Sat 28 Sep 2024
Maldon travelled to Campion, also unbeaten this season, looking to build upon their 3 victories in previous weeks. Maldon chose to play uphill in the first half, in a bid to have the slope advantage at the end of the game. Maldon started well, using their hard running forwards to gain field position. Campion, as expected, defended strongly & after some pressure managed to clear their lines. Campion played a fast game, with all players linking well together. This allowed Campion to get into the Maldon half & now Malson had to defend. They did so well, with a lot of strong tackling. However, eventually the amount of possession meant that the defence could hold out no more & Campion crossed for a 5-0 lead.
Maldon came back positively, again making ground through strong running & good support. Maldon were awarded a penalty & the referee played advantage. Fly-half Brad White kicked high & winger Sam Langston rose above his opposite number & caught the ball, immediately offloading to centre Joshua Chadwick, who rounded the last defender to score, then convert his try, 5-7.
This spurned on Campion, who continued with their expansive game & their good counter rucking in defence. Only some last gap defence kept Campion out &, again, due to the amount of pressure on Maldon, after multiple phases, they crossed again, 10-7.
Maldon responded well, gaining a penalty, which Chadwick kicked, 10-10. The half finished with Campion scoring a penalty themselves, 13-10. This was a great position to be in, as Maldon were looking forward to the slope helping them, only 3 points behind.
But, the second half did not start well. The kick-off did not go 10m & the resulting scrum gave Campion too much room & they moved the ball wide quickly, to score, 20-10.
Maldon had to respond or the game would go away from them. They did so by playing down in the Campion half & maintaining possession. The forwards drove hard at Campion, keeping the ball in contact & creating an overlap, which the backs used, with accurate passing, giving Sam Langston space to score in the corner, 20-15. This gave Maldon confidence & they were keen to keep pushing forward. But, Campion had other ideas & crossed again in between the posts, 27-15.
Then, disaster, hooker George Alden-Smith was sin-binned & Campion capitalised on this advantage by kicking a penalty, 30-15. Maldon were keen to cut the deficit & raised their game. Through more good play & pressure on Campion, Maldon managed to get to the Campion line again. Pressure told again & centre Lewis Nichols crossed for a converted try, 30-22. Maldon were now close to at least a losing bonus point, if not chance of victory. But, once again, Campion moved up a gear. They gathered a loose clearance kick & very quickly moved the ball to the opposite wing & their winger made a great run & scored under the posts for a winning score, 37-22.
No game next week, but the next game is at home against Old Coopers.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Sam Langston, superb try assist and scoring a try of his own in the corner after good hands.
