Mobbs-Smith reflects on Maids’ roller-coaster campaign with great pride
David Mobbs-Smith says he’s able to look back on Maidenhead's first season in the Regional 1 South Central Division with some pride, despite a campaign of contrasting form that saw them finish with 11 wins and 11 defeats.
At their best, Maids were a match for every side in the division and played some scintilating rugby, swatting aside Banbury 82-15, however, there were also ill-disciplined performances where they were prone to defensive lapses. They lost several games they should have won and that, more than anything, cost them a top four finish. Having opened their campaign with a convincing win over London Welsh, they concluded it with a narrow 2010 defeat to the same opponents, with Maids points coming from tries from Archie Dunnill and Dan Hostetler. The result saw them pipped for fourth spot by Oxford Harlequins, who finished their campaign with a 37-31 win over Brighton.
Nevertheless, head coach Mobbs-Smith is proud of his side’s achievements this season.
“I think we had a great season,” said Mobbs-Smith. “We’re a young team and in those 11 defeats, eight were very narrow so we can’t be too disheartened.
“We had a young team playing great attacking rugby. It was a huge learning curve for us, and I feel there’s been a great improvement from the season before.
“It was a tremendous way to finish the season down at London Welsh. The teams scored two tries each, they just got a couple of penalties on top of their converted tries.
“It was a tight game; we just didn’t quite click at our best. We created a few opportunities that we let slip by. The result could have been even closer, and if we managed to pick up a bonus point – in other words three more points – we would have finished fourth in the league instead of fifth.”
Mobbs-Smith added: “You never know with the RFU who’s going to get promoted, who’s going to get relegated, and what is going to happen to the teams in between but we are hoping to stay in the same league. There will be some players leaving, some retiring, some signing now which is normal at the end of a season. We’ve still got a cup to play in too. That begins on April 1 so there are still competitive games on the horizon.”
One departure that’s already been announced is Myke Parrott’s. The 37-year-old told the Advertiser last week he had planned to leave his director of rugby role and the sport for good after Maids’ clash with London Welsh. On Saturday, he tweeted: “My time in rugby is sadly over. I’ve made the most amazing memories, with the most amazing people, as part of the most amazing club, @maidsrfc. Off to watch my kids grow up and help my business be the best it can be. Over and out.”