Sat 10 Oct 2026
On a bright, but breezy day Maldon welcomed Eton Manor to Drapers for their first meeting this season. Eton Manor were undefeated so far, so a tough match was in prospect.
Eton Manor kicked off & Maldon ran the ball back with some determination, gaining ground immediately. Maldon progressed into the opposition half with Demitri Sofoclous taking a pass and making a good line break. Maldon continued to attack well, notably good support and strong carries by Joe Entwistle and Charlie Randall (on his 1st XV league debut). From a scrum inside the Eton Manor 22, they passed the ball out to their centre who dropped it & Brad White swiftly picked it up & fed skipper Lewis Nichols to score under the post, converted by Dan Allen. A great start for Maldon 7-0.
Despite this poor start, Eton Manor then proceeded to show their ability. They carried well into contact & used their big pack to gain ground. This lead to a good attacking position from which they scored a converted try, 7-7.
Maldon continued to defend well, but the visitors kept possession and carried down the field well. A break into the 22 meant Maldon were on the back foot, the pressure told and Eton Manor crossed the line to score again, 7-12.
Shortly after, Eton Manor transgressed & Dan Allen kicked a penalty, 10-12.
The last score of the half went to the visitors with a loose pass by Maldon being collected by a grateful Eton Manor player who waltzed under the posts with ease, to make the half-time score 10-19.
The remainder of the half saw Maldon defend valiantly, preventing driving mauls, and covering in the corner in the last seconds.
HT 10-19
The 2nd half kicked off & within the first minute prop Rob Grainger suffered a very painful hip injury, which delayed the game by a short time. Maldon had made some subs, so with this injury more reorganisation took place. Liam Stephens playing his first game for the 1s for a couple of years showed his worth by some big carries & Ryan Martin slotted, giving his all against a bigger pack.
Maldon had been warned about high tackles & Josh Chadwick was adjudged to have made another high tackle following a ball rip & was yellow carded. This, however, spurred Maldon into life, Sam Johnson carried strongly in the corner and came close to scoring, but it was Ben Harbutt who showed great pace and footwork to finish off some good team play, again converted, 17-19, Maldon were right back in the game. However, playing with 14 men meant that Eton Manor could use the extra space to cut through Maldon & responded with a try of their own, 17-24.
Maldon were back to 15 & for the next period of the game they dominated in every aspect. Centre Alex Humphreys, making his debut, showed his qualities in attack & defence. Maldon were able to gain ground by showing a more tactical approach. They kicked better & they also recycled the ball more efficiently. The lineout was working well and this retaining of possession allowed the ball to be fed to the backs quickly & Maldon were showing their ability all over the pitch.
Following strong carries, good decsion making to hold onto the ball, and also quick service from Louis Poynter at scrum half, Alex Humphrey powered over the line for a try on debut, Dan Allen converted, 24-24.
Next, following a great offload from George Alden-Smith, Josh Chadwick made a break down the pitch, only to be caught by covering defence. However, Maldon were awarded a penalty try & Eton Manor received a yellow card for failing to get back onside, 31-24.
The good work continued. The pack ploughed through the opposition & quick ball was fed out by Brad White with an excellent miss pass out wide, one more pass got winger Alfie Brown's hands on the ball, who showed pace & power to fend off and score in the corner, 36-24, with 10 minutes to go.
All Maldon needed to do was to prevent Eton Manor from scoring twice & show good game management for the last minutes of the game. There were moments of brilliance, turn overs, big hits, not allowing bigger ball carriers to get over the gainline...however, Eton Manor showed great resolve & some good running to cross the line twice in the last few minutes, winning the game with the final conversion, 36-38, much to Maldon’s disappointment.
Both teams had something like a group hug at the final whistle celebrating an excellent game of rugby.
Men of the Match - Alex Humphrey for a great debut in all aspects, making a difference to the side when coming on.
Maldon, although losing, did manage 2 bonus points, which is the best possible outcome when losing & now sit 6th in the league, having played 2 of the top 4 teams.
Next week Maldon welcome old rivals Chingford, hoping for a better outcome.
Most importantly, all at MRFC wish Rob Grainger a speedy recovery after a very nasty injury. Despite the agony he was in, Rob's parting words as he left the clubhouse were... "make Mooney do a pint for d**k of the day". Get well soon Rob!
