Stopping Hertford is easier said than done

Stopping a Hertford side who'd won 13 matches in a row heading into Saturday's game was always going to be a tough ask for Maidenhead, but Myke Parrott had no complaints afterwards about the side's effort and application.

For 30 minutes the visitors went toe-to-toe with the London & South East Premier Division's standout side, before their greater power and athleticism broke Maids' stranglehold on the game.

However, there was plenty for Maids' director of rugby to be enthused about as he reflected on the 44-5 defeat and looks ahead to Saturday's clash with fifth placed Wimbledon at Braywick Park.

“Hertford deserved their win on Saturday, no doubt about that, but that first half hour was arguably our best 30 minutes of the season,” said Parrott.

“They've won 14 matches in a row now, and Dorking went there and didn't pick up a bonus point. They're a class act and have Charlie Parkhouse at full-back who is arguably the best player in the league. We lost Ben Mitchell to injury, and he was doing a great job at stopping his runs at 13, while Alex French also had to go to hospital. We also lost four players to injury before the game but that's been the tale of our season. We lost but they should be really enthused. With a little more size and experience we're not going to be a million miles away.

“Hertford's size and power tells over 80 minutes, but skills wise we're right up there.”

While he stopped short of saying he was confident Maids would beat Wimbledon on Saturday, he's very hopeful they'll give them a good game and wants to restore Braywick to the fortress it once was in the coming seasons.

“I don't want to appear too enthusiastic or too hopeful,” he said. “But certainly, we want to turn Braywick into a fortress again. It's a proud home of ours and we don't want any side rocking up and taking five points off us.

“They should have to work bloody hard to do that. That’s something we’re working on behind the scenes, but we want to get back to that unbeatable feeling we had at Braywick Park for so long. Let’s see what Wimbledon have got, the 3G surface will suit them for sure, but we’re confident, and you might see a couple of new faces as well.”