Sat 25 Apr 2026
Maldon welcomed Upper Clapton to Drapers for the final league game of the season. Upper Clapton were set to finish runners-up in the league, the only team to defeat champions Thurrock, so a challenging game was anticipated, on a glorious day, more suited to sunbathing than rugby.
Coach Mark Judd was saying his league farewell to the team after many years, which has seen the club move up to a higher league 3 years ago & perform well within this league. Mark was appointed Maldon’s coach when the club was set up in 1947 & is looking forward to a break after 79 years.
The game started quickly with both teams keen to throw the ball around, although the size of the Upper Clapton pack would surely lead to some tight forward play too. With scrum dominance, Upper Clapton were able to win the ball, then perform a move in the backs which released their centre to stroll in under the posts, 0-7. Upper Clapton continued with the expansive game & working off the back of their huge forwards, Upper Clapton found space again & were able to cross the line once more, 0-12. At this point Maldon were hoping that things would change or it would be a long afternoon.
Maldon woke up after the second try & retained possession more effectively & their support play improved. Great interplay between Sam Langston & Dan Allen put Dan in for Maldon’s first score, which Dan converted himself, 7-12.
Upper Clapton responded well, they, too, retained the ball & went through phases. But, their best tactic was their kicking game, which saw them gain much territory & produce the opportunity to run at Maldon when Maldon kicked the ball back to them. Through this strategy Upper Clapton managed to score again, 7-17, then not too long later they score one more, 7-24.
Maldon began to play with more control, improving ball retention & demonstrating more accurate handling. The result of this was great support play from Brad White, looping Sam Langston, who provided a precise pass & Brad ran in Maldon’s second try, 12-24 at half time.
Maldon continued the improved display in the second half. An early penalty was kicked by Dan Allen to improve the score, 15-24. This was closely followed by a well-deserved try for George Perkins, celebrated by his Dad, Steve, commenting “That’s better than a yellow card, George”, 20-24 & Maldon were right back in the game.
However, Upper Clapton were not going to give up their lead. They moved the ball swiftly, scoring another try to extend their lead, 20-31.
The referee was awarding a number of penalties, against both teams for high tackles & warned both teams that discipline needed to improve.
Next Maldon upped their game once more. Winning the ball & moving it wide quickly was reaping rewards. Joe Entwistle & Jack Evans (having yet another superb game in attack & defence) combined well, which got Maldon across the Upper Clapton 22m & Joe was able to run in for another score, converted by Dan Allen, 27-31.
The discipline didn’t really improve, the crowd thought that they saw a dangerous tackle, hair re-arranging & high tackles & became rather frustrated by what they saw.
But, the rugby continued & Upper Clapton, again, showed why they are runners-up in the league & ran in another try, 27-36.
Then the referee did produce a yellow card for Upper Clapton, from which Dan Allen kicked the penalty (to finish with a personal tally of 15 points), 30-36.
With minutes to go, Maldon had to run everything, but a dropped ball near their own posts was picked up by Upper Clapton & it was easy to score, 30-41.
The game finished in a rather farcical fashion. Maldon tried a quick kick off, Upper Clapton ran the ball back, nearing the Maldon line. A last-gap, desperate tackle by Kieran Reeve was interestingly judged to be high, so he received a yellow card & Upper Clapton were awarded a penalty try, 30-48.
The last 2 minutes were chaotic & the game finished with no more incident nor score.
Man of the match - Ryan Martin for propping well against some very heavy men.
Maldon finished 4th in the division, winning 8 games out of 18. As with all teams, departures, injuries & availability affected the team’s performance. But, a 4th place finish is a good place to be. With the arrival of a new coach & injured players returning next season, Maldon can look forward with optimism to next season.
We now look forward to a cup semi-final fixture next weekend.
