Backline brilliance but pack lays the groundwork
There was no doubting the brilliance of Maidenhead's backline during Saturday's impressive 6124 win over Sutton & Epsom on Saturday.
They tore into their beleaguered visitors from the off, scoring nine tries across the 80 plus minutes - it could easily have been more - and generally causing mayhem whenever they had the ball in hand.
However, in the immediate aftermath of the final whistle, centre Harry Wells - who scored one of those tries with a searing turn of pace in the second half had the presence of mind to praise the forward pack for laying the groundwork and providing the ball from which the backline could do so much damage.
Wells' praise for the pack typifies the team spirit Maids have, however, if the forwards can provide such a platform in the side's remaining games this season, supporters should be in for a enthralling second half of the campaign.
Maids were itching to make a fast start, having been made to wait a couple of weeks following their 24-10 win at Bournemouth, and they flew out of the blocks, scoring three tries inside 10 minutes through Dan Hostetler, Niall Crosley and Will Macauley.
Sutton managed to recover their senses and put the game back on a more even footing, however, Maids exploded into life in the dying minutes of the half, Scott Prince and Alex Turton leading the Sutton defence a merry dance to score mesmeric tries to make it 35-7 at the break.
There was no let up after the break either, with the excellent Jamie Maddern, Jack Norris, Wells and Prince again scoring tries to take Maids past the 60point mark for the first time this season. The result lifts Maids to within a couple of points of fourth-placed Oxford Harlequins heading into Saturday's home game with local rivals Bracknell.
“We really back ourselves with the ball but first and foremost it was an unbelievable effort from the pack today,” said Wells.
“They provided us with fantastic backline ball and when it’s as good as that up front, we really back ourselves and have the confidence to spin the ball out wide and score a lot of tries.
“It was electric in the backline today, but I think credit has to go to the pack.
“We had a plan to get at them with a quick defensive line, but, unfortunately, I came out on the wrong side of that.
“But we adjusted better in the second half. We’ve had a week off after a win the week before, so we were itching to get back out there. You could see that from the off.
“We got off to a fantastic start. That’s something we’ve worked on because in the past our starts haven’t been that good.
“Today, we put a lot of emphasis on our start, and it couldn’t have gone any better.
“Time on the training ground helps when you have a backline as electric as ours. You really want to put the ball in their hands as much as possible.
“You want to get the ball to players like Alex Turton and Jamie Maddern.
“It’s going to be a good game for the highlights reel, but we back ourselves to score from anywhere on the pitch. It’s great to see and great to watch.
“This is going to be great preparation for what’s going to be a very big local derby. but we can’t get ahead of ourselves.”