Sat 11 Nov 2023
On a glorious day, with VPs galore.ready to offer advice, Maldon welcomed East London to Drapers Farm. With 10 minutes to go before kick off, it was realised that there was no referee! So, the captain’s Dad is asked to referee (ensuring the captain won’t get injured), East London agree to this, so that the game can start. Maldon started well, getting inside East London’s 22m line & looked threatening, until very strong defence from East London stopped the possibility of a Maldon score. Scrum-half Louis Pointer, spent 10 minutes showing good physicality, until going off injured with a suspected broken rib, leading to some reorganisation of the back line. East London moved the ball well, retained possession, and with strong running & good support they crossed the line for the opening score, 0-5. Maldon responded well to this setback, by, again, gaining territory & supporting each other. The reward was a penalty, kicked by Joshua Chadwick, 3-5.
There then followed a poor 10 minutes, in which East London did nothing extravagant, but did all the basics of rugby well, allowing them to score 2 tries, 1 converted, 3-17. In this period Maldon simply missed too many tackles and made a poor decision to kick when ball retention should have been the priority. Maldon managed to compose themselves & return to the East London half, another penalty by Chadwick, made the score 6-17. The half finished with another error, as an interception by East London led to one more try, converted for a half-time score of 6-24.
The real referee appears, so the players have to manage this change. Maldon started this half well too, but, this time, they did not let East London off the hook, as Max Knight powered his way over the line, converted by Chadwick, 13-24. Maldon continued with pressure, starting to challenge East London, especially at the breakdown with Max Knight clearing out every ruck in his eyeling. Chadwick kicked another penalty, 16-24 & East London were looking a little worried at this comeback. Ben Marshall upped the intensity, putting great pressure on the East London 10.
However, Maldon were not composed in attack. Poor passes, lost line-outs, a lack of depth & dropped balls limited their attacking opportunities despite being in great positions to come away with points. East London, in comparison, played the basics well, kicking downfield when in their 22 & displaying secure handling.
Whilst Maldon were improved for much of the second half, too many opportunities were left out on the pitch. East London crossed one more time in the final minutes, to make the final score 16-31.
Next week see Maldon travel to Wanstead, continuing their league campaign.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Ben Marshall - relentless tackling and work rate.
