Marlborough 22 – 26 Maidenhead
On Saturday, the 1st XV hosted Maidenhead on the Common in another first meeting between the two clubs. After Ciarán’s shenanigans earlier in the week, the pitches were in good condition, the sun was out, and there was a slight breeze. It was almost perfect conditions for playing rugby, except Marlborough had forgotten to read the script again!
Maidenhead had their own secret weapon, having former England and 2003 winning Rugby World Cup player Will Greenwood as one of their coaches. He certainly seemed to enjoy the coffee at the club! He was very kind, allowing some selfies to be taken with the Marlborough faithful and staff.
From the get-go, Marlborough just didn’t seem to be switched on for the game. There were silly errors both in defence and attack. Within 17 minutes, the visitors were 14 points ahead of Marlborough. Then, in the 18th minute, Marlborough came to life when fullback Aaron James kicked a penalty. It was great to see Aaron back playing at Marlborough, as it had been a while.
On the 25th minute, Maidenhead was awarded a penalty try set up by a ruck. This was the last thing Marlborough wanted or needed, but it did seem to give the boys a bit of a jolt. Loose head prop Save Tuimatanisaqa crashed over from close range following a nice buildup involving several phases of play, with Aaron James providing the afters courtesy of his kicking.
Half-Time: Marlborough 10 – Maidenhead 21
The half-time talk was quiet but difficult to hear from the coaches; the boys had to improve in the second half.
The start of the second half was one of the brighter periods in the game for Marlborough, scoring on 44 minutes with Number 8 Epeli Kotobalavu (Koto Senior). Koto picked up from the base of the scrum and offloaded in the tackle to wing Ale Fifita. Koto swiftly got back to his feet to receive the return pass from Ale, then passed the ball straight onto a flying Solomone Aniseko (Seko) to score, which was kindly converted by Aaron James.
There was a feeling that after this, Marlborough were starting to find their rhythm, and they had clawed their way back into the game, but sadly, this was short-lived. Decisions that were given seemed to knock the boy’s confidence, and in the 55th minute, the visitors scored an unconverted try.
Again, this seemed to be the kick that Marlborough needed, and they did have a slight purple patch, but there were several missed opportunities. In the 72nd minute, Filipe Tafolo crashed through defenders to score in the corner, but sadly, was left unconverted.
The killer blow for Marlborough was near the end of the game when Fly Half Viliami Hakalo beat the Maidenhead defence and scored what would have been the winning try under the posts, only for the referee to judge that he had knocked the ball on when he touched it down. The Marlborough faithful was gutted; they were so excited to think the boys had finally gotten the better of Maidenhead, only for it to be the try that never was. But that’s rugby, and time was against Marlborough, and in the 80th minute, Maidenhead were the winners.
Final Score: Marlborough 22 – Maidenhead 26
Though the mood was sombre, the boys knew they could do much better, and they were the only ones that could change anything. They have time to assess what went wrong and how to improve things for the next game, which is away to Bracknell next Saturday, who currently lie in fourth position within Reginal 1 South Central. Marlborough is currently in 9th position.
As always, the team is very grateful for all the support they receive from the Sponsors as well as the Marlborough faithful who come and support the boys’ week in and week out. Then there is the unsung army, who do everything to make sure match days run smoothly and everyone is looked after and enjoys their time at Marlborough Rugby.
The seconds also had a home game against Minety, which they stormed, winning by 49 points to 15. There were a couple familiar faces back in the mix: Jack Lynd, who took nearly 20 minutes to get his first try—someone is slacking. Also, Akariva Seruvatu (Aka) was back on the pitch after returning from injury. The boys currently lie in 2nd position within the Counties 2 Tribute D&W North. Next Saturday, they are away to Swindon College Old Boys in a double header. It is not only a league game but a competition game as well.