Sat 20 Jan 2024
Maldon were at home for the first time in 2024, welcoming old rivals Stanford-Le-Hope, with a VPs dinner at lunchtime which would provide a knowledgeable crowd. After the recent cold snap the pitch was firm to say the least, but it was passed as playable, so the game went ahead.
Maldon improved on the past 2 games, managing to avoid conceding an early try again. Despite the amount of territory & possession Maldon did not manage to score for the first 15 minutes or so. Stanford-Le-Hope did enter Maldon’s half, but only due to silly penalties & wasted opportunities. Olly Anthony, Olly Lyons & Callum Melville were all unlucky not to finish off moves that involved many players & phases.
The Maldon scrum was dominant, driving forward regularly & putting Stanford-Le-Hope’s scrum-half under immense pressure.
Eventually, the deadlock was broken, as captain Joshua Chadwick cut inside his opposite number & outpaced the other defenders to score in the corner, 5-0.
Within 2 minutes Chadwick made another break & fed Zak Knight to score, a conversion followed, 12-0. Tempers were a little frayed following a ruck near the Maldon line & many players from both teams rushed in to keep warm on the cold day.
Just before half-time, good handling saw Jack Judd feed winger Dan Allen to score, again converted by Chadwick, 19-0 at half-time.
The second half started well for Maldon, Chris Roper carried well to provide the backs with clean ball after a strong carry that allowed Zak Knight to cross for his second of the day, 24-0. This was followed by some more handbags & a warning from the referee to both teams. Maldon responded to this positively, by moving the ball quickly & centre Olly Lyons touched down under the posts, converted again, 31-0.
Comedy moment of the day then happened. Stanford-Le-Hope kicked, the ball was touched by Maldon, so everyone was onside, the ball bounced & Chris Moon did a diving pass to Zak Knight, who was wrong-footed, slipped & watched the ball bounce into the grateful hands of the Stanford-Le-Hope player lurking behind the play having a rest, who scored under the posts, 31-7.
Stanford-Le-Hope were tiring at this point, having defended for most of the game. Maldon were gaining confidence in their handling & their ability to move the ball wide. In the final 15 minutes of the game, winger Dan Allen gave a master-class in finishing as he crossed 3 times one try involving a superb chip and chase, and another sprinting off his wing to provide great support play, 2 converted by Chadwick, for a final score of 50-7. Allen’s finishing was the result of good, quick ball won by the pack & good, quick hands by the backs to give him space to attack with pace & finish off moves with style.
MAN OF THE MATCH -
Joshua Chadwick - for his part in a number of tries, assured goal-kicking & captaincy.
