Oxford leapfrog
Maidenhead RFC v Oxford Harlequins RFC: Mobbs-Smith’s men blown
Maidenhead 29, Oxford Harlequins 46
In this battle between the Regional 1 South Central pace setters, Oxford Harlequins came out on top, and deservedly so, to leapfrog Maids into first place, with the hosts dropping to third.
However, the home side can take some credit for the way they fought back with only 14 players, scoring some lovely team tries to 'win' the second half.
There was an element of shellshock to the way they were blown away by Quins in the first half. The visitors to Braywick Park were clearly a step up from anything Maids have faced already this season and that showed from the first whistle.
However, Maids played 50 of the 80 minutes – at least – with only 14 players after Antonio Kiri Kiri was yellow carded in the first half and red carded in the first seconds of the second half. They were on the front foot and pushing Maids back from the very first whistle and it was no surprise to number six, Willo Bicknell force his way over in the eighth minute after Quins had spent time camped on the hosts' line.
And Maids were almost visibly winded by what happened next. From the restart, a high up-and-under kick was launched, putting pressure on their backline. The ball was spilled and fell kindly for Bicknell to claim and run unopposed to the try line.
From being level, Maids found themselves trailing 12-0 within a couple of minutes and it became an uphill battle from there on in.
They did manage to hit back immediately, with number 14 Kyle Beattie pinning his ears back and racing to touch down in the right corner after a fine break through the middle from Elio Mandozzi.
The extras from wide out were missed by Greg Smith, but at that juncture it seemed supporters at Braywick Park would be in for a tit-for-tat game of expansive, running rugby.
That all changed when Maids' number eight Kiri Kiri was yellow carded for tackling his player a fraction to early. It was harsh on the player who spent 10 minutes in the sin bin and Ewan Fox slotted the penalty in front of the posts to stretch Quins' lead to 15-5. Had they managed the period through to half-time Maids might have fancied their chances of a second half comeback, but Quins scored a third try when Jack Antoniou was played in on the left-hand side to make it 20-5.
Getting the next try looked crucial to
Maidenhead's hopes, but they looked rushed and slightly panicked in possession as they desperately tried to get back into the game against Quins' hungry defence.
But it was the visitors who capitalised on their next spell of possession down the left flank and Bicknell again who grabbed his and Quins' fourth try.
At this point it felt like Maids were getting a rugby lesson from their visitors, such was the gap in quality, but they got one try back on the stroke of half-time when captain Jamie Townsend forced his way over from close in.
Trailing 27-10 at the break, it felt like a comeback wasn't yet out of the equation with Maids having shown this season they’re more than capable of scoring 20 points in a shortish spell.
However, in his enthusiasm to try and help Maids’ turn the tide, Kiri Kiri clattered into Quins’ Ben Jenkins in the first seconds of half. It was deemed a high tackle and his subsequent red card for dangerous play handed Quins an invitation to claim all five points. They never looked like turning it down, and they didn't, however, Maids can take heart from the way they played in the second half, scoring three more tries with only 14 men.
Quins drove over another couple of times, with Josh Archer squeezing over for the second of them to make it 10-39.
But, in the latter stages they flagged, perhaps knowing the game had been won, and Maids produced a rousing final 20 minutes.
Playing with a freedom and fluency that was missing from their first half display, they passed the ball around well and Harry Wells broke brilliantly through the Quins' backline to set up Jamie Maddern for his first try to make it 17-39 on the hour mark. They then gathered real momentum when Alex Turton picked up a fantastic no look, scoop through the legs, pass from Niall Crosley to make it 24-39. That brought Maids back to within two converted scores. Stranger things have happened in rugby; however, Titus Waldock pricked the bubble of building momentum when he weaved through to score (24-46).
A fifth, beautifully worked, try saw Maddern go over the whitewash for his second of the game (29-46) and Maids fans in the stands left Braywick feeling they'd been entertained - but also wondering what might have been had Maids managed to keep 15 players on the field for the full 80 minutes.