Maids swept aside by Macc in thriller
Rivals turn the tide in the latter stages to win 40-26
Maidenhead's hopes of lifting the Papa John's Cup Plate trophy at Sixways Stadium in Worcester on Saturday were swept aside by an in-form Macclesfield side who defeated them 40-26 in an entertaining and open clash.
Maids were in the game for much of the game and forged ahead in the early stages only to be pegged back by a ruthless Macc side who maintained their recent run of scoring at least four tries a game.
David Mobbs-Smith’s side headed into the final off the back of an impressive 51-34 win at
Tring in the semi-finals, and the hope was they'd adapt better to the artificial surface at Sixways, however, Macc got to grips with them and just outscored them in a thrilling game of running rugby.
They too had barely faulted enroute to the final, having put 48 points on Stockport in their semifinal the previous weekend.
It finished off a thoroughly satisfactory season for both teams. however. Macclesfield left the happier of the two teams with some silverware to add to their trophy cabinet.
Macc's supporters didn't have long to wait to acclaim the first try of the afternoon as Danny Martin, Charlie Attis and Terrence Barbarinsa passed the ball around Maids' bewildered defence to open the scoring.
It didn't take long for the Berkshire boys to respond - as they have all season - and, having won an attacking lineout, scrum half Drew Prince spotted a gap next to the ruck to wriggle through and score a converted try.
The see-saw first half continued with Attis spotting a gap and shimmying his way through before making a great pass to Harry Oliver who recycled it for James Oliver to go over the line. That
saw Macc regain the lead at 12-10 and there were still 68 breathless minutes to be played. Maids responded again, with fullback Jamie Madden joining the backline to scythe his way through on the diagonal, wrong footing at least one Macc defender to touch down under the posts.
Maids led 14-10 and the pace was relentless. Babarinsa left the field with a pulled hamstring, but Macc weren't deterred as they held Maids at bay with some solid tackling and defensive play. However, they couldn't convert their possession into more points and Macc were clinical. Picking up from the back of a 10m scrum, James Oliver fed Brendan Berry who bulldozed his way through Maids' defence to score (17-14). Attis kicked a penalty from 50 yards to make it 20-14 just after the half-hour, before Barbarinsa's replacement Will
Davies at 12 sidestepped his man to crash through and score. The conversion was missed but Attis made amends, slotting another penalty to make it 28-14 at the break.
The lead was a sizeable one at the break, but not an insurmountable one, however, Macc found an even higher gear in the second half to run out worthy winners. They pinned Maids back in their own half and, though they were reluctant to kick and lose possession, Macc eventually forced their hand and Maids' frustrated number four was sin-binned for a high tackle on Attis. Maids were not done there though, and they managed to touch down a third try through Alex Turton to make it 28-19 having isolated Sam
Brown on the left wing.
Maidenhead then came again, attacking from the halfway line to score another sensational try through Scott Prince to make it 28-26 on the hour mark.
However, just when it seemed they were building a head of steam, they quickly lost their momentum. Harry Oliver did much of the damage, taking the ball to the five-metre line where Phil Laing picked up to score for Macc.
The tide was now turned and when Macc won another fivemetre scrum, the outcome was ominous for Maids as James
Oliver fed Lloyd Smith-Coates from the base to crash over to make it 33-26.
Sam Brown then clinched the win with a sixth try for Macc, Harry Blackwell making the killer pass for Brown to dot the ball down Attis converted to put the icing on the cake and make it 40-26 with just seven minutes to play.
Maidenhead threw the kitchen sink at Macclesfield and set up camp in the 22, but they couldn’t cross the whitewash again.