Sat 15 Feb 2025
Maldon welcomed Mavericks to Drapers Farm on a cold day, with the 2s also playing at home & a VPs dinner to provide a captive audience for the first game with the new fencing surrounding the pitch, keeping the rabble back from the field of play.
Maldon had a number of changes to their usual line up due to injuries, allowing a new look leadership team; George Perkins & Dimitri Sofoclous co-captaining the side, with Lewis Nichols stepping in as VC.
Maldon started well, taking the game to Mavericks, crossing the gain line & making good territory, denying Mavericks the ball for the first period of the game. Following good work by both forwards & backs, and a cross field kick for Sam Langston, winger Sam Johnson used great footwork to cross for the first try of the game, 5-0. This was closely followed by more good work, to allow Chris Mooney to squeeze in at the corner, converted by Dan Allen, 12-0.
This spurred Mavericks into action &, for the first time, they retained possession & took the game to Maldon. Mavericks usually play a fast, open game & this started to work for them. Maldon’s defence struggled to repel the opposition due to the speed they played at. After one staunch defensive effort Maldon cleared their lines, but gave the ball back to Mavericks , who then attacked again & managed to score their first points of the game, 12-5.
Next, some excellent attacking play released Sam Johnson, who showed power & pace to beat his opposite number & almost passed the last defender, but managed to feed inside to VC Lewis Nichols, in support, to score under the posts, for a converted try, 19-5. Maldon continued to dominate the game, preventing Mavericks from playing to their game plan, by retaining possession & defending strongly. Jack Evans, Chris Mooney and Will Chaplin all defended superbly well, making tackle after tackle.
Maldon kicked well, finding space when necessary & delivered clean ball from the line-out, to allow some continuity in their attack. The continued pressure led to winger Josh Gemmell having the space to run in the bonus point try, in the first half, again converted by Dan Allen, 26-5.
Despite all the positive aspects to the half, Maldon switched off near the end of the half & allowed Mavericks back into the game, which they capitalised on, to score at the end of the half, 26-12 at the break.
The second half started poorly, as Mavericks dominated a scrum, then powered through some weak tackling to score a try, 26-17. To make matters worse, 2nd row Olly Lyons was shown a yellow card & Maldon were facing a resurgent Mavericks team. However, with the co-captains George Perkins and Dimitri Sofoclous leading by example, Maldon raised their game, increased the aggression in defence & moved the ball better in attack. This provided field position for Dan Allen to kick a penalty, 29-17 to increase the lead. The game was fairly even for the next 10 minutes or so, with both teams preventing the attacks from making any breaks. This phase of the game ended when Mavericks broke through & scored a converted try to bring the game to 29-24 & the chance of victory was foremost in their thoughts.
Maldon defended bravely & attacked when possible, playing sensible rugby to keep Mavericks from scoring. This strategy reaped reward, when Josh Gemmil scored his second try of the game, 34-24, which was the final score.
This was a hard-fought game, which leaves Maldon in 4th place in the division, on the same points as Romford in 3rd place. There are 4 more league games this season, with a guaranteed finish of at least 6th, but the possibility of finishing 2nd.
Next game is in a fortnight, away to Epping Upper Clapton
MAN OF THE MATCH - Ben Cooper, on his first team starting debut, for a great all round performance.
