ball. 0-5 to Maldon.
Maldon were very confident and managed produced 15 minutes of excellent rugby. Winger Jim House
finished off a move in the corner to make the score 0-10, closely followed by Paul Davison running
around the scrum to score. 0-15 to Maldon. From the resulting kick Maldon scored a sensational try.
The forwards secured the kick-off, immediately linking with the backs, resulting in plenty of
space for Craig Martin to finish off the more under the posts, 0-20.
Old Brentwoods began to fight back, and an error from the kick-off resulted in a Maldon putting
pressure on themselves, and a poor tackle allowed Old Brentwoods to score a converted try. 7-20
to Maldon. Old Brentwoods gained a lot of confidence from this try and were able to play with a
little more pace, which ensured that Maldon raised their game enough to keep out Old Brentwoods.
Not only that, but Maldon were able to break away and put pressure on the home team, resulting in a
try in the corner for Zac Dickenson, 7-25. However, Maldon did not maintain these standards and
another silly error gave Old Brentwoods the chance to score again before half-time, 12-25.
Maldon came back once more through Zac Dickenson to make the half-time score 12-30 to Maldon.
The second half brought about a long period of stalemate with both teams struggling to attain any
passages of play longer than a couple of phases, possibly due to the unseasonal temperatures.
Maldon eventually found the correct tactics, and this allowed Sam Delderfield to score from the back
of a maul, Paul Davison converting, 12-37. Once more though Old Brentwoods pulled themselves
back into the game, scoring after too many missed tackles, 17-37. Sensing a chance to catch up
Maldon Old Brentwoods pushed hard for the final 10 minutes, scoring once more to make the final
score 22-37.
Maldon cannot be satisfied with this win, as it included 4 tries to the opposition, and poor
defence played a part in all 4 tries. Maldon are currently in the semi-finals of the Cup
competition, and are in second place in the league. The next 6 weeks include 4 league games and the
semi-final of the competition, all of which Maldon need to win. Next weeks 1st XV game is home
against Millwall 2.30pm kick off, and all supporters will be most welcome.
Team: Craig Martin, Rob Yardley, John Milne, Steve Harris, Jim House, Stuart Pearson (capt.), Paul Davison;
Keith Knight, Sam Bennett, Simon Cheek, Dave Redfern, Simon Peacock, Zac Dickinson, Sam Delderfield, Crispin Binder
Subs: Matt Ager (replaced Redfern 60 mins)
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| Saturday 26th January 2008
Maldon 18 - 22 Dagenham
Maldon suffered their second defeat of the season in a physical game against 2nd placed Dagenham.
Maldon took the field in a positive frame of mind, but allowed Dagenham to take charge of a number of
vital areas of the game. Maldon also did not impose themselves physically enough at times. Dagenham
disrupted Maldon from the start and Maldon simply lost out on a number of 50:50 balls, or lost possession
when going into contact situations. Maldon did have some territory, but Dagenham soaked up the
pressure and worked their way down the pitch, helped by too many penalties given away by the Maldon
pack and by keeping to a simple kicking game. Dagenham opened the scoring with a penalty to take a 0-3
lead after 15 minutes, after which the visitors had a very strong 10 minutes pinning Maldon back on
their try line. Eventually the pressure told and one of the Dagenham winger’s ran past some very weak
defending to score a converted try, 0-10 to Dagenham. At this point Maldon began to exert some
pressure but too often any breaks ended in Maldon losing the ball or giving away a penalty.
Maldon did maintain some pressure but wasted two chances to score. However, a penalty was kicked to
make the score 3-10 at half-time.
Maldon attempted to become more involved in the game in the second half and again had their chances, but
poor skills were too frequently in evidence. Against the run of play Dagenham managed to break out and
despite what looked like a foot in touch they were awarded a try in the corner, 3-15. At this point
Maldon began to improve, but Dagenham defended well enough to keep Maldon out, until Maldon right wing
Andrew Yardley evaded the cover defence and scored in the corner, 8-15. Again Dagenham broke out of
defence, and following a kick and chase scored a converted try, 8-22.
Maldon then began to put together some phases of play and most importantly retained possession in
contact. The Maldon pressure eventually told when Zac Dickinson joined the back line and scored
following a move involving many players, 13-22. With still time to win the game Maldon really improved
their efforts, and the result was another try for Andrew Yardley, 18-22. The last few minutes resulted
in a couple of half-chances, which Dagenham defended determinedly.
Dagenham now overtake Maldon on point for and against difference, both teams having 20 league points.
Maldon must aim to win their remaining games by big margins or hope that Dagenham slip up and lose at
least one game. Next week sees an Essex cup quarter-final against Ilford at home.
Team: Nick Halls, Andrew Yardley, Stuart Pearson (capt.), Steve Harris, Ben Rogers, Neil Morris, Paul Davison;
Keith Knight, Sam Bennett, Simon Cheek, Dave Redfern, Simon Peacock, Crispin Binder, Zac Dickinson, Chris Pearson
Subs: Craig Martin (replaced Halls 30 mins), James Bennett (replace Binder 55 minutes)
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| Saturday 5th January 2008
Maldon 36 - 19 Ilford Wanderers
Maldon kept their position at the top of Essex 1 with a thrilling victory over Ilford who are the only team to defeat Maldon in
the league this year. The first 30 minutes of the first half the home crowd cheering continually as a result of exciting, fluent,
near-perfect rugby from Maldon. Adhering relentlessly to the game plan paid off as the Ilford fly-half did not have the time to
bring other players into the game or to kick with much success. Maldon fly-half Neil Morris ran through poor defence to score a
try which he converted himself, 7-0 to Maldon. He made another break a few minutes later and linked with Stuart Pearson, who
returned the pass for Morris to score another converted try, 14-0. Ilford were completely bewildered and had no answer to the
speed at which Maldon played. Forwards and backs were unstoppable, and the standard of individual skills was very high.
Within a few minutes the Maldon pack took a line-out and marched the Ilford pack backwards over their line for a try for Chris
Pearson, 19-0. Maldon did not let up and showed no mercy to Ilford, a side which had only conceded 73 points in 9 matches this
season. Once more playing 15-man rugby and capitalising on Ilford’s errors Maldon moved the ball wide to Andrew Yardley on 2
occasions, on both of which he managed to cross the line, one try converted to make the score 31-0 after 30 minutes.
At this point Ilford managed to begin to control the ball better and kept possession for the last 10 minutes of the half, with
Maldon keeping the opposition out with some desperate defence. At half-time tactics which had been successful were re-emphasised,
and also the need to keep the ball down in the Ilford half.
However, a series of silly errors, by not following the game plan and by giving away needless penalties Maldon managed to put
themselves under pressure. Ilford began to dominate by playing a tight forward game and keeping the ball away from Maldon’s
quicker players. After a spell of pressure the referee decided that Maldon had deliberately collapsed a maul and awarded a
penalty try to Ilford, converted to make the score 31-7. At this point Ilford realised that their tactics could be profitable
and managed to keep territorial advantage and scored again, 31-12. Maldon attempted to rally, but once more committed too many
errors, and allowed Ilford to dictate play, and Ilford scored once more, 31-19. Maldon realised, at last, that the ball needed
to be kept away from their try line and the whole team raised their game. By doing so Maldon again were able to use the space
left by the tiring Ilford team and produced a couple of chances, and with the last play of the game Ben Rogers, capitalising on a
loose ball and with tired Ilford defenders unable to catch him, scored to make the final score 36-19 to Maldon.
This will leaves Maldon 2 points clear at the top of Essex 1. Maldon play Ilford again in February in the quarter-final of the
Essex Shield cup competition and will need to play with the same belief if they are to be successful again.
Team: Nick Halls, Andrew Yardley, Mike Farmer, Stuart Pearson (capt.), Ben Rogers, Neil Morris, Paul Davison;
Keith Knight, Sam Bennett, Simon Cheek, Dave Redfern, Simon Peacock, Crispin Binder, James Bennett, Chris Pearson
Subs: Barney Binder (replaced Redfern 65 mins)
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| Saturday 15th December 2007
Writtle Wanderers 10 - 18 Maldon
Maldon finished the first half of the season with another win, which maintains their position at the top of the Essex 1 league. It was not a pretty match, Maldon being hampered by the spoiling tactics of Writtle and forced to stick to a simple tactical plan to grind out another victory.
Maldon began positively and made some ground through good support play and by dominating the contact area. Writtle responded well and the first 20 minutes of the game was tight, with the heavier Writtle pack making life difficult for the Maldon scrum. Some individual errors allowed Writtle to gain territory but Maldon did not panic and gradually worked their way downfield, through interlinking between forwards and backs. In the latter stages of the second half Writtle also began to concede more and more penalties with the referee becoming alive to their tactics of illegally killing the ball.
Eventually following constant pressure Maldon inside centre Steve Harris managed to cross the try line to bring Maldon into the game, 0-5. Immediately following the kick off Maldon demonstrated quick thinking to create space for their left winger Craig Martin who scored in the corner on the stroke of half-time, 0-10 to Maldon.
Writtle did start the second half very well and some poor tackling by Maldon resulted in a try for Writtle to make the score 5-10. Writtle continued to commit offences at virtually every ruck and maul, which frustrated Maldon who were unable to use quick ball to release the full potential of their backs. A long period of the second half was dominated by some poor kicking by both teams and errors at vital moments, resulting in a dull second half. However, Maldon right wing Andrew Yardley once more displayed his devastating finishing by crossing the line to make the score 5-15 to Maldon, with 15 minutes to go.
Maldon, thinking the game was won, switched off and some poor tackling allowed Writtle to pass 3 or 4 Maldon defenders to score, making it 10-15, with 12 minutes left to play. Writtle really raised their game in an attempt to snatch a win, but still gave away penalties too frequently. Maldon showed some common sense by trying to play in the Writtle half, and the final kick of the game saw Maldon left wing Craig Martin kick a penalty to make the result 10-18.
After the Christmas break Maldon play second-placed Ilford Wanderers at home on 5 January, when they will be given an opportunity to revenge their only league defeat of the season so far.
Team: Nick Halls, Andrew Yardley, Steve Harris, Ben Rogers, Craig Martin, Stuart Pearson (capt.), Jerry Wood;
Simon Cheek, Sam Bennett, Matt Ager, Dave Redfern, Simon Peacock, Crispin Binder, James Bennett, Chris Pearson
Subs: Keith Knight (replaced Cheek 50 mins)
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| Saturday 8th December 2007
Old Cooperians 17 - 25 Maldon
In the first round of the cup Maldon managed once more to scrape a win against a very competitive Old Coopereians team in
fairly poor conditions for rugby. Maldon started off slowly, but the opposition from one league lower than Maldon
deserved to score first after some good rugby, 7-0 to Old Coopereians. Maldon gradually progressed down the field
against a strong wind, but stuck to the game plan which worked successfully. Following a long passage of play number 8
Chris Pearson crossed the line to make the score 7-5. This looked like being the score at half-time, which would have
been acceptable given the weather conditions, but a lack of concentration allowed Old Coopereians to score another try
just before half-time, 14-5.
The second half brought about many positive aspects, but also it highlighted the negative aspects which have caused
problems for Maldon this year. When adhering to the tactics Maldon did well, but individual errors and poor decision
making led to opportunities for Old Coopereians. During the good periods Maldon managed to score a second try for Chris
Pearson, 14-10 to Old Coopereians. By maintaining the pressure through sensible play Maldon started to create more
chances allowing blind-side flanker Crispin Binder to force his way over in the corner, 14-15 to Maldon. However, Old
Coopereians responded very positively and put pressure on Maldon, who made a number of errors, resulting in a penalty for
Old Coopereians in front of the posts, which they scored to take the lead 17-15.
Maldon did not panic and again gradually worked downfield to give winger Andrew Yardley room to race past the defenders
to score a try to give Maldon a 17-20 lead. Old Coopereians desperately tried to score in the final few minutes, but in
their desperation they threw out a risky pass which allowed centre Stuart Pearson an easy interception and run in to give
Maldon a victory, 17-25, and a second round contest against fierce rivals Ilford.
Team: Nick Halls, Andrew Yardley, Stuart Pearson (capt.), Rob Yardley, Craig Martin, Jerry Wood, Paul Davison;
Simon Cheek, Sam Bennett, Matt Ager, Dave Redfern, Simon Peacock, Crispin Binder, Sam Delderfield, Chris Pearson
Subs: Ben Hopkins (replaced Delderfield 50 mins)
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| Saturday 1st December 2007
Maldon 27 - 24 Bancroft
Maldon maintained their position at the top of the Essex 1 League with a close victory over visitors Bancroft, who came
close to inflicting a first home defeat on Maldon. The first half had patches of excellent team play from Maldon when the
players adhered to the game plan attacking the narrow side on a number of occasions and some close support saw some
exciting passages of play. However, three catastrophic errors resulted in three tries for Bancroft in the first half,
gifting them a 0-15 lead.
A number of handling errors saw Maldon becoming frustrated and tempers began to fray. First a Bancroft player received a
yellow card, and just before half-time a Maldon player was also sent to the sin-bin.
Eventually, Maldon did link together positively and managed to finish off a sweeping move by giving full-back Nick Halls
room to cross for a try, to make the score 5-15 at half time.
The second half saw more ball for Maldon, but still the fluency of previous games was missing. Another piece of poor play
gifted Bancroft another try, this time converted to make the score 5-22. Maldon at last began to exert more pressure and
started to play more as a team. By forcing Bancroft to defend more Maldon were awarded a number of penalties which
eventually led to skipper Stuart Pearson squeezing over in the corner for a try, 10-22.
Shortly afterwards Maldon flanker Chris Pearson crossed the line to make it 15-22.
Very shortly afterwards Maldon winger Rob Yardley charged down a clearance kick and picked up the loose ball to score his
first try for the first team, to make it 20-22.
Improved passing allowed the other Yardley brother, Andrew, playing on the Maldon right wing some room to attack down his
flank. He collected his own neat kick and ran in under the posts. Maldon scrum half Paul Davison converted to make it
27-22.
Maldon managed to keep a tiring Bancroft team in their own half for the remainder of the game, and were pleased to have
come back from a first half deficit again to record a hard earned win, but will have to eliminate the errors if they wish
to be serious contenders for promotion.
Team: Nick Halls, Andrew Yardley, Stuart Pearson (capt.), Steve Harris, Rob Yardley, Jerry Wood, Paul Davison; Keith Knight,
Sam Bennett, Simon Cheek, Dave Redfern, Simon Peacock, Crispin Binder, James Bennett, Chris Pearson
Subs: Lee Lucas (replaced Wood 50 mins), Sam Delderfield (replaced Binder 65 mins)
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| Saturday 24th November 2007
Ilford Wanderers 18 - 10 Maldon
Maldon suffered their first defeat of the season in a physical game against 2nd placed Ilford.
Maldon travelled to Ilford in a positive frame of mind, and should have done better but Ilford dominated much of
the game. Maldon started off very poorly by not capitalising on ball they secured from the kick-off, and by letting
Ilford disrupt secure possession Maldon lost territory. Although a few debatable penalty decisions went against Maldon,
the lack of cohesion amongst the team did not give any confidence to players. Ilford ran a simple move which proved
very effective as 2 missed tackles allowed the Ilford centre to cross the line simply by running straight, the
conversion missed, 5 – 0 to Ilford.
Maldon attempted to become more involved in the game, but Ilford played simple rugby based around their big pack and the
passing and kicking of their fly-half, who regularly made good ground by kicking with the wind. As Ilford had most of
the possession and the tactical awareness to stick to a simple game plan they soon earned a penalty which they converted,
8 – 0.
Ilford consistently broke tackles and as a result Maldon were always on the back foot at contact situations and were
unable to release their backs who have scored many points this season. Poor discipline gifted Ilford the chance to
relieve pressure when Maldon threatened the Ilford line. Ilford deservedly scored another try on the stroke of
half-time, again due to missed tackles, 13 – 0.
Maldon did start in a more positive manner in the second half and for a short while the tackling and ball retention
improved. By challenging more at contact situations Maldon did get some ball, but never managed to really threaten
due to strong defence by Ilford, who after keeping out Maldon for 20 minutes managed to force their way downfield for a
scrum near the Maldon line. The forward power enabled Ilford to score a simple try from the base of the scrum, again
unconverted to give Ilford an 18 – 0 lead.
Maldon did then begin to put together some phases of play and most importantly retained possession in contact.
The referee gave a string of penalties against Ilford who were tiring. Maldon forwards lifted their game and allowed the
backs to have the ball, which resulted in some half chances. The Maldon pressure eventually told when Simon Cheek
scored from close range after a strong forward drive, 18 – 5. This score immediately raised
Maldon’s spirits. Within a few minutes a quick ruck from the forwards enabled the backs to move the ball wide to
Andrew Yardley, who continued his fine form by scoring an uncoverted try, 18 – 10. In the last few minutes of the match
Maldon played in the Ilford half, but were unable to complete their comeback.
Maldon have 2 more league games and a cup game on before Christmas which will give opportunities to return to winning
ways.
Team: Nick Halls, Andrew Yardley, Stuart Pearson (capt.), Steve Harris, Ben Rogers, Jerry Wood, John Chadwick; Simon Cheek,
Sam Bennett, Matt Ager, Keith Knight, Simon Peacock, Crispin Binder, James Bennett, Chris Pearson
Subs: Sam Delderfield (replaced Binder 65 mins), Craig Martin (not used)
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| Saturday 10th November 2007
Maldon 60 - 15 East London
To cement their place at the top of Essex 1 Maldon produced an excellent performance scoring 10 tries to completely overwhelm bottom of the table East London. To their credit East London did not give up and managed to score two tries of their own, but could not really match the power, speed or thought of the dynamic Maldon side.
Maldon opened the scoring after 5 minutes with a sweeping move involving many players, forwards and backs, eventually moving the ball wide to winger Craig Martin, who scored in the corner, Jerry Wood converting, 7-0 to Maldon. Maldon then seemed to ease off for 10 minutes which allowed East London to capitalise on a poor kick out of defence and kick and chase to score, 7 – 5. Maldon then woke up and began to play far more efficiently. The game was scrappy for a short while with dropped passes and poor options chosen . However, by creating space with their forwards Maldon moved the ball out wide to allow Andrew Yardley to continue his fine form this season by scoring, 12-5. Andrew Yardley followed this by scoring two more tries in fairly quick succession, one of which was converted by Jerry Wood, 24-7, at half-time.
At the start of the second half Maldon proved to be even more clinical by working down into the East London half and Dave Redfern showed all his experience to cross the line for an unconverted try, 29-7. East London responded with their best 10 minutes of the game. They prospered from some ill-discipline by Maldon and when awarded a penalty 5 metres out had an unstoppable drive to score, 29-12. East London kept the pressure on and scored a drop goal , 29-15. Maldon did realise in time that the game wasn’t won yet and a number of improved forward drives and rolling mauls resulted in a try for Crispin Binder 34-15. Substitute Doug Fern showed some of his old pace to finish a well-worked move by scoring a try converted by Jerry Wood, 41-15.
With the game being totally dominated by Maldon full-back Nick Halls chased up his own kick to score, converted to make the score 48-15. With East London tiring Maldon displayed a more clinical nature and Doug Fern intercepted a loose pass from East London to increase the score once more, 53-15. The game finished with an exhausted East London team trying to throw the ball around only to be picked up by Maldon, allowing substitute John Chadwick to score a converted try to make the final score 60-15.
After this impressive display Maldon must look to maintain their 100% league campaign, with a very difficult fixture against fellow promotion contenders Ilford on 24th November
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| Saturday 3rd November 2007
Dagenham 19 - 26 Maldon
In the hardest game of the season so far Maldon displayed much determination and a real desire to win in a very tough game against a very competitive Dagenham. Maldon started off very poorly and struggled to secure any possession. Dagenham by contrast were strong in the set piece and made good use of their early possession by bringing in to play their big No 8 and inside centre.. Dagenham deserved to score first as a result of a forceful run by their inside centre, which culminated in a try that was converted to put the score 7-0 after 10 minutes. Maldon then displayed more uncertainty allowing the Dagenham inside centre to really dominate the game. Further missed tackles allowed Dagenham to score another try, which was unconverted making it 12-0. The Dagenham forwards continued to pressure the Maldon scrum, which meant that Maldon were consistently on the back foot making it difficult for Maldon to mount any attacking rugby. Dagenham continued to play with confidence and scored a third try, which was converted to make the score 19-0. At this point Maldon did not look like the league leaders that they are. However, in a rare visit to the opposition half Maldon scrum-half Paul Davison chased his own chip kick and collected the ball to score, which fly half Jerry Wood converted to put Maldon back in the game, 19-7. Dagenham responded well and Maldon just managed to keep them out before half time.
The second half brought about the most determined 40 minutes of rugby played by Maldon this season so far. Maldon started to secure a little more possession and began to spin the ball wide bringing the Maldon full-back Andrew Yardley into the game. The Maldon scrum began to compete and this allowed Paul Davison and Chris Pearson to link with right winger Ben Rogers, who jinked inside to score Maldon’s second try to make the score 19-12. Maldon continued to grow in confidence and began to really take the game to Dagenham. The turning point came with a blind side move with Maldon outside centre Stuart Pearson passing the ball back inside for right winger Ben Rogers, who made a devastating 20 metre run before standing up the Dagenham full back and passing back inside for the ever present Maldon scrum half Paul Davison to collect and stroll over for his second try. The try was converted to level the score 19-19. Dagenham raised their game and made it into the Maldon half where they were awarded a penalty kick at goal which they missed. The Maldon forwards began to steal line-out ball from Dagenham and to be much more secure in the scrums. Maldon forced their way by dogged determination into the Dagenham half earning themselves a scrum 5 metres out from the Dagenham try line. Maldon won the scrum on their own put in and again moved the ball to the blind side, with No 8 Chris Pearson linking well with scrum half Paul Davison, who dummied the Maldon right winger Ben Rogers, before slicing through the gap and scoring under the posts for his hat-trick. Maldon fly half Jerry Wood converted to put the score 19-26. Maldon then played sensible rugby in the final few minutes to ensure a win, which keeps them top of the Essex 1 league and unbeaten in 5 league games.
This was a hard-fought victory and the delight of the players was clear at the final whistle. This was the first time Maldon have been really tested this year and it is to the players’ credit that they were able to turn around following a poor first half and produce a very determined, positive performance in the second half to secure another victory.
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| Saturday 27th October 2007
Maldon 51 - 22 Old Brentwoods
Maldon maintained their position at the top of Essex division 1 with a convincing victory at home,
scoring 9 tries. Maldon were disappointed however to only convert 3 of their tries to and to concede
3 tries.
Maldon started the game in a very adventurous manner with forwards and backs linking well.
Old Brentwoods were first to score though slotting a penalty to take a 0-3 lead.
However, before too long Maldon full back Andrew Yardley continued his fine season by scoring a
try to give Maldon a 5-3 lead.
Maldon continued to attack and the forwards really took the game to the opposition with aggressive
running and slick handling. The result of this domination was that Matt Ager (prop) , Chris Pearson
(No8) and Crispin Binder (Flanker) all scored unconverted tries.
The backs were not to be outshone by the forwards and Maldon scrum-half Paul Davison crossed the line
followed by further scores by Maldon backs Stuart Pearson (outside centre) and Ben Rogers (right wing).
One of these tries was converted by Craig Martin to see Maldon with a commanding halftime lead of 37-3.
Maldon let Old Brentwoods back into the game after halftime and Old Brentwoods scored a couple of tries
due to poor defence to make the score 37-17. But Maldon regrouped and a flowing movement saw Andrew Yardley
score once more, converted by Maldon fly half Jerry Wood making it 44-17.
The game became stalemate for a short period typified by a number of unforced errors by both teams
before skipper Stuart Person finished off another piece of positive play with a powerful run to score a try.
Jerry Wood’s conversion took Maldon above 50 points for the first time in a league game this season.
Old Brentwoods scored at the end of the game and should be congratulated for never giving up, but Maldon
were far superior and must carry this form forward to the difficult away fixture against Dagenham next week.
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| Saturday 20th October 2007
Millwall 19 - 32 Maldon
Maldon moved to the top of Essex 1 with a hard fought victory over bottom club Millwall, who put together some moments of excellent attacking play and determined defence. The first half was fairly even for the first 20 minutes, with the Maldon pack on top, but the Millwall backs looking dangerous when they had the ball. Eventually the pressure from Maldon pack resulted in a penalty near the Millwall line, and a quick penalty by skipper Stuart Pearson put Maldon 5-0 up. Millwall responded quickly and poor tackling on the Millwall centre resulted in a try for the home team, 5-5. Winger Andrew Yardley finished off the first half in style by running in from half-way, beating a number of defenders on the way, to see Maldon 10-5 up at half-time.
The second half saw the Millwall pack tiring, resulting in more ball for Maldon, allowing Andrew Yardley to capitalise on better passing in the backs to score two tries on quick succession, putting Maldon 20-5 in the lead. This should have put the game out of reach of Millwall, but to their credit they produced a number of flowing passages of play. Millwall ran through some poor tackling by Maldon backs and scored a converted try under the posts, 20-12. This comeback by the home team was short-lived as the Maldon pack pushed over the line allowing scrum-half Paul Davison to touch down, with Jerry Wood converting, 27-12. However, Maldon again let themselves down with poor tackling and Millwall scored once more under the posts, the conversion made the score 27-19 and Millwall were keen to finish the game strongly. But the Maldon pack had the last word with another pushover try for Paul Davison to make the final score 32-19.
This was a good victory, and Maldon will need to make sure that they produce away wins at other clubs in London if they wish to be at the top of the league at the end of the season.
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| Saturday 13th October 2007
Southend III 34 - 26 Maldon
Maldon went to Southend for a friendly fixture with a strong and experienced Southend team. Southend started very strongly by keeping the ball close to their formidable pack and scored two tries within ten minutes of kick-off. Their first try came after a fortunate bounce, which allowed the winger to cross the line unchallenged, and was converted giving Southend a 7 – 0 lead. The second try was scored by the pack which Maldon struggled against all game making the score 12 - 0.
Maldon responded positively, if a little too late, by moving the first clean ball they had out to full-back Nick Halls who ran through a huge gap to score under the posts, Jerry Woods converting and putting the score at 12 - 7.
Southend continued to play a tight game, and Maldon found it difficult to get any possession.
However, a loose pass from Southend resulted in some ball for the Maldon backs and winger Andrew
Yardley maintained his excellent scoring form by fighting off three defenders to score a try levelling
the scores at 12 - 12.
Southend scored a third try by driving the ball forward by their big forwards, and went in to half-time
with a good lead at 19 - 12.
Maldon came out for the second half determined to feature more prominently, but the Southend forwards
maintained their domination by starving Maldon of possession. Southend crossed for another two tries
fairly easily due to poor tacking by Maldon and lead 29 - 12.
Eventually Maldon woke up and more excellent play from the backs resulted in two converted tries for both
centres, Andy McKenzie and Stuart Pearson, putting Maldon back in the game at 29 - 26.
Southend had the final word, however, when their winger broke through a tired Maldon defence giving
Southend a 34 – 26 win.
Maldon will need to raise their standards as they have four league games in the next four weeks, and
will face more tough games if they wish to secure promotion.
Maldon II 0 - 26 Writtle Wanderers II
Maldon fought bravely but were unable to secure enough possession against a dominant Writtle pack in order to seriously threaten the Writtle line. Maldon can take great heart however from never giving up and will undoubtedly improve as the season goes on.
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| Saturday 29th September 2007
Maldon 36 - 14 Wanstead
Maldon started their second Essex 1 League game of the season in fine style, by attacking with flair
and verve, scoring an unconverted try from blindside flanker Zac Dickinson within 3 minutes to put
the score 5-0.
Maldon maintained the high tempo and full back Andrew Yardley continued his form from previous
weeks by scoring another unconverted try to put Maldon 10-0 up.
Zac Dickinson scored once more following good interplay between forwards and backs, with Jerry
Wood converting to put the score 17-0.
Maldon continued to perform with unstoppable vigour, to which Wanstead had no answer.
Zac Dickinson completed his hat-trick with Jerry Wood converting again to make it
24-0 to Maldon.
At this point Wanstead realised that they had superiority in the scrum and tried to keep the
ball close to their forwards and some poor tacking in midfield allowed Wanstead to threaten the
Maldon line. Maldon then gave away a few needless penalties and made some more missed tackles,
which led to a converted try from Wanstead to make it 24-7 to Maldon.
This proved the spur that Maldon needed and they responded well by combining as a team to
move down the pitch before a technically perfect driving maul resulted in a try for prop Keith Knight
to put the score 29-7.
To finish off the half Maldon again opted to play an expansive game, which allowed Andrew
Yardley to claim his second try of the game, which was converted by Jerry Wood to make it 36-7.
The second half was a much duller affair with Wanstead camped on the Maldon line for most of
the half.
Maldon did well to keep Wanstead out for most of the half, although Wanstead did cross the line
for a single try, following a charge down from a attempted clearance kick. Wanstead were also later guilty of dropping the ball over the line.
Maldon displayed much determination to keep Wanstead out for the majority of the second half
and Wanstead’s frustration showed with one of their players was sin binned.
Maldon finished the match clear victors by 36-14.
Maldon coach John Chadwick summed up the game after the match as follows "An excellent first
half, but still plenty of basic skills need improving upon if Maldon are to mount a serious challenge
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| Saturday 22nd September 2007
Burnham 22 - 24 Maldon
After their league victory last week, Maldon went to local rivals Burnham for a friendly with a
strong team looking forward to displaying a strong performance their superiority over against a
team from a lower league. But Burnham started the game very positively by securing the ball in
contact and capitalising on numerous Maldon mistakes. The Burnham back-row won most 50-50 balls
and their big pack dominated the opening quarter.
The first try deservedly went to Burnham, when the winger chased a kick and collected the ball
with little resistance from the Maldon defence. Burnham converted to put them 7-0 up.
Maldon responded by raising their game a little and on their first visit to the Burnham 22
metre line full-back Andrew Yardley showed great pace to round 3 defenders to score under the post.
Jerry Wood converted to level the score 7-7.
Burnham replied with more pressure and were awarded a penalty, which they took to put the
score 10-7. Burnham then played really strongly with a fierce assault on the Maldon line,
and eventually the referee saw too many offences and gave a penalty try to Burnham, which they
converted to put the score 17-7.
Maldon then went into the Burnham 22 again and excellent interplay between Stuart Pearson and
James Bennett resulted in an unconverted try reducing the points margin to 17-12.
In the second half Maldon continued to make too many errors and Burnham continued to play well.
A speculative kick from Burnham was not tidied up by Maldon and Burnham managed to touch the ball
down to put the score 22- 12.
Maldon skipper Stuart Pearson responded very positively to this setback by making a couple of
powerful drives towards the Burnham line, the second resulting in a try, reducing the deficit to
22-17.
At this point Maldon began to play a more expansive game keeping the ball away from the
strong Burnham pack, and eventually made enough space for Andrew Yardley to score again under the
posts, the try being converted to put the score 22-24 to Maldon.
With a few minutes remaining Maldon scrum-half Pete Orrin left the field with an injury but
Maldon managed to hold out a final attack by Burnham to win the game.
With a number of league matches in the next month Maldon will need to raise their game if
they wish to secure promotion.
Maldon II 14 - 27 South Woodham Ferrers II
Maldon 2nd XV fought bravely against a lively South Woodham Ferrers 2nd XV in this merit league
table fixture. Unfortunately Maldon were unable to make the most of some early possession and by
contrast when South Woodham Ferrers came into the game after the first quarter they were able to
score two unconverted tries to put the score 10 – 0.
Maldon came back into the game with a solo try under the posts from inside centre Ben Rogers,
which was unconverted to put the half time score 10 – 7 and everything to play for.
South Woodham started the second half the stronger team however and added another try to put
the score 15-7. A second try for South Woodham Ferrers followed to put the score 20-7.
Maldon refused to give up however and secured some more possession and another solo effort by
number 8, Neil Morris, resulted in another score under the posts, which Maldon converted to put the
score 20-14.
South Woodham wrapped the game up however with about 15 minutes to go with a try, which
was converted to put the final score 27-14.
Despite the loss however Maldon can take great encouragement from a dogged performance that was
full of heart.
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| Saturday 15th September 2007
Upper Clapton 7 - 32 Maldon
Although Maldon did not play particularly well they can take great comfort from the fact that they still recorded a high winning score against their opposition. The sign of a good rugby team is one who can win even though they are not playing at their best. This bodes well for Maldon 1st XV as they beat Upper Clapton 32 – 7 away from home. Maldon have struggled with the away fixture to Upper Clapton over the last few years and Saturday's result was the biggest win there for some time. However, there is lots to work on for the next league game at home against Wanstead on 29th September. In particular Maldon struggled to control the breakdown. The support to the man taking the ball into contact was far too slow and at times was not effective when it finally got there, meaning that Upper Clapton constantly turned over Maldon's possession.
On the positive side the set piece and defence was good. The front row of props Keith Knight and Matt Ager and hooker Sam Bennett won several balls against the head with second rows Simon Peacock and Paul Shepherd able to lock out the scrum to secure the stolen ball and Maldon's own ball. The line-out worked well and Maldon were able to disrupt a lot of the Upper Clapton ball. The only let down was the scrappiness of the driving maul from the line out.
The defence was very good and Maldon were clever and patient enough to hold off the one-dimensional Upper Clapton who chose to simply crash the ball up the field with their big forwards. Maldon just had to guard the fringes of the breakdown and get the Upper Clapton runners to ground early and prevent them from setting up a maul and using their superior weight to drive Maldon back. When Upper Clapton did spin the ball out to their backs Maldon were up quickly and either stopped them in their tracks or pressurised them into making a mistake and giving possession to Maldon.
Maldon started the game fairly well and spent the majority of the first half in the Upper Clapton half, but did not score as many points as they could have done as they kept losing the ball in contact. It was leading points scorer fly-half Jerry Wood who opened the scoring for Maldon with a try after ten minutes and then a penalty five minutes later after Upper Clapton were finally pinged by the referee for killing the ball. The half ended with Maldon 8 - 0 up and a little frustrated with their own performance.
The second half started the same for Maldon and Jerry Wood scored another try with a clever little chip over the top of the Upper Clapton defence 10 metres outside of the Upper Clapton try line, which he was able to gather himself and score to give Maldon a 13 - 0 lead.
Upper Clapton obviously realised they were struggling to stay in the match and made one last effort to raise their game through their forwards. A series of drives from the forwards got them slowly within the Maldon 22 before a missed tackle allowed them to get behind the defensive line and set up a maul which they drove over the Maldon try line to score a try for themselves which they converted to make the score 13-7.
This final effort was all Upper Clapton had in them and Maldon responded well as the opposition began to tire. A try from Maldon wing Andrew Yardley and then centre Mike Farmer killed the game off for Maldon with fifteen minutes to go and 25-7 ahead, At the end of the game Andrew Yardley scored his second try using his pace to carve up the flailing Upper Clapton defence which was converted by Jerry Wood giving Maldon a 32 -7 win.
Rochford III 41 - 3 Maldon II
This was a very disappointing first league game of the season for Maldon 2nd team, with Maldon's only points coming from the boot of Rowan Dyson.
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| Saturday 8th September 2007
Maldon RFC celebrate 60th anniversary in style
Maldon 64 - 10 Writtle Wanderers
Maldon II 36 - 17 Writtle Wanderers II
Maldon RFC hosted a very successful celebration of it's 60th anniversary at the weekend. Maldon's Vice-Presidents, Committee Members,
representatives of Essex RFU and other guests of the club enjoyed lunch in a marquee entertained by a jazz band.
The lunch was followed by two matches with Maldon 1st and 2nd XV playing local rivals Writtle Wanderers' respective 1st and 2nd XVs.
Maldon 1st XV recorded a 64 - 10 victory in a free flowing match graced by a hatful of tries. Maldon full back Andrew Yardley bagged 4 tries
with tries also from Maldon right wing Ben Rogers (2), captain and inside centre Stuart Pearson, fly half Jerry Wood,
scrum half Paul Davinson and flanker Zac Dickinson. Maldon 2nd XV also recorded a fine result with a 36 - 17 victory.
2nd team captain Craig Eardley singled out two players for special mention.
These were open side flanker Sam Delderfield-King (who thieved lots of ball, scored a try and linked well with the backs)
and Craig Martin at full back (who switched to outside centre at half time) for his strong and elusive running.
Following the matches players and guests enjoyed a barbeque and were able to watch the England v USA World Cup match on a
large screen in the marquee. The entertainment continued into the night with a 5 piece band and dancing in the club house.
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| Saturday 1st September 2007
Rochford Hundred II 27 - 17 Maldon
Maldon, despite losing this pre-season warm up game, put on a very pleasing performance against Rochford II, whose 1st team play a few leagues above Maldon. Maldon were unlucky to go into the break with the scores even, having failed to capitalise on a couple of scoring chances in a fist half that they dominated. Rochford, clearly rattled elected to make a very large number of substitutions in the second half and at times in felt like Maldon were playing a different team! Although Rochford began to score some points Maldon responded well and in the end the score line finished with Maldon only 10 point adrift.
Maldon II 36 - 5 Mersea II
Maldon took to the field with a mix of youth and experience. Mersea did not have enough front row players, so it was agreed that scrums would be uncontested. Maldon started very strongly and a strong drive from the forwards from a line out resulted in a try for skipper John Elliot. Maldon then built on the platform created by the forwards to give some ball to the backs and the game opened up a little. Despite strong defence from Mersea Maldon managed to put together a move linking forwards and backs together to create a try for John Milner in the corner. More strong play from the pack resulted in a chance for winger Rob Yardley to squeeze in at the corner to see Maldon lead 15 - 0 at half time. The second half saw Mersea become more involved and they fought back well, only strong defence from Maldon preventing a score in the first few minutes. Eventually a sweeping move saw a 70 metre territorial gain, followed by a Craig Martin try, which was converted. The game then became a little scrappy as players tired on a very warm day. But a quick penalty saw Neil Morris released into space and he ran in from half-way, converting his own try. Mersea again responded positively, and dominated for a period of 10 minutes, scoring a well-deserved consolation try. The game finished with Maldon back on top, and as more space appeared Maldon were able to link a number of phases of play to allow Ben Ager to score, John Chadwick converting. Overall an excellent start to the season by Maldon 2nd XV. |
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