Ashford RFC U14s vs. Maidstone 3rd December 06

Ashford 7 – Maidstone 0

Ashford entertained a Maidstone side that coming into this match had an unbeaten record of 9 matches this season. In wet and windy conditions Ashford won the toss and kicked into a stiff diagonal breeze. From this point they camped inside the Maidstone 22 metre area.

Ashford’s forwards were dominant in both set piece and loose phases. Hooker George Sladden had already taken two put-ins against the head when he suffered a hand injury on 15 minutes. He was replaced in a reorganised pack by prop Billy Stevens and Patrick MacEnri went to hooker. This was Stevens’ first match since he was injured against Welsh side Caerphilly on 10^th September.

On 19 minutes Ashford won a scrum 10 metres from the Maidstone line. Scrum half Rory went blind and passed inside to No.8 Christopher Albrow. Albrow was held up 5 metres short and offloaded to the newly arrived Stevens. Stevens powered through the Maidstone defence and touched down under the posts for the only try of the match. The conversion was added by Louis Burdon.

The match then took on a repetitive pattern. Ashford would win the ball and drive upfield. Pressure would be relieved when Ashford either knocked on, lost possession in contact or were penalised. Maidstone would clear their defensive lines and Ashford would remount the attack. However, despite spending 75% of the rest of the match in the Maidstone half, Ashford failed to convert overwhelming pressure into anything but a win by a single converted try. Throughout the match the Maidstone backs looked dangerous and only Ashford’s stranglehold on possession kept them from making a more serious impact.

There were good performances by the Ashford pack in general and a good defensive performance by the Ashford backline. However, given the preponderance of both territory and possession the score should have been much higher. Player of the week was Billy Stevens.

Next week, Ashford Under 14s are scheduled to be away at Canterbury.