Victory was statement of intent, says Jafari

Rugby round-up: Impressive win for Marlow as Keohane departs from Maids

Marlow captain Hugo Jafari felt his side's 27-17 victory over Southern Counties North league leaders, Reading, on Saturday was a statement to the league of the club's ambitions in the coming seasons.

For a side that had lost its last four games heading into the fixture, there was little room for error from the hosts as they executed their game and played exciting, attacking rugby.

The result was enough to bump Reading off pole position, with Stow-on-the-Wold taking over at the top on points difference heading into the final few matches.

Marlow were beaten 27-3 by Reading when the sides met earlier in the campaign, but Saturday's home support at Riverwoods gave them the edge to go on and claim their most impressive win of the campaign.

Recent results have dropped the club to eighth in the table, however, with two away games to play at Bicester (April 9) and Gosford All Blacks (April 16), they'll have their eyes on making up a couple of places before the season reaches its conclusion.

Jafari was in a jubilant mood after the victory, the club's 10th of the season.

“My body is still sore – I’m not going to lie. I was hobbling towards the end of the game,” he said.

“I had been out for four weeks and wasn’t 100 per cent going into the game but it was enough to play one of the end games of the season. We can’t make excuses for the last few games leading up to this one, but we have had players out with

COVID and injuries.

“Every team has had similar issues, but we have been going into matches with quite a few key leaders down.

“Saturday’s game against Reading was an important one for us and we were motivated and had the mindset to finish this season well and go into the next season strong. Having such fantastic support at home, especially with the Minis’ festival taking place and everyone there, really gave us a boost.

“Reading are a fantastic side and we have a lot of respect for them and the way that they play. But on Saturday we showed our team has great potential and at no point did it look like we were going to give in. We wanted to make a statement to the league that we are here to deliver.

“We are playing with confidence again; there was no room for mistakes. We showed that we can play some exciting rugby.”

W Windsor weren’t able to back up their impressive win over Trowbridge as they were beaten 45-12 by fifth-placed Witney at Home Park on Saturday.

Captain Chris Emmett had been hoping to make the most of the return of key players from injury and illness, however, the visitors proved too strong on this occasion and demonstrated exactly why they sit so high in the South West 1 East table.

With two games to go, away to Banbury on Saturday and home to Beaconsfield on April 23, Windsor sit 11th in the table.

W Maidenhead's game with leaders Sevenoaks on Saturday will be centre Ed Keohane’s last at Braywick Park before he and his family move away from the area this summer.

Head coach David Mobbs-Smith and director of rugby, Myke Parrott both said his departure will leave Maids with ‘big boots to fill’, not just for his performances on the pitch but also for the leadership and mentoring role he plays around the club and on the training pitch.

“He'll be a massive loss for us,” said Parrott. “Both on and off the pitch. We’re going to do everything we can to make it a special day for him and his family.

“I’m proud of Ed for the way he’s conducted himself this season.

“Sometimes more experienced players their improvements can be limited, but he’s playing as well as I've ever seen him. He’s keeping the ball well, controlling games and making brilliant decisions . He’ll be a huge loss but we’ll hopefully give him a day to remember.”