Sat 27 Jan 2024
Maldon travelled to Upminster on a day perfect for rugby, facing a team a couple of places above them in the league. Before the game Maldon were feeling good, following last week’s victory.
Maldon started well, by running good lines & taking the game to Upminster. Territory soon proved valuable, as a penalty was awarded & captain Chadwick kicked successfully for the first score 0-3. Then Maldon panicked in defence, trying to play their way out of trouble & not securing loose ball, allowed a bobbling ball to be gifted to Upminster, who scored under the posts, 7-3. Almost immediately, a kick by Upminster was gathered & moved across the pitch by the back three, giving Dan Allen room on the wing to continue his fine form, by leaving the defence in his wake, to cross the try line, converted by Chadwick, 7-10. The scrum was solid but the line-out was problematic.
Maldon then dominated the game for the rest of the half. In attack Maldon were creating chances, in defence Maldon were strong. George Alden-Smith was tackling non-stop, Chris Hadfield was showing his normal physical presence. Ben Marshall carried well, gaining ground. Jack Judd found a turn of speed and made a good run up the middle of the park, handing off some Upminster tacklers. Josh Chadwick scored 2 individual tries, both converted to give Maldon a 10-22 lead. Chadwick had a chance for his hat-trick, running through the defence, beating the last man & sprinting for the line. Suddenly, his legs stopped working and he found himself in quicksand, essentially falling into the tackle. Upminster managed to clear their lines.
There were more opportunities for Maldon to score, but a dropped ball or a loose pass near the try line meant that Maldon had blown their chance. At least 15 points were left out on the pitch before the first half ended.
Half-time, Maldon were up 10-22 & just needed more of the same in the second half.
However, what happened next was inexplicable & unexpected. Upminster came into the second half with renewed purpose. They started to move the ball around more, were dominant in attack, by using their forwards more effectively to get over the gain line & in defence, by tackling harder & more successfully. They scored 32 unanswered points & fully deserved all of them. Maldon’s discipline deteriorated & penalties for speaking inappropriately to the referee happened more than once. Penalties were reversed for ill discipline. George Perkins received a yellow card, came back on & then received a red card, reducing the team to 14 men for the rest of the game.
After such a good first half Maldon were extremely disappointed with their second half performance, being beaten by the better team. Credit to Upminster, as they came back from a 12 point deficit and played simple, good rugby. Maldon’s have only their own discipline to blame.
Next week Maldon welcomes Campion to Drapers, hoping for revenge for the defeat in the first half of the season.
MAN OF THE MATCH -
Chris Hadfield - for determination, and consistency in attack and defence.
