Results 18th feb 2017

Well, life seems to have continued more or less seamlessly at the club, even despite my absence at the weekend.   It was clearly an agonizingly close outcome for the 1^st team boys as they took the game to CS Rugby in an effort to secure a double victory over them in this our first season in the same league as them – but it wasn’t to be, despite leading into the last 10 minutes of the game.   With more than 75% of the matches now played, Maidstone are sitting eighth in a table of 14 but given the recent return of some key players from injury, the ambition must be to finish comfortably top-half and to retain the Kent Plate.

At home, there were two fixtures played but the Mustangs game vs Medway was forfeited owing to the lack of sufficient players to field a credible side.  Instead, the available players were used to backfill the two teams playing at home and battle commenced.  Unfortunately, the main threat was assumed to have been posed by Aylesford, who handed out a huge beating in the corresponding “away” fixture before Christmas, with two London Broncos players running riot past and through aged bodies.  This time it was different, with some younger players in the Maidstone ranks helping to even up the odds.  

Barbarians 35  Aylesford3 5

Overall a good win against a side that had won the first league fixture by 100 points.

Aylesford kicked off attacking the road end on a cold yet sunny afternoon, kick off didn't go 10 and the barbs won the scrum on halfway, a good pick up from archer playing 8 and the ball was kicked forward Aylesford fielded this and cleared their lines and on 5 mins the stones had a 5 metre lineout, 2 lob win with ian lee directing the pack ben weston scored in the corner from a well worked catch and drive. Well controlled good low body positions. Conversion missed.

Kick didn't go 10 again. Stone won the scrum again, archer pick and drive from 8 this time going blind, after 2 phases the ball found winger James Sullivan who powered through flimsy defence to score in the corner. Conversion missed 10-0 stones. 

The game ebbed and flowed and got a bit bogged down as both sides took advantage of the referee's  liberal interpretation of the breakdown with both sides getting away with side entry. 

The bulls were a bit more pro-active in this period and in the 28th minute put a big hit on Trevor Archer. Dislodging the ball, this was recovered by the bulls and they scored, Archer left the field to get treatment. 10-5 to stones. 

Leonardo Braga making his maidstone debut was a thorn in the bulls side all afternoon, sniping runs from the base of scrums and rucks  after one such run the bulls kicked but failed to find touch, this was well fielded by winger Lee Hanlon who rounded a defender and made good inroads into the bulls 22, he passed to centre copter Brunt who beat another defender then passed to Braga who was at full tilt who made light work to score to the left of the posts, conversion missed 15-5 on the half hour.

Sullivan scored his second try of the day after an excellent break again from Braga, who fed to Sullivan with the winger showing good speed to score in the corner. Conversion missed. 20-5 at half time. 

An excellent half from the barbarians built from a solid set piece and a back line that was beginning to gel and make good inroads behind the Bulls defence.

The Game resumed and from a solid scrum fly half Alex Clark made an elusive run and scored. Conversion missed 25-5.

Aylesford were defending very narrow and despite the half time instructions to give the ball some air and quickly go wide if the opportunity presented itself, the stones often got caught in midfield and the game became quite error ridden.

After another break from Braga going into the 22, with 1 defender to beat Braga passed to Josh Smith who ran a very good supporting line to score. Conversion missed. 30-5.

The game finished as it had begun, catch and drive, 2 lob taken by ian lee who organised the drive, the stones were edging forward when returning ex Mustangs skipper Nathan Fitzpatrick broke down the blindside to score in the corner. Conversion missed final score 35-5.

End of match report 

However, the Vets faced Folkestone III on a day when Folkestone II had no fixture and the inevitable happened, even despite corralling them onto the Somme where a narrow game could be played.  Folkestone brought a large powerful inside centre and a very speedy winger and the combination proved to be lethal vs elderly legs.

So the moral of the story is probably that tactical deployment of one’s resources is all very well but its better to deploy them against the stronger of one’s opponents. If only we had the benefit of hindsight.

I have seen no reports regarding the Ladies game vs East London but its pleasing to note that there is a good deal of consistency in their  score-lines week after week, with a steady 0 being notched up yet again.  Despite that, there seems to be no loss of enthusiasm amongst the players or coaches and it can’t be too long before they rack up more than 0, sooner or later.

NEXT WEEK

The Firsts will be away at Folkestone in the Kent Plate where I confidently predict a win for the ‘Stones

Meanwhile, a bunch of wrinklies from Maidstone will be playing a similarly decrepit bunch from Ashford in the Semi-Final of the Spitfire Gold Plate, kicking off at 2:30 at the Mote.  Vets Skipper Neil Cole will be missing the game to go to Folkestone and watch his son Harry make his 1^st Team debut at Hooker.   Well done Harry.  (Lets hope that Harry’s  Mum Sharon isn’t planning to cycle to the game) (If you saw her, you would understand)

On Sunday, our Intrepid ladies host Bury St Edmunds in the NC East League.

QUIZ NIGHT

Date for your diary is 4^th March.  Many thanks to Kate and Simon Wright for hosting the quiz.  Should be a jolly pleasant way to spend an evening at the club

See below for the events of this weekend 10 years ago, when we were all so much younger.

RE

Fixtures 25th feb 2017

Weekly News Round-up  18^th Feb 2007

Results

Maidstone beat Andover  39-5                  L2S

Mustangs lost, away to Thurrock II, by lots.        Friendly

Thirds won, at home to Tonbridge Judd III     71-0    Mid Kent A

Fourths lost, away to East Peckham      12-14         Friendly

Fifths lost, away to Tonbridge Judd V   0-30    Mid Kent D

Vets, fixture bombed by Sheppey Vets at 1:30 Saturday.

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This was an emphatic win for the 1^st team against a side that had beaten them earlier in the season, albeit then against the run of play and by a narrow margin. Most importantly, it opens up a decent 3 point gap between Maidstone and their nearest rival Sevenoaks and it should now mean that there is no chance of Maidstone getting sucked into any kind of relegation dog-fight over the course of the last 5 matches.

Not such a good result for the Mustangs, who picked up a fixture on the Essex exchange after Blackheath III cried off. Following a couple of injuries, much of the game was played by Maidstone with only 13 players and they even found themselves down to 12 for 10 minutes when Mayhem got sin-binned. It was only a friendly but it was a shame to lose their 10 match winning record in this manner. However, it was very nice to welcome Mr Plowman back to the team (and club) after a mini-break elsewhere.

The Third Team skipper didn’t think that he had a very strong side out this week but in the event they rattled up a huge score against TJs, with Stuart Bates getting 4 tries, Lee Bezuidenhout getting 3 and Steve Coates, showing his versatility by playing in the centre instead of at prop and getting at least one for himself.   (EDITORS NOTE: STEVE SHOWED UP AT HOOKER FOR MEDWAY IN OUR RECENT SPITFIRE GOLD MATCH; GOOD TO SEE HIM AGAIN – ALBEIT IN MEDWAY COLOURS)

The 4ths picked up an away fixture against East Peckham and owing to a lack of numbers would have struggled big-time against a good East Peckham side had it not been for the arrival of the cavalry in the shape of Axe, Mack, Russ, Darren and Andy guesting courtesy of the Weavering Warriors, who were without a fixture for the day. It was a good game but will go down as another of the fixtures that the 4ths could have won this season, but didn’t.  Once again, skipper Dave Jackson led from the front and after breaking his nose last week, played with bloody tissue paper bulging from his nostrils but it didn’t seem to deter him from sticking his head in where heads don’t belong!!

The fifths took what looked like a pretty good side away to League leaders TJ5s, which is a side comprising most of their Vets and which is therefore a pretty tough proposition. The only consolation for the 5ths after a fairly heavy defeat is that they are playing them again next week, (so have a chance to do a bit better this time).

The Vets had just started changing for their home game against Sheppey Vets when the (highly predictable) call came through to say that Sheppey weren’t coming (again).  Instead of getting their clothes back on and having a few pints whilst watching the first team League match, the silly old sods went out onto the Somme and played muddy 7s against one another for 40 minutes.  How keen can you get??

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Next Week

The Firsts are away to Beckenham in the league, aiming for a 3^rd win of the season after having beaten them twice at home, once in the League and once in the Kent Cup.

The Mustangs are at home to Beckenham II, the current Invicta League Champions and will need to return to their winning form of recent weeks in order to make sure of wresting the title for themselves this year. A window of opportunity has opened up after Beckenham lost to Thanet II last week, but now the opportunity needs to be grasped with both hands.

The thirds had an availability of 4 for this week so, bearing in mind that they had no fixture and that all 4 of them could be needed by the Mustangs, it was deemed sensible to have a week off this week.

The 4ths entertain Gravesend III at home in the league, aiming to complete the double over them for the season.

The fifths look forward to the return league visit of TJ5 after last week’s one sided encounter.

The Vets make the trek to south London to Beckenham Vets, where they can be assured of an uncompromising contest (infinitely better than no contest at all like last week)

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Court and Social

Thanks to all who supported the Race Night on Saturday – not just those who did the organizing  and who turned up on the night but also to those who sponsored races and bought horses in advance. Glad to say that a profit was made to bring a smile to the face of our treasurer.

RE

PS Congratulations to the U17s, who won their Kent Cup Final against Sidcup on Sunday.  A close game between two very good sides by all accounts but amazingly this team of winners managed to pull off another fantastic trophy win. Well done !!

Fixtures 11th feb 2017

The best thing about kicking off half an hour before the First Team is that it provides an opportunity to watch the end of the 1st Team game after one's own match. 

Sometimes there is a nail-biting finish. Saturday's wasn't nail-biting but there was plenty of action and in the 20 minutes I stood there, I saw 3 tries: two from Maidstone (including a 50 metre solo thriller from Sam Pearson that went some way towards his first MotM award) and one from Chiswick in what was a high-scoring, high tempo game.

The worst thing about staggered kick-offs is the need to lock the North showers so that the taps dont get left on by the team finishing first - which didn't please the Vets much - although the South showers are perfectly serviceable: they just don't like having to fiddle with the knobs whilst showering.

The Mustangs were due to play Alleynians II, who couldnt raise a team, so they played a friendly at Dartfordians with a pretty strong pack but few recognized backs and a dearth of half-backs, not ignoring Mick Walker who gamely agreed to step up and play scrum-half but even Mick would concede that a 56 year old is always going to struggle to compete with a good 22 year old.  The result was fairly one-sided in the end - somewhat predictably.

Meanwhile, the Vets and Babas combined to play Leigh at home, bolstered by the return from injury of Mike Gillies and Simon Seal at 9 & 10 respectively and by returning players, Chris Hogg at loose-head and dynamic Ben Rookledge at open-side flanker, whom I recruited whilst on a visit to Maidstone Mosque the previous week-end.   For 30 minutes the score remained at 0-0, with Rooky playing an absolute blinder in his first game for 4 years but then Leigh scored, Rooky went off injured and the flood gates opened.  It was till only 0-15 at half-time but the Leigh backs had too much running and their bearded back-row got his tail-up and it ended up as a rout.   Shame really.    Strangest try of the day was from a speculative kick ahead which just needed to be touched down in loads of time and space by Baba skipper Craig Tuffrey. As he turned to touch it down, his PCL gave way and he went over as though pole-axed, leaving the ball on the floor for a Leigh player to saunter up and touch it down in a rather embarrassed manner. 

I gather that Wales let England win on the telly after the match.

NEXT WEEK

Firsts are away to CS Rugby

No Mustangs game

Babas at home to Aylesford III

Vets at home to Folkestone III

I'm in Porto, Hurrah !!

See weekly round ups from 2007 below, to see what difference a decade makes

RE

Fixtures 11th feb 2017

WEEKLY NEWS ROUND UP 11^TH FEB 2007

Results

Maidstone lost to Blackheath  away 14 –38    Kent Cup Quarter Final

Mustangs beat Lordswood II at home 24 – 0     Friendly

Maidstone III lost away to Old Gravesendians II    21-26  Mid Kent A

Maidstone IV lost away to Aylesford IV  0 –50 ish    Friendly

Maidstone V     Didn’t play

Maidstone Vets lost at home to Hastings & Bexhill Vets    21-26

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On the face of it, this could be seen as a disappointing set of results but upon closer inspection, there is nothing to be despondent about.

The main achievement was to get 5 teams out playing on an international weekend, when many clubs settle for putting their feet up in front of a wide screen. (In fact, had we had a fixture for them, we could have probably got the fifths out as well this week).

However, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that some of our opposition this week may have been somewhat stronger than they would have been had they been putting out a full complement of teams from 1sts downwards.   That’s one of the hazards of playing during a Cup and International weekend, as you can never be sure what you’re going to come up against. Still, you have to play the side that’s in front of you and apart from The Mustangs, all our sides came up short, (although some a little shorter than others).

In the Kent Cup Quarter Final, it sounds as though the 1sts put up a spirited performance against a powerful Blackheath side – particularly in the second half and the score-line was certainly no disgrace against National League opposition.

Well done to The Mustangs, who extended their winning streak to 10 games (and 7 without conceding a try).  The Mustangs were fortunate to be able to call on Andy West to play in their front-row when Luke Debnam retired injured. Fortunate because Andy had been meant to play for the 4ths at Aylesford at 12:00 but had spent so long on the M25 coming to Maidstone from Staines that he just made it in time for the 2:30 home kick off at Maidstone.  However, it was good to see him getting a run-out at this level.

Someone who didn’t manage to get on the field for the Mustangs, was extra-keen 4^th team skipper Dave Jackson – but not for want of trying. Hearing that The Mustangs had no one left on their bench, Dave struggled back into his wet kit, ignoring the broken-nose he had suffered at Aylesford earlier in the day and raced back up to the 1^st Team pitch to offer his services in case they were needed. Sadly, the call never came and he missed his chance to get a 2^nd game under his belt for the day. (Unlike another silly old fool who did the same thing but managed to get a further half a game for the Vets) (If I was a silly-old fool back then, how much sillier must I be 10 years later? RE)

The 4ths/5ths had a difficult time at Aylesford, made somewhat worse by a couple of no-shows prior to the kick-off (Thanks to Aylesford by the way, for lending us quite a useful young prop, although since he had apparently played all his Junior Rugby at Maidstone it was quite tempting to kidnap him and take him back to the place from whence he came) It was actually good to play with some of the 5^th team regulars though and to size up who could be pinched from Martin Carr at next week’s selection !!  Thanks are due to James Benger for showing up on the off-chance and eventually playing in 3 different positions.

The Vets were faced with a very good Hastings and Bexhill Veterans outfit, who had already beaten them away this season and who held out to win the return fixture at Maidstone, despite a late rally from Maidstone that saw them closing the gap fast.

These were two well-matched sides and anyone who imagines that Veterans rugby is perhaps a little less competitive than the other fixtures on a Saturday, should have watched this one.  Without wishing to make excuses though, one cant help feeling that our Vets might have won had they not had to play against Bexhill as well as Hastings!!

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Next Week

Firsts are at home to Andover   (London 2 South)

Mustangs are away to Blackheath III    Friendly

Thirds are at home to Tonbridge Judds III   Mid Kent A

Fourths are looking for a friendly fixture

Fifths are away to Tonbridge Judds V    Mid Kent D

Vets are at home to Sheppey Vets.

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Court and Social

We’re under starters orders for the race-night that gets underway next Saturday evening at 7:30.

No advance tickets required. Just turn up on the night or stay behind after the 1^st team match against Andover.

Entry is £3/head. Free Buffet provided.

Thanks to Tom Rogers for organizing the 1^st team and getting them to volunteer to run the Tote, and to Wendy and Tracy for doing all the organizing.

All we need to do is get there in numbers to support the event and to enjoy a good night out.  (Heating will be on full blast).

If you cant get there on the night, there is still nothing to stop you buying a horse (or horses) and/or sponsoring a race.

RE

Stop Press: I’ve just heard a rumour about the return of one of Maidstone’s more prodigal sons. Watch this space for further exciting details.

Results 3rd/4th Feb  2017

Results 28th/29th January 2017

So the Weekly Round-Up seems to be rapidly transforming into a Bi-weekly round-up but my excuse for last week (other than inertia and bone-idleness) is that the hard-drive on my PC crashed and I spent the week replacing and replenishing it.   Besides, there was the most informative Monthly newsletter from Craig and the Admin Team that nicely filled the gap.

Looking back 2 weeks, the Firsts played really well at Gravesend, judging by the Match Report and Gravesend thought themselves fortunate to gain the win, although that is not reflected anywhere in the League Table.

The Babas played T Wells IV on the First Team pitch and lost by a couple of tries.  My spies reported as follows:

A pretty uneventful game which struggled with slippery conditions. Close game but when Maidstone had ascendancy they failed to capitalise by poor execution.  Hell of a try scored by them though, some sort of Latvian or Polish guy (Croatian actually, Felipe?) playing at centre? scored a 70 yard try beating about 8 players. He should be nurtured as he has ability and physique.

The Vets played Deal & Betts on the Somme in very muddy conditions and did a great deal better than when losing 70-0 in the away game, but still not well enough for a win.   Dan Fisher was once again MotM, scoring both of Maidstone’s tries, whilst Richard Cutbill was the star in the back-line for his superb, destructive tackling of Deal’s dangerous runners.

And so, on to last week, which is itself becoming a distant memory.

On Saturday I had the pleasure of watching the First Team as they entertained Havant in a re-arranged League Game, minus Skipper Ben Williams who had booked a ski-trip for what was supposed to be a blank weekend. With a number of other regulars missing, I thought that our boys put in a really good display against a large and powerful Havant Team who looked every inch like promotion contenders.  In fact, to be ahead at half-time was a great achievement for Maidstone although a 13-8 lead never looked like it would be sufficient as the Havant runners turned around to let loose a 2^nd half onslaught down the slope.   Agonizingly, with 5 minutes left on the clock and the score at 13-22, Maidstone mounted a sustained attack in the visitors corner that looked as though it might result in a nail-biting finish but the move broke down and Havant managed a further score themselves instead.   It was a great dogged effort though and also very pleasing to see Dan Fisher in what I think was his First 1^st team game, whilst noting also the work-rate that Tom Chandler put in on his return to the side.

On Sunday, the Vets managed to drag a team of 16 broken bodies to Medway for the last of their Spitfire Gold pool matches, ably marshalled by their leader Paul Massey who himself took the field with only 10 minutes left on the clock owing to the scars of many a previous campaign in Maidstone colours, but who managed afterwards to compile a compelling match-report as follows:

Spitfire Veterans competition 2016/17

Medway v Maidstone

A rearranged game, which looked in doubt midweek as Maidstone only had 7 players on Tuesday, but some favours called in and the determination of Richard Ewence to always fulfil a fixture meant that Maidstone arrive with 16 bodies-not all able bodied but…..

Debuts in the Evergreen competition for Jason Hudson and Mark Ingram was an exciting prospect. So exciting for Mark that he went to Gillingham Anchorians first to tell them he was playing!

A gnarly looking Medway took the field and it was clear from the first scrum that Maidstone would be in for a grunt of an afternoon, where pushover tries would not be an option.

From kick off, Nick East caught and ran 50 meters with handoffs flying and knees pumping, and it looked like Maidstone would have a romp of an afternoon. However, he got twatted and we realised we were in a game. Early Maidstone pressure could not produce a try, so a penalty in front of the posts was slotted by fly half Mick Walker, playing despite his countryman’s loss to Scotland to well and truly end any Grand Slam dreams. Obviously, all the lads felt his pain and did their best to raise his spirits.

3-0 looking good then a breakout from the Maidstone 22 ended with a perfect pass to a Medway centre who flew in under the posts. 7-3 and some work to do. Maidstone regained territory and possession and did squander a couple of try scoring opportunities before a quick tap penalty and surges by East and Court led to a pop to Bob Purfitt who broke a tackle and scored from 5 meters out. Mick slotted the extras, despite his personal trauma and Maidstone led 10-7 at the break.

The half was also notable for some great crash ball in the centres by drafted oldie Steve Vincent, a dead leg to Karim in the first minute, who blamed himself for actually ‘running’ to a breakdown, and rare mistake by new half centurian Ian Howson, who dropped the ball in front of the try line-probably wanting to make a game of it as he is such a gentleman.

Second half was pretty much all Maidstone, though Medway were dogged and always in with a sniff. The Ingram Ewence combination in the lineout, ably assisted by lifters May and Hudson, started to click and a five meter lineout ended  following a pre-arranged call of front peel (first time ever in a vets game), with Bob Purfitt taking the pop and diving over untouched in the corner. 15-7 with prop Bob on a hatrick.

Maidstone were now playing a free flowing game, with inter linking between back and forwards, off loads from the tackle and incisive kicks from half backs Walker and Randall pinning Medway in their 22. Yet another burst from No8 Ben Court saw him pop to blindside May who in turn popped to Ewence for him to surge over from 15 meters to seal the game. Walker slotted the extras 22-7 with time running out.

Medway then had their best period with a series of scrums close to the line and only some excellent defence against their big No 8 kept them out. They finally did cross for a score from a dazzling cross field run from their centre, but the game was already won by Maidstone. 22-14 the final score.

Big thanks to all the guys who took the field and made it such an enjoyable and worthwhile afternoon. Thanks too to Medway. Always excellent hosts and played the game in a great spirit. Final note to the referee Drew, who controlled the game well, talking to players, showing empathy and knowledge of the Laws-very rare qualities in a referee.

Next Week

The Firsts are at home to Chiswick 2:30 KO

The Mustangs opposition (Alleynians) have withdrawn so the Mustangs are playing Dartfordians II away 2:15 KO

A combined Vets/Babas will play Leigh at home (2pm KO)

See weekly round ups from 2007 below, to see what difference a decade makes

RE

Fixtures 11th feb 2017

Weekly News Round-Up  29^th Jan 2007

Results

Maidstone  beat Sevenoaks   32-28 at Sevenoaks      London 2 South

Mustangs beat Sevenoaks II  33 – 0 at Maidstone     Invicta League

Maidstone III beat Sevenoaks III   12 – 10 at Sevenoaks     Mid Kent A

Maidstone IV lost to Sevenoaks Acorns  10 - 37   at Maidstone    Mid Kent B

Maidstone V lost to Sevenoaks V 12-22 at Sevenoaks     Mid Kent D

Maidstone Vets lost to East Peckham  7 – 22        Friendly    

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This was another marvellous day for the “Block Fixture”, with two well- matched clubs going head to head from the top of the club to the bottom, and all playing League fixtures.  I think that both clubs relished the challenge, as there is no room for any kind of shenanigans with a block fixture and it really challenges the strength in depth for both clubs, unlike the kind of thing that all clubs sometimes face where teams are “stacked” unfairly for League games.  So, having gone head to head for the second time this year against Sevenoaks, it is pleasing to report that Maidstone once again took the honours, winning again at 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd team level, losing again at 4^th team level and losing also this time at 5^th team level.  Anyone who has been around Kent rugby for any length of time will know that fortunes change season by season and that the relative strength of clubs will ebb and flow but I think its fair to say that for this season at least, we can feel pretty pleased with the outcome of this fixture.

On a day when so much good rugby took place, there are many things that one could highlight but certainly one should draw attention to the ongoing achievements of The Mustangs, led by James Ferris and coached by Andy Golding.  When the Mustangs beat Sevenoaks 33 – 0 on 9^th December, the Sevenoaks website reported that “The Extra 1stXV were no match on the day for a Maidstone side containing several first teamers”. 

This caused some small offence as Maidstone’s 1^st team were in fact fully occupied that weekend with a Cup game against Beckenham.  However, this match helped to set the record straight as The Mustangs achieved exactly the same score-line on this occasion as previously.  This was the 8^th consecutive win for The Mustangs and takes them 4 points clear in the Invicta League table, (although Beckenham and Thanet have games in hand). The Mustangs have not conceded a try in their last 5 League games and have only conceded 6 points in that time. Lets hope that they can now keep up this kind of record to the end of the season and beyond.

James points out that the club is still training at the Springfield army barracks each Tuesday until further notice (7:20pm meet sharp outside Springfield library), in case anyone was in any doubt .

Talking to some old Sevenoaks friends in the bar afterwards at Maidstone, it was pleasing to hear them say how much they like visiting Maidstone as, despite the limited changing facilities and the age of the club-house, it still feels like a “proper” rugby club and has the right atmosphere.  This was good to hear, especially from players at a club which has such enviable facilities and which is maintained so well.

Commiserations for Richard Weston, who broke an arm playing for The Vets against East Peckham on Saturday and also for Mike Gillies, the 5ths leading try scorer, who will be out for some time after badly spraining an ankle against Sevenoaks 5ths .

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Next Week

1^st Team are away to Tunbridge Wells     L2S    2:30 KO

Mustangs are at home to Tunbridge Wells 2nds     Invicta League

3rds are away to Canterbury III     Friendly

4ths are away to T Wells 3rds     Re-arranged League  game  Mid Kent D

5ths are at home to Gravesend Moles      Friendly

Vets are away to Cranbrook     Friendly

(This may be subject to change as availability is somewhat stretched owing to the England game)

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Court and Social

It was pleasing to see a packed bar for the quiz night on Friday, which was ably compered by our very own local hero, Martin Arnold. A team comprising 3 Sargents and 2 Haywards took the honours but I think we can safely say that a good time was had by all. Thanks to all who came out and participated.

Weekly News Round-up 5^th Feb 2007

RESULTS

Maidstone lost 21-25 away to Tunbridge Wells      London 2 South

Mustangs won 25 – 0 at home to T Wells II       Invicta League

Maidstone Thirds  went to Twickenham

Maidstone 4ths lost 5-13 away to T Wells III     Mid Kent B

Maidstone 5ths beat Gravesend Moles 12 – 8 at home      Friendly

Maidstone Vets beat Medway III away  28 – 5   Friendly.

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Three good results for the senior sides this week but disappointing results for both the 1sts and the 4ths away at Tunbridge Wells, both losing games that they might have been expected to win.  So, with only The Mustangs achieving a win against Wells on Saturday, it was up to Maidstone U17s to restore the balance on Sunday when they took on a formidable Tunbridge Wells U17 side in the semi-final of the Kent Cup at The Mote. Despite the power of the Wells pack and their highly effective rolling mauls, Maidstone came from behind to pull off a commanding victory and to progress once again to the final of this competition (Feb 18^th). Congratulations are due to all concerned.

Lieutenant James Scott played his last game for the 4ths on Saturday, before his return to Afghanistan next week. Although James is a medic, I sincerely hope that if called upon to do so, he can shoot more accurately than he throws in at a line-out. However, we shall miss him from amongst our ranks and we wish him a safe and speedy return.

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Next Week

Maidstone are away to Blackheath in the quarter final of the Kent Cup on Sunday 11^th, KO 2:00pm. It would be good if there were to be plenty of support for Maidstone as the home team are sure to be well supported as always. Last year, the two teams met at the same stage of the competition with Blackheath winning courtesy of an injury time penalty kick, so lets hope that Maidstone can turn that result around this year and progress to the Semi finals.

Whitstable have withdrawn from their scheduled friendly against The Mustangs owing to their own cup commitments and therefore it looks likely that Lordswood II will be stepping up to play The Mustangs at The Mote, 2:30 KO.  This should be an interesting fixture, as Lordswood II have had a very good season, led by former Maidstone player Tony Wellington and have seen off Ross’s dream team twice this season in Mid Kent A, en route to what looks like being a first Mid Kent A title for them.  I’m sure that they would be very keen to add a Mustangs scalp to their honours for the season so a competitive game is guaranteed.

The Thirds are away to Old Gravesendians II in an important Mid Kent A clash and will be keen to repeat the emphatic score-line that they managed at home a couple of weeks ago against the same side.

The Fourths and Fifths are both without fixtures at the moment, owing to withdrawals by East Peckham and Old Wills II. However, there are already some good opponents lined up provisionally and it just remains to be seen whether we can find enough players on an International weekend to field both sides or whether they will have to combine this week and play as one.

The Vets are at home to Hastings and Bexhill Vets.

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Court and Social   

Thanks to all who turned up at The Pilot on Saturday night to see Menin Shortz playing live; especially to Tracy and her bar-staff who added a touch of glamour to proceedings and to Sam Johnson, Scott Mitchell, Hugh Ridgen and David Scanlan, who turned up so late but sang so loudly. It was a blast.  Thanks also to Joe and Damian Houlihan for hosting the event and for their generous donation to club funds.

We hope to repeat the event again sometime before Christmas.

RE

Results 22nd/23rd January 2017

Lightening quick round up this week.

The Mustangs had a very enjoyable game and a welcome win at Gravesend in a high scoring game.  The team comprised mainly regular Mustangs but had a contingent of 3rd teamers and 2 or 3 First teamers - notably Ben Brill returning to action after a long injury lay-off and Matt Moore, playing out of position at No10 who nevertheless scored 4 of Maidstone's tries.

Congratulations to Hooker Harry Cole for making it into the Kent U20s squad to play Essex U20s and for making his Old Man Neil and mum Sharon very proud.

The Spitfire Gold match vs Medway on sunday was frozen off but there is a chance of playing it on Sunday 5th Feb.

The Ladies suffered another heavy defeat away at Stanford Le Hope, which is a long way to go for a game.   Full marks to them for continuing to fulfill these difficult  fixtures.

NEXT WEEK  (4th Feb)

The U17s and parents are holding a Race Night at the club with live racing.   It promises to be a fun social event, coming straight after the Havant game and England Match so its a great opportunity for all members to play some rugby, have a few beers and enjoy the craic.  You might even win some money - whilst supporting the tour fund for our wonderful U17s.   

Another point to mention is that the U17s are playing Medway on Sunday 29th Jan for entry into the National Shield competition.

See below for WRU from 10 years ago

RE

Fixtures 28th/29th January 2017

Weekly News Round-Up 22nd Jan 2007

Maidstone 1sts did not play. (DB Lions conceded the cup-tie owing to an inability to select a representative team for the match)

Mustangs beat Gravesend II away, 22 – 3     Invicta League

Thirds beat Old Gravesendians II at home  34 – 0   Mid Kent A

Fourths lost to Maidstone Vets 12-15     Friendly (but serious)

Fifths lost to Cranbrook “3rds” at home , 0 -  46.   Mid Kent D

Veterans beat Maidstone 4ths  (OK , don’t rub it in !!)

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It was disappointing that the cup-match didn’t take place on Sunday, but given that DB Lions were involved in a national cup competition on Saturday (when they beat Tonbridge Judds) it was not too surprising. What does seem surprising is that the Kent Cup is scheduled so that it inevitably clashes with any cup-run a club might have in the National Cups. However, given the number of League fixtures played in a season, it seems that there is no obvious alternative.

On Saturday morning, the 4^th Team fixture was bombed owing to a water-logged pitch at Tunbridge Wells (T Wells 2nds were all changed and ready to play a home match against Sevenoaks 2nds later in the day, only to be told by the ref that their pitch was also unplayable. Must have been a real let-down)

Also on Saturday morning, Lordswood Vets called to say that they could only raise 9 players to play our Vets. The solution was obvious and a hugely enjoyable fixture ensued between Maidstone Vets and Maidstone 4ths. Club forwards-coach John Whitehead, guested for the 4ths at number 8 and was particularly helpful on occasions when the referee needed any advice, (although I can’t actually recall the referee asking for any). However, he and a couple of other Veterans added some experience to a very young 4^th team, (in which scrum-half Ben Jones was once again outstanding) and an upset was very nearly achieved when sometime Vets prop Steve Norton, dived over for his 1^st try of the season to bring the 4ths back into the game at 12 –12 after being 12 points adrift for half the match.

With the match on a knife-edge and 10 minutes to play, the beleagured figure of Martin Carr turned up from the adjacent pitch, where the 5ths were being mown down by the Cranbrook “3rds” half-time substitutes. Being now down to 14 men, Martin needed to pinch a player to make up his numbers and appealed to the better nature of his Maidstone colleagues to help-out the Barbarians in their hour of need. Good natured Dave Jackson, being blissfully unaware that the fifths were already trailing by 40 points, trotted off to help contain the Cranbrook onslaught, whilst the Fourths were left to chase the game against the mighty Vets with only 14 players. (Any excuse will do!!)  Under pressure in front of his own posts, Ewence handled in the ruck and Keith Coomber slotted the penalty to give the Vets a narrow but sufficient winning margin.

Judging by the ease with which Cranbrook 3rds beat the 5ths, Cranbrook seem to have acquired some real strength in depth lately – especially considering that their 3rds have forfeited 4 league games already this season. Or maybe it was just that their 1^st team game was called off this week?  Difficult call!  It’s a shame, because with a half-time score of 8-0 to Cranbrook, the game was still worth playing – until the “subs” came on at half-time and the contest turned into a rout.    Lucky they didn’t have any nuclear subs, or they might have brought them on as well!!

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Next week

Its another block fixture against Sevenoaks, with the 1sts, 3rds and 5ths away and the Mustangs and 4ths at home,. The Vets were due to play Ashford III but Ashford are involved in a cup competition and cant play so a fixture is currently being sought on the exchange.

RE

Results 7th January 2017

Results 14th January 2016

It seems a while ago that we we were all singing Auld Lang Syne and making New Year's resolutions but it's still apt to wish a Happy New Year to all our readers, in this first WRU of 2017.

The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed that there was no WRU last week. The reason for that is that the writer is a slack b*st*rd, who kept putting it off till later and later in the week until eventually, it didn't happen at all. However, in his defence, it is the first time in 11 years that this has happened so lets hope its not the start of an unwelcome trend.

Last week was an encouraging start to the year 2017, with 4 senior sides taking the field for only the 2nd time this season (all at home as it happened) and best of all, with some of this year's U17s team making impressive senior debuts.

The First Team dismantled Sevenoaks at home, despite the potency of the threat posed by the Sevenoaks backs  but without a forward platform, they were rendered ineffective.  Josh Pankhurst took the MotM award for a display that was capped with two fine tries at the end.

The Mustangs went down to a fairly heavy defeat to a very good Beckenham 2nd Team but played well themselves and came off the field having enjoyed playing  together, especially given the presence of some of last year's regulars such as Nathan Fitzpatrick, Ali Fish, Cam Laurenson and Liam Costello, together with one of our current U17s Ollie Jenkins.

Up on the park, The  Barbarians fared much better vs Vigo III than they did in the away game in October, and whilst they shipped 19 points in the first-half, they won the 2nd half 7-5, which was a much improved score-line vs a pretty good Vigo outfit.  Thanks to Simon Wright for refereeing at short notice.

Also refereeing at short notice was Bob Purfitt, who turned up to play for the Vets and ended up officiating instead - which he did with great good humour throughout.  Fair-play to Snowdown II, who turned up with 11 players to make a game of it.  We supplied them with some replacements to make up their numbers and a pretty good game ensued, much tighter than the scoreline implies.  Outstanding for Maidstone were Fly-half Alex Ayling and Full-back Sam Cowdry from the U17s.  Fortunately for them, we let them do most of our scoring, bagging 4 of our 5 tries between them, whilst Old Timer Eugene Moore got the 5th, as well as taking a crunching tackle which saw him leave the field - to be replaced by Steve Pooley, who turned 70 a week ago.   To be fair, Steve has lost a yard or two of pace since collecting his free bus-pass but he has lost none of his enthusiasm, which still brings him from his home in Devon to play for Maidstone on a saturday.  Crackers ?  Probably - but  every club needs its characters and Steve is certainly one of those.

On Sunday, the Ladies team took a heavy defeat in Peterborough - which is a long way to go to come home with no points.  Hopefully, they enjoyed their day nonetheless.

Which brings us on to this week.   It was all a little fraught with selection this week, having no scheduled fixture for The Mustangs and having snow to contend with, which meant that we were never quite sure that any of the games would go ahead.

In the event, the first Team went to Totton, in the knowledge that there was a 4g pitch available if the regular pitch was unplayable - although this was not needed.  After a bright start for the Visitors and a match that was still in contention at half-time, the home side pulled away in the 2nd half and sealed a sizeable win in what was a bruising encounter, with a number of injuries sustained by the visitors from Maidstone. 

The Mustangs had no fixture, whilst the Barbarians travelled to Gravesend to play Gravesend IVs in what was an enjoyable game despite the eventual score-line. 

The Vets played a powerful Whitstable II team on the park-pitch, which was the only pitch deemed playable at the weekend.   A bright start and a 12-0 lead to Maidstone never looked like it would be sufficient to keep the visitors out of the game and it was a shame that a couple of gilt-edged scoring opportunities were spurned before Whitstable changed tactics and fought their way back in by exploiting the relative lack of pace in our backs.   Adrian Clark played well in the unaccustomed position of Fly-Half but outstanding for Maidstone was No 8 Dan Fisher, who scored 2 of Maidstone's 3 tries and who excelled in the tackle count.   Highlights of the game were a typical "weekly-handbags" session for Sick-Note as he mixed it with Whistable's smallest player, only to have his face split by a well aimed punch to the cheek-bone.   The other notable event was to see Brian Costello leave the pitch after 20 minutes in order to play in a squash final in a tournament being held at the Mote, only to return with 10 minutes left, having won his final in double quick-time.

Anyway, that's enough about last week.

The only home side on saturday will be the First Team,  subject to a pitch inspection as the frosts of the last few days have had a cumulative effect and it seems unlikely to come out before saturday, given the forecast.  STOP PRESS: GAME IS OFF OWING TO DEEP-SEATED FROST AND OVERNIGHT FROST FORECAST

On Sunday, the Veterans are visiting Medway to play their final pool match in the this year's Vets Cup.

Meanwhile, here's a really exciting match report concerning our magnificent U17s team.

On a bitterly cold and wet Sunday morning the Maidstone U17’s travelled to face a strong Medway side who play in the league above the for a what was to be a very tough friendly.

Playing up on the top of the hill the wind was biting as Medway made their game plan very clear in the first 5 minutes, keep the ball in the forwards with strong runners and a tight well  drilled pack. Maidstone were knocking the attackers down like skittles in a bowling alley but the pressure was relentless. Maidstone did manage to turn the ball over a number of times but were slower to breakdowns and were unable to make the best of possession. When the backs did get the ball they ignored the conditions and played it through the hands with good ground made and only scrambled defence and last ditched tackles saving Medway.

Medway however eventually crossed the line for a converted try after numerous battering runs, with hands in the ruck and going over the top assisting their progress!

Maidstone travelled with a squad of 24 and with everyone getting pitch time, substitutes were being made every quarter. Yes it’s a nightmare to manage but a policy we have stuck with through thick and thin has produced a squad of talent rather than over reliance on the odd ‘star’.

So the second half started with Maidstone very much in the game and wanting to put pressure on through decent ball from the forwards and releasing the backs. The intensity of Maidstone’s defence and desire when they had the ball inn hand was putting Medway under pressure, this was turning out to be quite an encounter. Maidstone’s  final got a break and a first tie came from a good move that Lewis finished in the corner. The ever reliable Lex slotted the kick from the touch line to take it to 7 – 7. More subs and the last quarter where Maidstone had their backs to the wall, defending in their 22 for much of it. Huge tackles, notably from man of the match Ralph and Maidstone managed to turn over the ball or force mistakes to launch our own attacks.

With 2 minutes to go another big tackle left the ball loose and Lex kicked it up field, Ollie was first on to it and tapped it forward, unable to pick it up cleanly he went to ground and popped off to Alex coming past at pace, who then beat the defender to score in the corner.

At 7 – 12 Maidstone defended with everything they had and even with an extra 2 or 3 minutes played held strong for an excellent victory.

Both sides gave everything and played an excellent game of rugby. As one of the opposition generously said in the bar, you edged it today and deserved the win.

Also congratulations and thanks to Sam Grice who cheered Mikey and the team on in horrible conditions despite it being her 50^th birthday.

Lastly, a quick note from our man in China, Will Arnold, who will be back at the club for the next 2 week-ends and who has offered to referee some games whilst visiting:

Richard, Hope all is well at Maidstone. Continuing to enjoy some Rugby
in China which on Sunday involved refereeing the first game ever in a
city called Yiwu which is about half an hour from the city where I
work, an interesting mix of teams including Russians,South Africans,a
Brazilian playing his first ever game and an Australian whose cousin is
married to John Eales and a Fijian who was voted man of the match. The Hangzhou ( my home club) fly half is a Tunbridge Wells player who I had refereed whilst he was at school.

See below for 2 week's worth of  WRU from 10 years ago

RE

Fixtures 22nd/23rd January 2017

Weekly News Round-Up 8^th Jan 2007

Results from Weekend

1sts lost to Wimbledon  15 -13     L2S

Mustangs beat Cranbrook II  3 – 17         Friendly

3rds lost to Lordswood II   20 – 8     Mid Kent A

4ths lost to Weavering   15 – 33      Mid Kent B

5ths beat OGs III  3 – 5     Friendly

Vets drew with Canterbury Vets  7 – 7       Friendly

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Mixed fortunes all round this week.

The 1sts could have beaten Wimbledon had late penalty or dropped-goal attempts found their target, but it wasn’t to be.  Still, a much closer contest than in the 1^st half of the season.

The Mustangs picked up Invicta League points when Darfordians cried-off on Friday PM and were then very fortunate to pick up a friendly v Cranbrook II (who normally play our 3rds) for Saturday.  A scrappy game but a useful run-out and another win for the 2nds.

The Thirds lost to Lordswood II in a vital League game and must now rely on someone else beating Lordswood to have any chance of winning the Mid Kent A title this year.

The 4ths lost to Weavering but put up a good performance in scoring 3 tries, despite fielding quite a light-weight side on the day.

The 5ths thoroughly enjoyed their win at OGs in a very low scoring contest, Mike Gillies getting the vital try for Maidstone.

The Vets meanwhile slogged out another draw with Canterbury against what must have been a rather different side from the one that went down by 50 points back in October – or perhaps our Vets are losing their touch ?

Its been pointed out that for the first (and hopefully last) time on Saturday, we had a father and son sin-binned on the same day, albeit in different games.  Kevin Bailey  was sin-binned whilst playing for the Vets and his son Sam Bailey spent 10 minutes off the field during the 4^th team game against Weavering. It could be something genetic or maybe its got something to do with what Mrs Bailey feeds them on ?

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Next Week

The 1sts are at home to London Irish Amateur, currently the bottom side in L2S. However, nothing can be taken for granted in these games and its vital to collect points where possible to keep away from the bottom three. The U13s and their coaches and parents will be guests of the Club for this home match.

The Mustangs had agreed some weeks ago, to play a friendly against Canterbury II. However, owing to a lack of pitches at home and a number of unavailabilities in the top 2 sides, it was felt that we could not provide worthwhile opposition to Canterbury this week. It’s a shame, because in most other weeks of the season, The Mustangs could have fancied their chances but this week there was little chance of a meaningful match. We are now looking for a suitable fixture against less exalted opposition. 

The Thirds are at home to Anchs II    Mid Kent A

The Fourths are away to Anchs III     Mid Kent B

The Fifths are away to Anchs IV     Mid Kent D

The Vets are away to Folkestone Fossils

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I was sorry to hear of the retirement of 2 players this week owing to repeated injuries.

Promising South African Alan McCabe, has decided to hang up his boots at a relatively young age, having suffered repeated lay-offs in his 2 seasons at the club and Phil Stanley-Berridge, who was “knee-dropped” in the back quite recklessly in a recent match has decided that he shouldn’t continue playing. Phil set new standards for verbal virtuosity in his last match (at Medway) when he enquired of the Match Official (Claire Warner) as to the “appropriate soubriquet for a lady referee”. No wonder the 5ths always referred to him as “The Posh Prop”. I’m pleased to hear that Phil plans to return to the fold in a coaching role for the youth section at some point in the future and will hopefully be as familiar with the coaching manual as he is with a thesaurus.

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Looking ahead, I notice that there is a quiz night on 26^th Jan and this time, the First Team will be in attendance to defend their title.  What’s more, we now have a lovely warm club-house to spend the evening in, so lets aim to get a decent turn-out from each team and make it a good event.

RE

Weekly News Round-Up 14^th Jan 2007-01-14#

Maidstone 1sts beat London Irish Amateurs   34 – 6        London 2 South

Mustangs   -  Did not play (Charlton Park cried-off on Friday)

Thirds lost to Anchs II  0-7      Mid-Kent A

Fourths beat Anchs III   0 – 8     Mid Kent B

Fifths lost to Anchs IV/Weavering  10 – 15   Friendly. (The fifths take 4 League points from this fixture as Anchs could only raise 10 men and conceded the League Game. We then found them some extra players, courtesy of Weavering who were without a fixture, and a friendly took place. Well done to Anchs for not “bombing” the fixture and thanks to Weavering for helping them out. (Shame we lost the friendly)

Veterans beat Folkestone Fossils  0 – 42.

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Lots to smile about this week, especially as no games were lost to the weather in the end. The biggest disappointment was that the 2nds didn’t get to play after being let down by Charlton Park 2nds on Friday. The next biggest disappointment was that the 3rds lost to Anchs II and probably kissed goodbye to any hope of retaining their League title for a further year. The last minor disappointment was that the 5ths lost their friendly (see above) but it beats the hell out of not playing at all.

Well done to the Firsts for securing 2 more League points and climbing back into the top half of the table.  Good to see a big turn-out from the Under 13s and their coaches and parents.  We hope that they enjoyed the pre-match welcome and the Maidstone victory.

We were sorry to say good-bye to Jonathan Brown who played his last game for Maidstone (4ths) on Saturday, as he flew to Dubai on Sunday to live and work there permanently. (Sounds like a good tour destination for the 4ths!!) We wont be half so sorry as his local pub however, as he and Carol accounted for a significant part of their turn-over and will be greatly missed.

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Next week

Maidstone 1sts are at home to Deal Betteshanger Lions on Sunday in the second round of the Kent Cup, (KO 2:00).    DB Lions have had a very good season in South East 3 since the 2 clubs merged during the summer and despite playing an EDF Senior Vase fixture on Saturday 20^th, will still be a handful to contend with the next day.  Those with long memories will remember that Betteshanger knocked Maidstone out of the Kent Cup on a couple of occasions in the 80’s, against the prevailing expectations at the time, and Maidstone will need to be at their best on Sunday to ensure that history doesn’t repeat itself.

The Mustangs are away to Gravesend II    Invicta League

The Thirds are at home to Old Gravesendians II      Mid Kent A

The Fourths are away to Tunbridge Wells III       Mid Kent B

The Fifths are at home to Cranbrook III      Mid Kent D

The Vets are at home to Lordswood Vets      Friendly

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Quiz Night on Friday 26^th.  Don’t forget.!!

Results 17th December 2016

So, the big day came and went.   Its not often that the First Team match is relegated to a side-show but it was very much 2^nd billing this week. The match report is linked above and I gather that props Ben Williams and Nathan Simpson took the Biddenden Vineyards bubbly for their dominance  in the set-piece  - if not for their karaoke prowess later in the evening.

Biggest disappointment of the day was that there were too many drop-outs from the Mustangs squad to play their away match at Sidcup II, for which sincere apologies are due to the players who remained available and who didn’t get a game and of course to Sidcup 2nds, who deserved a longer notice period at least.

Meanwhile, on to the Memorial Cup, where a large crowd had assembled to participate in the fun and to pay their respects.  Vets Skipper Neil Cole has surpassed himself with the Match report:

El Capitain here
Memorial Game
Well it’s done! 
Probably one of the biggest games of our seasons, 
Game plan – Bring home the Peter McCabe memorial cup.
Playing on the bottom pitch, Steve Norton our Official for the afternoon tossed a coin and Craig Nicholas called Heads. He won the toss and decided to receive and we kicked off towards the cricket pitch.
We knew the barbarians would be up for a game but the ferocity and tempo to which they started was incredible. Richard Gray commenting in the bar after that they would have given the second team a bloody good run for their money!
Most of the first 20 minutes was played just inside the barbarians half with the tackles coming thick and fast. In the forwards we were confident that we could compete well having had a strong front 8 all season and this was proven when we dominated the set piece in both scrumaging and lineouts.
Even with Big Mac missing due to work commitments the scrum always held or pushed the barbarian 8 back. Sound hooking from Harry Cole at 2 with 100% record and 4 against the head allowed us to give good clean ball to our backs, Harry having a comfy ride between Martin Maytum and Richard Gray.
Lineouts were well completed and the combinations of Harry and the leaping Salmon Richard Ewence worked a treat. I have to say at this point that jumping ay 4 and catching from my son was a real treat.
Whilst playing mainly in their own half the barbarians maintained their drive to get into our half and were finally rewarded when Simon Seal broke the vets defence carving his way down the centre of the park to finally get the ball down towards the left corner. 5-0. Unfortunately the try went unconverted.
The restart put us back into the barbarians half where the barbarian backs kicked up field when under pressure and their forwards ran everything. This made for a great game for the vets whose backs ran every kicked ball straight back, Ian Howsan showing his brilliant sidestep time after time to put us all back on side. Confidence was high in the both forwards and backs, the forwards pick and goes finally resulting in a penalty being awarded to the Vets on the edge of the 22 for not rolling away after the tackle. A difficult kick saw the ball go just wide of the left post. Still 5-0
Continued pressure from both forwards and backs finally resulted in Karim Neseyif driving 3 barbarians back across their try line where he managed to get his arm down to ground the ball despite the barbarian’s efforts to hold him up. Mick Walker having a simple conversion kick right under the posts, slotting the ball for 2 extra points 5-7 (that said I wouldn’t want to take the kick).
Confidence was high and the Vets continued to suck the barbarians defence in to the rucks until Mick Walker was ready to switch the play out to the backs Matt Ellsmere, Richard Cutbill and Adrian Clark who showed good handling skills and pace to give our speedsters Brian Costello and Stuart Bates on the wings plenty of opportunities to take on their opposite numbers untill finally Stuart went over to score on the left hand side. 5-12 Micks kick resulting in 2 more points 5-14.
We maintained our game plan of pick and goes with strong runs from Mayhem and Ben Court at 8 and great support play at the ruck from open side flanker Chris May until Mick Walker saw a gap and took his chance with a well-deserved try to the right hand corner. A difficult and long kick found Matt Ellsmere just short of the posts.

HALF TIME
And a toast by Paul Ehrehart to lost players with a glass of port. A short list was read out, some I didn’t meet or know, othes that I did, having played alongside Dave Hughes of whom I have many fond memories both on and off the pitch and more recently Trevor Bradley - an outright Barbarian.

On with the game.
Changes made to virtually the whole team. The remainers were Mayhem (solid) Richard Gary moving the hooker, M Walker for consistency at 9. New players saw John Mcintyre at prop, Nigel Maddaford at 4, Keith Newman 5, Bob Purfit , Paul Massey and Arron Bishop in the back row, John Smith 10, Eugene Moore at centre, Philip Trevor White and Mark de Ritis on the Wings and David Ruaux at 15.
The barbarians came out all guns blazing but the vets battled back with massive tackles especially from the Eugene Moore and Arron Bishop, big ball carrying by Bob Purfit and John Mcintyre and some real dogged work in the breakdown from Niggel Maddaford. The second half had some great moments of play including a fine run by John Smith down the left wing ending in a double fractured shoulder after being tackled by 2 barbarians just before the line. Paul Massey only managed 5 minutes after suffering yet another injury (although not from lifting a sofa this time) and David Ruaux also retired injured after a head on try stopping tackle. He literally put his body on the line for his team. There were no points scored in the second half but all players from both sides gave everything. Mark deRits on the right wing tackled like I’d never seen before against a much younger, faster opponent. Whilst Phil white I’m told was on the left wing but to be honest I couldn’t see him for the mist! But I’m told he too had a great game.

Final score 5-19.

My Favourite moment – Jumping in the line outs from Harrys throws.
My Memorable moment – Matt Ellsmere being late tackled by his son Dan after chasing him halfway across the pitch. (Priceless).
My Best Memory – Watching a bunch of old blokes Give everything for their mates. Outstanding!!!

Post Match
Jugs of beer and a pot of tea awaited our triumphant return to the changing rooms where they were joined by bottles of port and whisky.
Later in the bar we sang Christmas carols with Richard Ewence and David Rauax supplying the music whilst consuming vast amounts of cheese, pate, biscuits and more port. 
At 7pm 24 of us headed off to the Spice Hut for a curry, stopping off for a quick Goachers at the Riffle Volunteer at the top of Union St.
After diner about 10 of us headed into town where we found Miles Tempan with the ladies team singing Karaoke in The Old House at Home.

Finally We would like to thank all those who donated to the two charities of the day. The LILY Foundation and SUDEP I know Paul Ehrharts family and ours are very gratefull. you managed to raise a total of £126.45 which will be split between the two charities.

A Great Day and a great night and a proud skipper.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, See you all in 2017.

Well that says it all really.  Very little to add. 

Thanks to Gary Griffiths and his daughter Niamh for starting the Christmas music in the bar so talentedly and later, thanks to “Horse” for setting up his karaoke system at the club, so that the celebrations and party atmosphere could continue late into the evening.  (Who knew that Brendan Trudgeon was such a crooner – or that old Square-Head Ben Williams could sing like Matt Monroe?)   It was also fabulous to have the Ladies Section at the club in all their finery and contributing so much to the atmosphere.   All of this made possible of course thanks to our fabulous bar-crew. 

Next week

There is no rugby at the club on Saturday 24^th or 31^st but we are gauging interest for some kind of friendly and/or Intra-club match on 27^th, which is a bank holiday.

See below for the WRU from 10 years ago.

Fixtures 7th January 2016

Weekly News Round-Up  17^th Dec 2006

RESULTS

Firsts drew 15-15 at home to Thanet Wanderers    London 2 South

Mustangs beat Tunbridge Wells  at home   35-12    Friendly

Thirds – No fixture

Fourths  lost 17-19 away to Vigo 2nds     Mid Kent  B

Fifths  won 17-7 away to Gravesend 5     Mid Kent D

Vets – won 18-17 away to Chelmsford Vets    Friendly

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Despite lying third in the League, Thanet have now failed to beat Maidstone in the last 5 meetings, Maidstone having won the previous 4.  However, I gather that it should probably have been another win for Maidstone on Saturday, so there was not much satisfaction to be gained from extending the unbeaten record.

Unusually, the Mustangs were also at home having expected to play Blackheath 3rds in a friendly. It appears that Blackheath took the decision to cry-off several weeks ago but only informed us Wednesday, which left little time to find a replacement fixture. Fortunately, Tunbridge Wells II stepped into the breach and showed some real commitment by agreeing to switch from the home game they had expected (Dartfordians II) to an away game at Maidstone. Regrettably for them, the Mustangs were in no mood to show gratitude and recorded another sizeable win but Wells deserve great credit for their determination to play at all costs.

The thirds had no fixture and, largely to give them a run out after their fixture was called-off last week, 3 or 4 of them made it into the 4^th team line-up that travelled to play Vigo 2nds in the league. All worries about turning up with a “stacked” team soon disappeared as Vigo came out fighting and an enthralling game ensued.  Unfortunately, the 4ths demonstrated their propensity for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory and conceded a converted try in the last 5 mins to lose 17-19, despite an opening try from Fishy and 2 good tries from new Centre, Ben Blacker.  Vigo were well worth their win however and were gracious in victory. James Benger played his first game at scrum-half and showed enough promise to suggest that it wont be his last – although on reflection, it was perhaps not the best game to choose in order to chuck him in at the deep end. If the 4ths can start winning the games that they are currently losing narrowly, they could still achieve a top three finish by the end of the season.

After Edenbridge II cried off on Wednesday, the 5ths were fortunate to pick up an away fixture against Gravesend 5, which gave them an ideal opportunity to play a League fixture that was abandoned earlier in the year owing to the tragic death of a Gravesend player.   In what was a hard fought defensive game, the 5ths did well to emerge as winners, thanks to two late tries from Nick Coles. The game was held up owing to an injury to winger, Phil Price, who was tackled heavily as he was making a solo run for the line.  He was unfortunate to break his leg in two places but was apparently out of Gravesend hospital by 6 O’Clock with his leg in plaster.  Lets hope that his recovery is equally speedy.

The Vets made the short trip across the water to Chelmsford in a sponsored mini-bus, harbouring an under age stowaway in the shape of Martin Mayhem (34.5 and counting) When Glyn said he was short of a prop for this little jaunt to Essex,  it would have been hard to think of anyone who would have been more “up for it” than Martin!!  The Vets made somewhat hard work of it and needed a late penalty from Dave Hughes to win 18-17 but their return trip was delayed owing to a dislocated shoulder suffered by the old War-horse Keith Newman who was treated in a local hospital before being released to the tender mercies of the vets and a mini-bus ride back to Kent. I haven’t heard whether it was his drinking arm that was affected but he strikes me as the kind of chap who could be pretty ambidextrous in a crisis.

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NEXT WEEK

There is something of a debate about which game has top billing at home, with all 3 making plausible claims.

The Mustangs test their recent run of outstanding form in a friendly against Gillingham Anchorians 1sts, who play their League Rugby in Kent Division I.

Maidstone over 35’s, captained by Ross Laing (who sneaks in with 24 years to spare). take on Brockleians Vets in the second round of this year’s Evergreen Cup.  Brocks have no other fixtures on Saturday and are sure to turn up with their strongest possible side, so an intriguing game should be on the cards.

Meanwhile, up on the park, Maidstone Vets go head to head with Maidstone B, playing for the Peter McCabe Memorial Trophy in a match that has gained a reputation for robust commitment over the years. The B are long overdue for a win and with a number of Vets currently injured, perhaps this could be the year?

At the moment the 4ths have no fixture, but in view of the high levels of availability, it seems likely that they will play a local away game.

This should give them time to get back to the cosy atmosphere of the warm (courtesy of the new heating) and beautifully decorated club-house in time for the Christmas Carols, which should start around 5:30.  Mince pies and mulled wine will be served and there will be a seasonal raffle. All club members from all sections are welcome, especially children. We look forward to seeing you all there for this festive occasion.

RE

Results 10th December 2016

The First Team travelled to bottom side Gosport & Fareham on Saturday and came away with all of the available points, although it seems to have been only in the last quarter that the game and extra points were wrapped up. Nathan Simpson was chuffed to have been awarded two tries in the match-report, having only noticed himself scoring once, although Sam Pearson would have been less pleased to see his own try going un-attributed. Ben Knight is in danger of becoming addicted to the Biddenden Vineyards fizzy stuff by now, after taking their MotM award yet again, for doing all the hard graft that makes such a difference around the fringes.

The Mustangs match vs T Wells was postponed, as T Wells had too many injuries to get their 2nd team out.
This meant that there were enough players available to play both the Babas and the Vets fixtures.

A young side went west to New Ash Green to play the Babas fixture and played extremely well to overwhelm the home side. It was good to see former Mustangs skipper Nathan Fitzpatrick playing his First game for the club since an injury last season seemed to have ended his playing career - although his face is still familiar around the club as a Referee these days. Similarly, it was good also to see Rocky Canaan back in town for a few weeks. Lost sheep are always welcome back in the fold. 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!' I tell you that even so there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance."    It was certainly good to see a few players enjoying one another’s company in the bar on Saturday when the teams returned from their away games.

The Vets travelled to Ashford Babas with a bare 16 and no scrum-half, so skipper Neil Cole offered to play 9 on the basis of: how hard can it be?    We soon found out !!  A surprisingly good game against much younger oppo ensued and after playing the First Half down a steep slope and a half-time deficit of 10-5, the Vets were disappointed not to be in front, despite the age of their opposition (which included former Federation Ref Johann Delport, who has often graced our First Team pitch in recent seasons). Sadly, playing up the hill in the 2^nd half, two more tries were conceded and none scored but it was an enjoyable match to play in.   Skipper Neil Cole even managed a match report, completely unaided by spell-checker or punctuation, as follows:

21 - 5 i think.
a strange game. we had 6 players earmarked for the bench but for various reasons by saturday we only had one.
a mixed team of 10 vets and 6 barbars saw us take on ashford barbarians away.
the loss of scrum half mick walker on friday evening lead to the backs suffering slow ball from his replacement and whilst the backs didnt think he had a very good game. I now have a better understanding of how difficult a position it is to play.
we spent 95% of the game in our own half mainly due to Matthew Ellesmere​​ not being able to catch. ha ha!
or was it my crappy passes. yep.
in true vets style we stuck at it and we rewarded with a brilliantly finished try by Lee Morrison we all thought he had been stopped just short of the line but an outstreched arm just found the try line with the ball.
man of the match went to the oldest player on the pitch and whilst Keith Newman​​ only played the first half he was continually in the thick of the action making tackles. rucking and ripping the ball from our opponents.
twat of the match went to Martin Maytum​​ for his yellow card 7 minuts fron the end. so when we were in the bar he joined our very hospitable hosts in a drink off which consisted of a shot of something horrible folloed by a WKD which was then followed by a pint of guinnes comlpete with a vodka shot and a raw egg. NICE!

On Sunday, Maidstone Ladies played their return league game vs Hitchin Ladies and managed to turn a 65- 0 loss in the away leg into a 0-10 loss at home in what was perhaps the best performance they have yet given, to the delight of their coach Miles Tempan who saw this as a clear mark of the improvement in this team, which is still less than a season old.

Next Week

We have the return of several uni-boys, which means that we will be sending strong teams to Dover and to Sidcup for the First Team and Mustangs fixtures respectively.

At home, the Memorial Match between the Vets and B Team will occupy centre stage, KO at 2pm.  There are large numbers of players and former players wishing to participate in this event, for many of whom it is a very poignant reminder of former team-mates and loved ones.   In lieu of charging non club members a match fee to participate, it was felt that a “donation” of £10 could be collected from non-members to be distributed to The Lily Foundation http://www.thelilyfoundation.org.uk/, which is particularly important to the Eiffert family and to SUDEP Action www.sudep.org which is of great significance to the Cole family, especially on what would have been their daughter Ellis’s 25^th birthday. Club members are also welcome of course to make a donation.

Neil and Sharon are providing a Cheese Board to accompany the after- match festivities, for which we are very grateful.

Talking of after match festivities, there will be Festive fare including minced pies, sausage rolls, mulled wine, Christmas Raffle, club-shop selling Christmas gifts, Christmas Carols, Sing-along-a-Gary-Griffiths, 500 club draw with huge prizes and all the excitement of an on-line number picker operated by our own celebrity Club-Captain Ben Williams and Christmas hats and jumpers galore.  I feel weak just thinking about it.  Make sure you don’t miss the fun.

If you haven’t been in the club lately, you will be surprised and delighted to see the lovely new bar-furniture, obtained at great personal endeavour by Martin “mayhem” Maytum, through his contacts at Twickenham HQ, where it had become surplus to requirements.  Well done Martin.

Lastly, many of you will know that our Chairman “Neavesie” has been under the knife this week and I am sure that you would all join me in wishing him a swift and safe recovery.

RE

See below for the WRU from 10 years ago.

Fixtures 17th December 2016

Weekly News Round Up 11^th December  2006-12-11

First Team won at home to Beckenham  12-5      Kent Cup

Mustangs won away at Sevenoaks II   33-0      Invicta League

Thirds v TJIII    Postponed owing to flooded pitch    Mid Kent A   

Fourths v Medway II away, lost 28-32     Mid Kent B

Fifths v TJ V, postponed because pitches unplayable.   Mid Kent D

Vets beat Gravesend III away  7-0   friendly

It was a tricky weekend for fixtures, with no games taking place at home on Saturday and only the Firsts playing at home on Sunday to fulfil their Kent Cup tie with Beckenham, which they did well to win against a robust and committed Beckenham side, despite not really firing on all cylinders.

It was disappointing that the 3^rd and 5^th team league games couldn’t be played but it was great to pick up an away game from the Fixture Exchange late on Friday evening for The Vets to play Gravesend III, which they duly won thanks to a single try from centre Chris Lindley. This was quite a result as The Vets would normally line up against Gravesend’s 5ths or Moles but they showed that even at their advanced ages, they can actually rise to most occasions.

There were more than a few tries scored by the Mustangs in beating Sevenoaks II on their home turf in this re-arranged League Game, which result must promote The Mustangs to within spitting distance of the top of the League. They have now scored 124 points in their last 3 games whilst conceding 0, which speaks volumes for our strength in depth at the moment and the quality of the coaching and training that is taking place within the side.

The 4ths took a great pack and a really young back-line to Medway (without taking a single player from our disbanded 3^rd team) and found themselves 2 tries up after 10 minutes. However, it all seemed so easy that complacency set in and Medway quickly showed what a good side they are by hitting back with a try of their own.  Maidstone continued to play good Rugby and Darren Yates made his mark by scoring 3 tries during the game but Medway just would not accept defeat and built up a head of steam at the end to snatch victory with minutes to spare, having spent much of the game 14 points behind.   Despite the disappointment of the result, it was a great game of Rugby and Medway deserve much credit for their enterprise and character.  However, Maidstone have assembled an exciting young back-line and unearthed a real talent at fly-half in the shape of Lee Woodger.  Roll on next week.   (EDITOR’S NOTE DEC 2016: I WAS SUBSEQUENTLY TOLD BY ONE OF OUR THEN COACHING TEAM THAT THE AFOREMENTIONED PLAYER WOULD NEVER MAKE A FLY-HALF AS LONG AS HE HAD AN APERTURE IN HIS FUNDAMENT (TO PARAPHRASE), WHICH WAS NOT VERY LONG BEFORE HE SWITCHED CLUBS AND PLAYED FIRST-TEAM FLY-HALF FOR AYLESFORD. SO MUCH FOR COACHES !!) 

Next Week

Maidstone 1 are at home to Thanet Wanderers         London 2 South.

(Lets hope that they can complete the double over Thanet for a 2^nd successive season)

The U10 age group and their parents and coaches will be the guests of the Club for this last league game of 2006.

Mustangs play a home friendly against Blackheath III

Third Team    TBA

Fourth Team are away to Vigo II      Mid Kent B

5^th Team are away to Edenbridge II   Mid Kent D

Vets are taking a  mini-bus to Chelmsford to play against Chelmsford Vets (owing to a connection between Chelmsford and Vets Flanker, Steve Vincent).

It is of course hoped that fixtures will not be disrupted too severely by the exceptionally wet weather but rest-assured that it is an absolute last resort to call off any  game.

#####################################################################

LOOKING AHEAD

Maidstone compete in the 2^nd round of the Evergreen Cup on 23^rd December against Brockleians Vets.

After the game there will be Christmas Carols in the Club-House and some suitable festive fare so come along and soak up the atmosphere.

We are currently looking for a friendly fixture for the Firsts for 30^th December so that they don’t have too long without a game before the League programme recommences on 6^th Jan.

RE

Results 3^rd December 2016

Win ugly but win.  Its so much better than playing badly and losing. Its pretty tough on the opposition though and Ben Williams acknowledged this when making his post-match speech, in which he paid generous tribute to Brighton, who he said, probably deserved the win and who are a far better side than their League position would suggest.   However, we need the points and the inclusion of the returning Euan Caborn into the line-up with his metronomic boot was the difference between a win and a loss for Maidstone.  

Following a fairly disappointing first-half for players and spectators alike, which culminated in a 2^nd Brighton try, it was time to head for the bottom pitch to see how a mixture of Vets and Babas were coping with the 26 men of the Gravesend Moles, only to find that an enthralling match was taking place which detained this particular spectator for the next 35 minutes.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Moles, they are a team of enthusiasts from Gravesend RFC, mostly drawn from youth team coaches, who embody the true spirit of social rugby and who follow the traditions set by their charismatic leader Gary Theobald, who died last year tragically young at age 55. Many of us have been playing the Moles for 20 years or more and their fixture vs Maidstone Vets is one of their annual “classic” fixtures that all Moles want to play in – although they have also played our “B XV” quite often in recent seasons.  Sadly, we have not quite done the fixture justice in the most recent seasons and this year, it was touch and go to muster sufficient players but in the end, 16 Vets and Babas lined up to give battle on the lower pitch. 

When I reached the touchline, I was surprised and gratified to discover that our thrown-together team were 15-0 up with half-time approaching, a total that was increased by a further 5 points from Macca in the 2^nd half, bringing his tally to 2 tries in the match.  This was not before the Moles had battered their way back into the match with two tries of their own, one of them scored by their iconic battering ram who wears a shirt numbered 1-XV to symbolize all of the positions he plays, bringing around 22 stone of muscle to whichever position he occupies, having been a former “strongman” champion in his day although luckily his smoking and lack of fitness impair his effectiveness over 80 minutes.

I was amused and amazed to see that there was a lap-top open on the touch-line and from time to time, one of our centres would call out to find out from spectators if there were any alerts on the screen, as he is a patrolman for a well known motoring organization and was playing during his lunch-break.  Fair-play to him. That’s true commitment to your team.

With many of the Vets playing at home vs The Moles, a mixture of players, including the Vets Skipper Neil Cole and his son Harry, travelled to Whitstable to play a postponed League game vs Whitstable II.  It was a well matched fixture and Whitstable gave a good account of themselves, especially in the scrum, but the combined Maidstone team were just too strong overall, despite having mainly forwards in their 16.  MotM for Maidstone was Manu, who excels week after week for the team.

Last week when writing this nonsense that passes for news, I mistakenly referred to the Ladies League opponents as Burly St Edmunds Ladies. Having spotted the error, I decided to leave it extant, as the idea of the Ladies of St Edmunds prefixing their name with the epithet “Burly” rather appealed to me.  However, judging by the 85-0 score-line, maybe the inadvertent epithet was entirely apt. No news other than the score-line has found its way to me though, so I can’t offer a blow by blow account.

I did venture down to the touchline again on Sunday, as I was keen to see our U17s in action in the last of their Cup group matches, this time vs Dartfordians U17s. Following a comfortable win, our U17s remain unbeaten for the season and are a compelling reason to be optimistic about the immediate future of the senior section.  On the subject of U17s, an email has come flooding in asking me to publicize the following:

1) u17 going through league season unbeaten (future of club etc)

2) Race Night at clubhouse on feb 4 2017 following screening of Eng v France (16.50)

3) Anyone who shops on line and would be prepared to help fundraise for the U17 tour at no cost to thenselves to do so via

 https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/maidstonelionsrugby/

Consider yourselves appraised.

NEXT WEEK

Its looking like a barren day at the club on Saturday, with the First team away in southernmost Hampshire whilst the Vets and Babas are also away.  Sadly, T Wells II have too many injuries to send a team to play the Mustangs, so unless suitable opposition presents itself soon, it looks as though it will be a quiet day at The Mote – although action starved spectators can turn up on Sunday instead, to watch the Ladies at 2pm.

Don’t forget to make a date in your diary for 17^th December where there will be Christmas frivolity after the Memorial game, with Gary Griffiths promising to swap his crutches for a Fender axe to knock out some crowd-pleasing favourites for Tom Clark to sing along with.

See below for the weekly round-up from 10 years ago.

RE

Fixtures 10th December 2016

Weekly News Round-Up  3^rd December 2006

RESULTS

First Team lost in Jersey 33-22          London 2 South

Mustangs beat Old Dunstonians II   44-0 at home     Invicta League

3rds beat Hastings & Bexhill II  40 – 0 away     Mid Kent A

4ths lost at home 5-44 to Folkestone III     Friendly

5ths lost to Maidstone Vets  7-17       Very Friendly

Vets beat Maidstone 5ths 17-7      Almost Incestuous

Disappointing for the 1sts to lose in Jersey after playing much of the better rugby, but it sounds as though Jersey took their chances when Maidstone failed to do so and therefore deserved to take the points.

The Mustangs ran up another big score after Alex Malejac crossed for the first try within a minute of the kick-off.

The Thirds anticipated a really tough match after last season’s game at H&B but in the event they took H&B II apart, especially in the forwards, to give the backs a chance to shine with the ball, which they duly did.

The 4ths were unfortunate to run into Folkestone III on a day when Folkestone II had no fixture. The side that turned up was big and well-drilled and would have been a good match for Maidstone III, including as it did a number of Folkestone’s recent 1^st team players who now prefer life in the lower ranks.  Still, its only 3 months since Maidstone 4 won down at Folkestone by a similar margin so mustn’t grumble.

The 5ths game against Medway 4 was always a non-starter and later in the week, Aylesford Vets cried off against Maidstone Vets, so the obvious solution was to play the 2 sides against one another. A bit of mixing and matching helped to even up the 2 sides and make sure that all key positions were filled and then a thoroughly enjoyable match took place, ably refereed by Dave Arnold. The 5ths took a 7-5 lead early in the 2^nd half and dared to hope that a historic victory was on the cards before Richard Weston cut open the defence and scored the winning try for the Vets with less than 10 minutes to go.  

Next Week

The Firsts meet Beckenham in the first round of the Kent Cup at The Mote on Sunday at 2:00.  It would be great to have lots of support from the Club for the fixture in what is sure to be a hard-fought encounter.

The Mustangs make the trip back to Sevenoaks to play the Invicta League Match that never took place on the 21^st October owing to the fact that no referee had been confirmed. One hopes that their trip will not be in vain this time and that they come home with 4 points in the bag.

The 3rds meanwhile take on TJ III away in Mid Kent A, flooded pitches allowing.

The 4ths take top billing at home on Saturday as they entertain Medway II at home in Mid Kent B.

The 5ths line up against TJ 5ths, also at home but in Mid Kent D.

The Vets are on the fixture-exchange as Sevenoaks Acorns wanted to preserve their energy to take on Park-House Vets in the Evergreen cup on Sunday.

SOCIAL

Nothing better to do on Saturday night? (9^th Dec)  then bring your mates and come along to see Men In Shortz play at The Saxon Chief in Queens Rd.  Its an 8:30 kick-off and free entry, but the band’s fee goes to Maidstone FC, so the more support from the club and the more pints downed, the better. Should be a top class cultural event with groupies galore, so make sure that you don’t miss out.

See you there (I’ll be the one in the pink tutu)…..

RE

(Editors note:  Whatever happened to the Saxon Chief and Men in Shortz – or the pink tutu for that matter?)

Results 26^th November 2016

 It's very clear from reading the (beautifully written, as ever) match-report of the First Team game vs Sidcup, that it was a marvellously spirited performance in inauspicious circumstances and one to hearten Maidstone's travelling supporters. Not just their supporters either, as Skipper Ben Williams said afterwards that he felt better about the loss at Sidcup than he had felt about the previous week's win vs Chobham. Let's hope that the home match vs Brighton on Saturday will be a synthesis of the two ie a spirited and exciting performance with a win to boot.  Well done to Ben Knight for taking another Biddenden Vineyards MotM award, a performance that must have been quite special to eclipse Josh Pankhurst’s two tries.

With only 11 regular Mustangs players available at selection this week, the decision was made to withdraw from the fixture with Sevenoaks II and re-distribute the team into the depleted Barbarians team.   This resulted in a rather stronger team travelling to Ashford than would normally have happened and so the result was recorded in the league table as a 5-5 draw instead of an away win. Veteran half-back Mick Walker captained the team and was full of praise afterwards for the skill and ability of some of the players.   Its clear that we are just half a dozen players short at the moment of having a decent Mustangs side, so hopefully, there will be a crop of youngsters coming through after Christmas to swell the ranks.  Meanwhile, the team has benefited greatly from the work that Matt Vickers is doing alongside Veteran Rich Gray, in shepherding the team back into shape.

Meanwhile at home, the Vets played a friendly vs Dover IV, because predictably, Hastings and Bexhill 3rds cried off midweek.  

As soon as I arrived in the changing room for the match I was subjected to a barrage of incessant criticism from one of our players, who had scored Maidstone’s only try in the previous week’s Barbarians match vs Old Gravesendians (which by his account was a terrific match and probably the most enjoyable of the Barbarian’s season to date) and who had received no mention for his try in last week’s round-up.  Sadly, the very same player will also fail to get a mention in this week’s round-up as he culpably failed to score after crossing the Dover try-line, ball in hand and with only 5 or 6 Dover players holding him up.  Anyway, as a response, I asked him to supply a match report for this week’s game to see if he could do any better and he delegated the task to his old mate “Sport Billy”

The Vets took on Dover ‘IV’ in a hastily arranged good old fashioned ‘friendly’ following the almost to be expected decision by Hastings & Bexhill not to travel more than 20 miles for a league game. Not that it mattered as the visitors from the Kent coast (as opposed to the Sussex coast) more than played their part in a hugely enjoyable game for players and, believe it or not, spectators alike (at least that is what Richard Foden opined as the players came off the surprisingly flat and playable ‘Somme’).

Dover, who generously loaned a couple of their five subs after injuries to two of the hosts’ ageing athletes, eventually ran out winning by the odd score - 30 odd to 20 odd for those who like the details. Highlights included a brace of tries from full-back Eugene Moore, including a man of the match winning classic step off the left foot to send the cover defence the wrong way, and an equally classic forwards’ try finished off by Macca. The most entertaining aspect of the game however was provided by our fixture secretary and weekly round-up editor with a superb interception on the halfway line. What a shame then after galloping 25 yards and smelling glory Richard Ewence’s legs decided they could not keep up with his upper body and gave way on the opposition’s 22 yard line. No matter – it’s not like Dover were in any position to score…!     

One final note – our best wishes for a speedy recovery (just in case he reads this) to the Dover player who injured his ankle right at the end of the game. Let’s hope the x-ray proved to be not so bad news and he is back on the field before too long.

Thanks “Sport Billy” although I think you could have mentioned that there was no support within 30 yards of me, or Dover would definitely not have scored at the other end when I fell over and lost the ball.

Anyway, whilst the nameless try-scorer/non-scorer shall remain nameless to protect him from cyber-bullying, here’s a small clue to his identity.

In further match news, this came flooding in from the U16s, courtesy of Jamie Mills:

The U16s set off for South East London today with a team based around the lads that played so well against Dover in the Development Cup to take on Old Colfs who currently top a strong group in the Kent Cup.

With 3 players still on the South Circular thanks to the unhealthy combination of an early kick off and sleepovers; a makeshift Stones got off to a strong start, keeping the ball in the Colfs half for much of the first 20 mins.  The well deserved try came after a strong set of rucks from the forwards before releasing the backs.  However if the Stones had taken the right option in the backs a few times earlier they’d have been two or three tries to the good by the time they got their opening score.

Colfs fought back well towards the end of the first half and deserved their try just before half time.  This spurred them on to start the second half strongly and run in two tries before Stone’s woke up a started to quell the attacks.  The Stones were spending more and more time in the Colfs half but the misfiring Stones line out gave Colfs a get out Jail Free card to relieve pressure too often and a fortunate bounce on a kick chase allowed Colfs in for a further score. 

This Stone’s team has galvanized well and knew with 10 mins to go the games was still there for the taking.  Kicking for touch from penalties was binned in favour of running with ball in hand and but for the odd knock on or cruel bounce on a cross field kick, the Stones would have been on level terms when they went under the posts with 5 mins to go.  At the end Colfs held on for the victory 24-12 but the Stones walked off the pitch knowing they were in very good shape for their final Development Cup group match next month.

And, almost missing the stop-press deadline,  another youth report, this time from the U13s – refereed by the ubiquitous Mick Walker.

So here’s a rough breakdown of the match.

After a head dropping game against Ashford the previous week, the U13’s bounced back in style, with a win over Gravesend 9 tries to 5. An eventful game which included having to move from pitch 2 to the Somme after a heroic try making pass from Ollie Wright was followed up with by thunderous tackle causing a jolt to his back meaning he couldn’t be moved, Ollie was rushed off in an ambulance but after X-rays I’m please to report it was only muscular and he’ll be pack on the pitch this weekend coming. 

Tries where scored mainly by the backs with some superb handling skills, but this was only achieved as the power house forwards did the ground work to give the fast paced backs more time on the ball. Tries scored by Jo Sargent, George Dimmock x 4, Anmol Gurgung, Archie Hedges, Louie Philpot and Jack Brown. Captain Steven Carey put in a man of the match performance at 2nd row.

So well done boys, onward and upwards

**********************************************************************************

On then to the exciting events of this weekend (3r/4^th Dec), where Kick-offs will take place at 2pm.

There’s a pre-match Christmas lunch for me and 47 other blokes and my lucky wife, prior to the Brighton Match (who says I never take her out?)

Then, in a fixture mixture too complicated to explain, a team is going to Whitstable to play their very good 2^nd team in a 4^th team postponed league game whilst at home a team comprising mainly Vets will play Gravesend Moles in a friendly that appears in the fixture list against the Barbarians because most of the Vets were due to play a Spitfire Gold Cup match on Sunday the 4^th vs TJs – except that TJs cried off again and conceded the match.   Any questions about the forgoing explanation can be sent to me on a £10 note (Not two Fivers please, as I’m a trainee vegan)

Much less difficult to explain is that the Ladies will be away to Bury St Edmunds on Sunday.  Travelling supporters welcome.

Lastly, if your eyes are not yet too fatigued from all this reading, see below for some 10 year old news. (as opposed to news about 10 year olds, which can be found in the youth team pages)

Prizes will be given for anyone who can identify the two young Frauleins in the picture.

RE

Fixtures 3^rd December 2016

Weekly News Round-up 27^th November 2006

Results

Ist Team beat Lewes at home   36-3     L2S

Mustangs  had no fixture

3^rd Team lost at home to Lordswood II   15-18    Mid Kent A

4^th team lost away to Weavering   8-0    Mid Kent B

5^th Team lost away to Leigh    14-10  Mid Kent D

Vets didn’t play (Canterbury V cried off Saturday morning)

It would have been a gloomy week all round for results had the 1^st team not done the business against Lewes and picked up two league points to take Maidstone to 5^th in the table.

The first team game was disrupted by an unfortunate accident to the Lewes Number 6, who required sustained medical attention on the 1^st Team pitch. (In the absence of any news, one hopes that the injury proves to be less severe than first thought and that the player concerned makes a full and rapid recovery) The game was transferred to the 3^rd team pitch where it continued until it was abandoned at 71 minutes owing to bad-light.  With the first team now using the 3^rd team pitch, the 3^rd team were forced to move to the Somme, which was vacant because it had been deemed to be unplayable this weekend. This may not have helped our 3rds, who had been expecting to have the wind with them in the second half against Lordswood II, but nevertheless, Lordswood won fair and square to inflict the first defeat of the season on the “Dream Team” and to open up the battle for the Mid Kent A title. If both sides can remain unbeaten until the return match at Lordswood on 6^th January, the result of that game may well determine the outcome of this year’s competition.

The 4^th team failed to take their chances and went down 0-8 to a lively and competitive Weavering side in what was a typical derby match up on the park with lots of hand-bag waving but little in the way of quality rugby.

The 5ths meanwhile took what looked like a pretty good side, all the way to Edenbridge (as the Leigh pitch was waterlogged) and came away without winning yet again. 

Since all of these Mid Kent games were lost by less than 10 points, each of the teams collect 2 League points instead of the 1 point for turning up.

Next Week

The Firsts fly to Jersey    L2S

The Mustangs are at home to Old Dunstonians II     Invicta League

The 3rds are away to Hastings and Bexhill II      Mid kent III

The 4ths are at home to Folkestone III     Friendly 

The 5ths are on the exchange as Medway IV have scratched from the League.

The Vets are at home to Aylesford Vets.

Looking Ahead

Kent Cup:  Maidstone play Beckenham at The Mote on Sunday 10^th  2:00 KO

SOCIAL

Thanks to all who supported the Bavarian Night on Saturday and made it such a good evening, especially the First and Second team squads, who turned out in numbers. (There’s still a fair bit of under-wear to be re-claimed from the club-house by the way: I don’t know what extraordinary powers Martin Mayhem has over women, but he only had to sit down and the bra’s would come flying off (with one notable exception where I think there was too much strain on the fastening for a quick release. No such delay with the thong though) (Foot-note for Sam Johnston: Don’t bother looking for your boxers as no one wanted to touch them so they got binned).

Special thanks are due to Eva, for the excellent (Polish/German) catering and also to our wonderful bar-staff, who do such a good job generally and who really turn it on for occasions like these.

 Results 19^th November 2016

 One of my greatest pleasures is to watch the First Team play on a Saturday afternoon, especially when they win, so its always a shame when I have to miss a game – necessitated this week by a long away trip to Ash RFC with the Vets – but it seems as though the First Team managed just fine without me watching them.   I was just about to check our current standing in the table – especially viz a viz Chobham – but it seems that the RFU are having trouble with their website so no joy there.  I do know without looking however, that next week’s opponents for the First Team are top of the League and will give our guys a very stern test, although they will be well aware of the danger posed by a Maidstone Team that beat 2^nd–placed Civil Service so comfortably just 3 or 4 weeks ago.    Maybe I will get to see this one, bearing in mind that our Vets currently have no opposition.

The last time that I watched a First Team game at Sidcup must have been around 7 years ago when a young (18 yr old?) Sam Bailey was on the bench as a Front-row replacement and I watched him run on to the field in the second half, full of enthusiasm and confidence only to see him come off after the first scrum with his nose smashed and blood pouring down his face.  First Team rugby can be a pretty uncompromising affair – but it didn’t seem to dent Sam’s enthusiasm for the game in the long run.  Lets hope there will be no such shenanigans on Saturday.  

Talking of front-row shenanigans, does anyone recognize this Irish fella?

On then to the rest of last week’s action.

Old Gravesendians told us they had only nine 2^nd team players available but that they would come anyway to play our Babas if we lent them players.  We managed to round up a spare Ashford Player who preferred to play for Old G rather than go shopping with his wife and in the end OG mustered 13 players, so a proper (albeit uncontested scrums ) match ensued.  Sadly, the player given to Old G was Will Lane from the Mustangs , who had a field day against the Babas and contributed to a fairly heavy defeat.  I heard that the Babas played really well in the first half and then conceded 15 penalties in the 2^nd half to lose a game they could have won. It can’t be long before the beleaguered B Team win a game but let’s hope it’s not on 17^th December.

On then to the Veterans, who had managed to build their numbers to 16 by match day after a slow start at selection on Tuesday.   Last time I played at Ash was perhaps 5 years ago in a 3^rd Team containing players as good as Tom Challis and Dominic Baxter (although to be fair, they were a few years past their prime – like 25 years past their prime to be fair) and we got absolutely smashed by a team that had recently beaten Anchorians 1^st Team in the Kent Cup, so it was not without a little trepidation that we Vets made our return with a thrown together team.  However, that thrown together team contained 6 young legs belonging to Sam Pearson, Dan Fisher and Ben “Sick-Note” Weston and some pretty canny old ones as well.   From the beginning, it was clear  that this Maidstone Team knew how to play rugby and then what utter joy to realise that our “young-legs” knew their way to the try-line, Sam Pearson getting 4 tries on the day and Dan Fisher 2.  Not to say that the oldies didn’t play well, with impressive Vets debuts from two of our youth coaches, John Smith and Bob Wilton, Bob taking the forward’s MotM accolade, which wasn’t bad bearing in mind that he’s a centre and had never done been involved in all that line-out and scrum malarkey before.

On the point of Youth coaches, this was always a fertile recruitment strand for the Vets Team, so now that Bob and John are on-board, lets hope a few more will follow (all eyes on Tim Hedges).

In other news, the Ladies Junior Plate match vs Beckenham was forfeited and our ladies march on into the next round unopposed.

Next Week

With the First Team away at Sidcup and our only home game bombed by Hastings and Bexhill III, it could be a quiet afternoon at the Mote unless we rapidly find some opposition for the Vets.

With only 11 credible 2^nd team players available at selection this week and precious few Barbarians, the Invicta game vs Sevenoaks II has been forfeited and a composite team will go to Ashford to play the Baba’s fixture there.

Roll on the weekend:  Its nearly rugby-time again.

RE

See below for the WRU from 10 years ago this week.

Fixtures 26^th November 2016

WEEKLY NEWS ROUND-UP 20^TH NOVEMBER 2006

SENIOR RESULTS

Maidstone I   No Fixture

Mustangs beat Tonbridge Judds II 47-0 at home      Invicta League

Maidstone III beat  Rye RFC   3 – 0 away       Friendly

Maidstone IV lost at home to Gravesend IV   14-15   Friendly

Maidstone V lost at home to Old Gravesendians III   0-18    Friendly

Maidstone Vets beat Sheppey Vets  away  12 – 5     Friendly

Three wins out of 5 this week and some interesting results to consider. 

The Mustangs repeated their form of 2 weeks ago (when they walloped Sidcup II), to do the same to TJ IIs this week.

In contrast, The Thirds won by the narrowest of margins down in Rye – but still came up trumps to maintain their record of having won every match so far this season

The 4ths lost out to Gravesend 4 but were slightly non-plussed at having leant Gravesend a very good player, only to find themselves playing 13 against 14 by the end of the match and, having led throughout, losing with the last kick of the game. That said, it was great to have James Scott back in the side, safely returned from a deployment in Afghanistan.

The 5ths were surprised to see Old Gravesendians III turn up mob-handed, with about 25 players to choose from. It wasn’t that OG’s have gained sudden strength in depth but that in fact, this was their only fixture for the day. It was a very good game played in a very good spirit but I think that our beleaguered 5ths could feel justified in thinking that they would have won had OG 1sts and 2nds had fixtures of their own. In fairness, Maidstone I had no fixture themselves, but the only Maidstone 1^st teamer on display was trotting around on the adjacent pitch, subbing for Gravesend 4ths !!!  Sam Bailey made a very impressive senior debut at flanker, having just turned 17, aided and abetted by his very impressive old-man Kevin, who turned up to watch instead of playing for the Vets and then got handed the vacant No 8 shirt. Sam looks like he’s going to be a chip-off-the-old-block though, which is quite an accolade.

The Vets, undaunted by their mauling at 7Oaks last week, returned to winning ways at The Ditch and seemed none the worse for their little trip across the water to Sheppey.

Next Week

The Firsts host bottom side Lewes in the League but will take nothing for granted having been beaten home and away last season by the Sussex side.  Guests for the day are the U14s and their coaches and parents.

The Mustangs currently have no fixture but are hoping to pick one up on the fixture exchange.

The Thirds meet the only other unbeaten side in the Mid Kent A division when they take on Lordswood II at home in what should be an enthralling contest that could well decide the outcome of the League.

The 4ths are away to Weavering in Mid Kent B and will be keen to avenge the heavy defeat they suffered in the last meeting between these two sides.

The 5ths are away to Leigh in Mid Kent D.

The Vets currently have no fixture, Lordswood III having cried off, but are confident that something suitable will turn up on the fixture exchange.  STOP PRESS: The Vets are now playing Canterbury V at The Mote.

DON’T FORGET THAT NEXT SATURDAY NIGHT IS THE CLUB BAVARIAN EVENING. THOSE WHO HAVENT YET PURCHASED TICKETS SHOULD ENDEAVOUR TO DO SO FROM THE WEB-SITE OR AFTER TRAINING DURING THE WEEK. (It will also be an opportunity to give a big send-off to Scott McIlroy who is returning to New Zealand after making such a big contribution to the 1^st team during his time in Maidstone.)

RE

Results 12^th November 2016

Well, the big weekend we were looking forward to was slightly less successful than we had hoped for, although the U17s pulled off a magnificent 41-7 home win in their cup match vs Ashford and our U15s

A team continued their triumphant march with a 78-12 win vs Whitstable to top their group with a 100% record.  Meanwhile the U15s gave a much improved performance vs Park-House, albeit not improved enough to win on this occasion.

On Saturday, our beleaguered Mustangs team struggled against a well drilled Medway II and went down by a big margin, finishing the game with only 13 players on the pitch. Big thanks to the guys who gave their best on the day and who continue to support the team through difficult times.  Fortunes are very cyclical in Rugby and we are making every effort to strengthen and re-invigorate our very important 2^nd team.  It’s a truism that one can’t expect to have a successful 1^st team without a successful 2^nd team behind it, so it’s extremely important that we do the best we possibly can for these players.

On Sunday, it was all about the junior sides in the morning and then an enthusiastic crowd stayed to watch the 1^st Team play their Kent Cup Match vs Blackheath II.   Having seen the size of some of the Blackheath players whilst they were getting physio before the match, I did not fancy the task facing our 1^st Team players (and the several 2^nd team regulars who were filling gaps in the side) and indeed it proved to be an unfruitful afternoon despite the gap being as narrow as 2 points shortly before the end, which spoke volumes for the quality of our team’s performance.

Anyone who showed up expecting to see our Vets at home vs Tonbridge Judds Vets in the first round of the Spitfire Golden Oldies Rugby Vets Comptition would have been disappointed, as TJs cried off during the week.  As it happened, Medway had also cried-off vs Tunbridge Wells, so it seemed obvious that we should bring forward our scheduled cup fixture vs Wells and play them instead of TJs – although the tie was scheduled to be played in T Wells, rather than at home.     A further twist was added by the addition of Cranbrook to the mix, who were so desperate for a Vets match, that they asked if they could come to Wells and play a round-robin fixture.  In the interests of Rugby and the spirit of the SGOR, we agreed and cut-short our cup-match with Wells to 40 minutes.  

Within a minute of the start, the society ref pulled a hamstring and was replaced by one of the Wells players.   In what was always going to be a short, tight game, Maidstone spurned a penalty kick in front of goal and then failed to score a try and soon found themselves conceding a penalty at the other end, where it was quickly taken by Wells whilst the ref was unsighted and Maidstone turned round 5-0 down. 

Soon after half-time, a 3^rd referee took over and Maidstone exerted their superiority in the scrum to put real pressure on Wells, which enabled Scrum-half Dave Charlton to snaffle their scrappy ball and skip over under the post for a 7-5 lead.   With 8 minutes to play and a slight slope and the breeze in our favour, it only required us to play the game in the Wells half to be sure of victory – one would have thought !!.    No chance!!   Within minutes we had conceded a penalty in front of our posts and shortly thereafter, the Wells No 12 pirouetted and dropped as good a goal as any of us had ever seen, giving Wells 4 points for the win and us a consolation of a bonus point loss ie 2 points.

Elsewhere, our SGOR competition was enjoyed with great enthusiasm – especially amongst the London clubs who are participating for the first time this year.   In fact, I am reliably informed that Elthamians had more spectators at the club on Sunday for their match vs Sidcup than on Saturday for their 1^st Team.  As for the match between Charlton Park and Colfeians, the final try has gone viral, with over two million views in 2 days.  It’s a shame that Spitfire Gold didn’t get a mention as I am sure that Shepherd-Neame, the sponsors of our tournament would have been highly delighted. 

In order to capitalise on the undoubted interest in this tournament and to provide a forum for interested parties to post pictures, films, comments etc, there is now a Facebook page for it, which can be found here.

Next Week

No scheduled fixture for the Mustangs but the Firsts are at home to Chobham, (which I gather is somewhere near Cobham) and the B Team have pulled in a fine looking bunch of players to take on Old Gravesendians II, also at home.  Meanwhile the Vets are travelling to Ash, whilst hoping to entice some younger players into their cars for the trip, as some younger legs in the wide open spaces behind their heavy pack, are always an asset. (I gather that sweets are being offered)

On Sunday, Maidstone Ladies are back in action in the Junior Cup Plate competition, away to Beckenham.

Our U16s have a friendly at home to Crowborough on Sunday.

Thanks for the positive feedback from members who received this humble offering by email for the first time last week.  You only have yourselves to blame for its re-appearance in your inbox this week.

See below for more decade-old nostalgia.

RE

Fixtures 12^th November 2016

Weekly News Round Up  13^th Nov 2006

Maidstone beat Thanet Wanderers away,   17- 22     London 2 South

Mustangs lost at home to Thanet Wanderers II,  22 – 14    Invicta League

Maidstone III beat Anchs II away, 23 – 29     Mid Kent A

Maidstone IV beat  Anchs III at home, 19 – 10   Mid Kent B

Maidstone V lost to Weavering away,   32 - 5  ?  Friendly

Maidstone Vets lost to 7oaks Acorns away, 56 –5  Friendly.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

This was a very good week for Maidstone FC – and not just because of the excellent 1^st Team result away at Thanet Wanderers, or the League wins for the 3rds and 4ths.

It was especially good owing to the fact that, on a weekend when most clubs in Kent were failing to put out their usual number of teams, or crying-off at the last minute, we were able to select 6 full sides and name 21 bench replacements across the 6 sides.

This meant that on Saturday, even the 4ths and 5ths were able to take the field with a number of players in reserve.  (Of course its not always great to start a game on the bench, but it beats the hell out of turning up with 11 or 12 players, and I think that everyone got some rugby in the end.)

Well done to The Vets in particular, who were let down by Thanet 5ths for a home fixture and accepted an away trip to play Sevenoaks Acorns instead.  They knew it would not be an easy ride and duly went down by a large score to a younger and fitter side – but they gave it their best shot and 30+ players got some rugby. (and its worth remembering that last week the Vets won by a similar margin so its all part of life’s rich tapestry)

Likewise, the 5ths were looking at a blank week-end after Anchs IV asked to re-arrange their League Game, so they took on Weavering in a friendly, knowing that they were likely to be out-gunned but it was a good friendly fixture and again, 30+ players got a game and (equally importantly) boosted the bar-takings in the club-house.  Special thanks are due to Will Arnold for agreeing to referee what was only his 2^nd senior match – or no match would have taken place.

Thanks also to Alan Hayward, who not only reffed the 4^th team league game on Saturday but also reffed on Sunday for the U15s.  This was a very difficult week for Kent Referees Society with flu etc and without the likes of Alan, Dave Arnold and Will, we would be facing serious difficulties.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

NEXT SATURDAY

The Firsts have their 1^st week-off since August.

The Mustangs take top billing, at home to TJ II in the Invicta League.

The 3rds travel to Rye in what should be a more even contest than when Rye tore the 5ths apart last season in a last-minute fixture.

The 4ths are at home to Gravesend IV in a friendly.

The 5ths entertain Old Gravesendians III at home in a friendly.

The Vets are away to Sheppey Vets.

Make sure you bring enough money with you to the club, to secure your tickets for the Bavarian Evening,(Sat 25^th November) at only £10/head (£17 for two) and which include German Food, Live Oom-Pah Band, Games, Fun and a certain amount of Drinking. Fancy Dress Optional – but preferable.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

LOOKING AHEAD

Ever Green Cup  

The 2^nd Round fixture against Old Brockleains Vets has been agreed for 2:00 pm on Saturday 23^rd December at The Mote.   Judging by the terrific 1^st round match against Tunbridge Wells, this is a date to put in your diary, and it makes an ideal festive spectacle for the Saturday before Christmas.  If you bring your kids along, we might even persuade our Evergreen Skipper (Ross Laing) to don his Santa outfit for them afterwards. Can’t guarantee that he’ll be very friendly though  L

RE

Fixtures 5^th November 2016

You may have noticed lately that our new Hon Secretary has mastered the task of mass-emailing and is now communicating directly with the membership on important matters – and on matters of news and interest to club members.

You may now be reading this because it has been emailed to you ?

This arises from a conversation that I had over the excellent lunch provided by Cobham RFC on Saturday, where I found myself sitting next to a long-time Maidstone member who had never read the Weekly Round-Up and didn’t know where to find it on our web-site !!!  

Yes, really !!   

Its almost unbelievable but true !!    

So, to make sure that there is no hiding place from these painfully crafted words and barely amusing anecdotes, we are going to email it to club members from now on as well as publishing it in the normal place on the website.    This is also relevant for our burgeoning Women’s section, as I was pained, nay wounded, to find out that the headlines I gave them following their first ever win recently, went completely unread by any of them.

In this respect, if there is anything you would like to share with the wider membership, send it to me richewence@gmail.com or Bob Hayton or to Craig Tuffrey our secretary and we will be happy to publish it – but send it FINISHED so that we can just cut and paste it – and send it whilst it’s hot.   Cold News is not news.

Anyway, enough about the messenger.  Here’s the Message.

Following the outstanding display vs Civil Service at the end of October, the travelling supporters were brought back down to earth by the visit to Cobham – not least by the stunning surroundings and First Class facilities in a beautiful Surrey enclave where there can be no houses costing less than £3m or so.  Despite conceding 3 first-half tries to a very dangerous Cobham three-quarter-line, I always felt that a try of our own would bring Maidstone right back into contention but in contrast with the previous week where everything went just right, this week everything seemed to go just wrong and prevent Maidstone turning territory into points. Not least, there were some quite extraordinary decisions from the Referee where one might have expected advantage to be played in promising situations but where play was halted as Maidstone were breaking through.  If anything, this game highlighted how easy it is to lose a match at this level if the team is not absolutely firing on all cylinders, as the margin between success and failure is so very thin.

The Mustangs were due to visit Alleynians for the 2^nd time in 3 weeks but given the call-ups to the First Team and unavailabilities, the decision was made to forfeit the fixture. 

At home, the only match was the Barbarians vs Anchorians II.    A great rallying call had gone out from Barbarians Central to get the team back together for this week and the call was answered, giving rise to an enthralling contest on the bottom pitch, with Pete Bulford scoring 2 tries to everyone’s surprise, not least his own.   The match was reffed by a scrupulously unbiased Simon Wright, who broke Maidstone hearts at the end of the match when he awarded a penalty to Maidstone for repeated line-out infringements, only to reverse it when Captain Colin Frost allowed a most uncharacteristic expletive to creep into his frank discussion of the problem. Anchs gratefully took the relieving kick and scored from a push-over try to win by 3 points.  However, despite the narrow loss, there was great satisfaction amongst the Babas in having played a very competitive match for almost the first time this season.

In other team news, we have a further update from the U16s

It was a good weekend for the u16's sporting their new kit as pictured below.

The U16 A's had a home Kent cup win 50 - 7 against T/Wells which sees them currently topping their pool. The B's had an excellent away win 19-43 against Dover for their first cup win of the season.

Next weekend the U16s have another 2 cup games the A's are away to Whitstable and the B's away to Dartfordians.

Next Week

 We have the Mustangs at home vs Medway II on Saturday and on Sunday, there is a huge day of rugby, with the U15s and U17s playing at 10:30 and the First Team lining up vs Blackheath II in the Kent Cup at 2pm

The Veterans were due to play Tonbridge Judds at home at 2PM in the Spitfire Gold but TJs couldn’t raise a side, so instead we are going to play our fixture vs Tunbridge Wells, who were similarly “stood up” by Medway.  The only problem is that the Wells fixture is due to be played at their ground this season, so it means travelling instead of playing at home.  Kick-off is 2:30 and Paul Massey has assembled a strong team of Maidstone Legends and many of our current Vets for the occasion.

See below for (rather brief) news from 10 years ago.

RE

Fixtures 12^th November 2016

WEEKLY NEWS ROUND-UP 6^th Nov 2006

RESULTS

Maidstone lost 11-20 at home to Wimbledon     L2S

Mustangs won 22-0 away to Aylesford II      Invicta League

3rds won 45-5 at home to Cranbrook II    Mid Kent A

4ths lost 42-7 away to East Peckham    Friendly

5ths lost 5-22 away to Cranbrook III    Mid-Kent D (13 players)

Vets won 50-5 away to Canterbury Vets.   Friendly

No news to report as I was away for the weekend in Germany, acquiring a pair of “leder-hosen” in time for the Bavarian Night on 25^{th Nov}.   

Since they were too heavy for my cabin baggage allowance, I had to wear them home instead. Personally, I think I cut quite a dash at Stansted Airport on Sunday evening but I’m not sure that everyone agreed.  Perhaps the leder-hosen didn’t really compliment my Maidstone Rugby fleece - or maybe the effect would have been better if I had had something to hold my socks up!!

Tickets for the event are on sale in advance at £17 per pair, so treat your Frau or Fraulein to a great night out.

RE

Results 29th Oct 2016

There was a great atmosphere around the First Team pitch on Saturday as the enthusiastic crowd were treated to the best rugby of the season so far.  Civil Service has lost only once this season but looked very much second best against a Maidstone Team that was close to firing on all cylinders.  Many players caught the eye but it was especially good to see Rory Beech back in action and of course Matt Iles, who brings such a presence to the back-row with his size, speed and know-how.  Bob Hayton captured perfectly Ben William’s “non-try” and despite an other-wise excellent (if rather lurid) refereeing performance from Mark Hayward, he would have to concede that had he been properly sighted the try would have been given.  However, he can only give what he sees I suppose and he was kind enough to overlook some crossing for Craig Webb’s try.  Anyway, lets hope that the team can kick on from here and upset all the sides sitting above them in the table currently.

I spent 20 minutes on the lower pitch watching the Mustangs vs Gravesend as they fought their way back into the match after conceding two early scores.  Dan Fisher appeared to be having a terrific match in the back-row alongside Charlie Williams who also seemed to be in the thick of the action.  However, the best moment that I witnessed was when Ben Weston thought he would square-up to one of the Gravesend players, at which point Foxy was heard to state very emphatically: “Sick-Note: Don’t be a C*NT” At which point Sick-Note stopped being a C*NT and everyone else fell about laughing.

The Vets were looking forward to a pleasant match away at Folkestone until Folkestone were unable to raise a team (although no-one told Keith Newman and Bobby Keynes who went to Folkestone direct) and so instead, The vets took on the Babas match vs Aylesford III, although if it had been the Vets pack and the Babas three-quarters instead of the other way round , it might have been a better game.   To make sure that they were sufficiently tooled up for our old fellas, Aylesford drafted in 3 of the London Broncos RL Team and with those guys playing 9,10 and 12 and ripping holes in our aged defence, a rout ensued similar to the one meted out by our First Team on Aylesford’s pitch 2 or 3 seasons ago. Ho hum.  It happens but it wasn’t a good game for us and probably not much good for Aylesford either.  In fairness, it was Aylesford’s 3^rd team on the day and we need to put out stronger teams at this level to stay competitive.  (Fortunately, we have 3 new recruits from the youth section coaches this week, two centres and a half-back, which should help to shore-up defences and bring down the average age considerably)

Next week

Babas vs Anchs II takes pride of place at  home on Saturday and on Sunday, the Ladies are at home to Sutton and Epsom in the 2^nd round of the cup.  If you haven’t yet watched the ladies play – treat yourself.   2pm KO

See below for more nostalgia from 10 years ago

RE

Fixtures 5^th November 2016

WEEKLY NEWS ROUND-UP 30-10-2006

RESULTS

Maidstone lost 29-17  away to Coney Hill     National Trophy

Mustangs won 44-5 at home to Sidcup      Invicta League

3rds (over 35s) won 47-20 at home to Tunbridge Wells Vets    Evergreen Cup

4ths won 10-7 away to Gravesend III     Mid Kent B

5ths lost 5-22 at home to Old Williamsonian II      Friendly

Vets drew 17-17 at home to Dartfordians Vets.

The two big wins of the weekend were The Mustang’s win over Sidcup II and Maidstone’s win over Tunbridge Wells in the Evergreen Cup.

Having lost twice to Sidcup II in the League last year, this was an emphatic reversal of fortunes for the Mustangs in the first of this year’s League meetings, so much so that apparently, unaware that 22 of Maidstone’s finest were away playing a cup-match in deepest Gloucestershire, some of Sidcup’s players thought they were playing Maidstone 1sts.

Its an easy mistake to make because, leaving aside the on-field performance, they actually look like a 1^st team. They dress the part, they have their own coach, their own manager, their own physio and they train like a first team, so it is not surprising that they are now putting together a series of decent results.  Sad to note that this was Garrett Hines last game for the Club before returning to New Zealand next week, having given great service to the club in the 1^st team and Mustangs during the last 18 months.  It says something about his attitude and club-loyalty when you consider that, as an itinerant Kiwi, he was prepared to turn out on a frosty Sunday morning last season to help out with the Under-16s Tournament. (The fact that he had no socks on and complained non-stop about the cold says something slightly different). Saturday’s game was notable also for the first Try in the Maidstone career of our old favourite Matt Plowman. Props tend to spend their rugby lives as unsung heroes, toiling away at the coal-face in scrum and line-out, so it’s good when one of them actually finds their way over the try-line. Now he knows where it is, one hopes that he will be able to find his way over it again in the not-too-distant future.

A decent sized crowd turned up on Sunday to see Maidstone’s first ever match in the Evergreen Cup against recent Cup-Winners, Tunbridge-Wells Vets. Maidstone’s side was drawn largely from Maidstone’s current Third Team with two or three Mustangs (and two of Glyn’s Vets) in support but this could not disguise the fact that many of those on display had enjoyed illustrious 1^st team careers at a time when Maidstone ranked amongst the best sides in the South-East. Tunbridge-Wells turned up looking as though they really meant business and gave an extremely good account of themselves in what was a compelling match, but Maidstone’s power, pace and ball-handling was too much for them to deal with and after 20 minutes the result no longer really looked in doubt.

Number 8, Paul Massey accounted for Maidstone’s first two tries and was outstanding in the line-out whilst the half-back combination of Tuggy and Hogarth was electric. It was great to see our Hon Treasurer Dave Coleman playing his first rugby for over a year following surgery on his knee - and coming through unscathed, whilst it was somewhat amusing to see our Hon Sec, Tom Challis looking totally bemused at being sentenced to spend 10 minutes in the sin-bin –especially as he didn’t seem to know where the sin-bin was located. (Clearly not a habitual offender) 

I suppose one should also mention the skipper, Ross Laing who was the oldest player on the pitch by some margin at age 59 (or is it 60?) and by no means the fastest – but who was apparently worth his place for his prowess in the scrum alone - plus the fact that he picked the team !!   I had heard that Ross has been studying the new laws against age-discrimination and had set his sights on becoming 1^st team skipper before he is 70, but if he could win the Ever-Green Cup at the first attempt (as well as the Mid-Kent League “A” Division?) in his 60^th year, perhaps that would satisfy his territorial ambitions. However, there are a few major obstacles in the way to deal with first.

The Fourths put in another solid performance in beating Gravesend III away in the League and are starting to look like a side that is capable of challenging for a top three finish. It was pleasing to see former 1^st team player, JimWalker complete a full match and particularly pleasing to see him playing back in the front-row.  If only one didn’t have to hear him!! (Or at least that’s what the Ref said)

The Fifths got off to a bad start playing uncontested scrums against a raw but enthusiastic Old Wills II side, but when Prop, Trevor Bradley turned up and the scrums reverted to contested, the game became more even and a good contest followed. Despite losing, the fifths must have enjoyed their match because half of them were still in the bar at 7pm – a most unusual sight, especially as there was only one of the Vets left there by then.

The Vets did very well to draw with a Dartfordians Vets team that had beaten them fairly comfortably at home only 4 weeks before.

Nest week, The Firsts are at home to Wimbledon in the League (the guests for the game are Maidstone’s Under 9s); The Mustangs play away at Aylesford II in the Invicta League; The Thirds are at home to Cranbrook II in Mid Kent A; The 4ths have a friendly at East Peckham; The Fifths have a League Match at Cranbrook III in Mid-Kent D and The Vets have been invited to a 60^th Birthday celebration match against Canterbury vets. Kick-Off times are now 2:30pm (although I believe that the Vets game kicks off at 12:30).

********************************************************************

Tickets for the Bavarian Night should go on sale this week, so be ready to part with some cash to make sure of you places.

RFU Draw Tickets have gone to all club members and many people have already sold their whole allocation so Bob Hayton has already ordered another batch. If every club member sold just 10 tickets, the benefit to the club would be enormous, so give it a go. Make sure that you sell your allocation.

RE

Results 22nd Oct 2016

The biggest pice of good-news this week was that we got 4 teams out for the first time this season, in what we hope will help to kick start and consolidate the playing fortunes of the whole club.  We now need to build on that by providing plenty of rugby in settled teams.

It is good that the first Team have halted their mini-slump, having lost the previous three matches  and whilst Chiswick sit below them in the table, we know from last season that trips to West London are no foregone conclusion.  Sounds as though Craig Webb was the star of the show this week, with two tries to his name but overall, it was a good team effort to come away with the bonus point win. Lets hope that they continue their winning ways into next week's fixture vs the current league leaders.

The Mustangs had drawn the most unenviable fixture in the Invicta Cup, with a tedious trip round the south circular to face one of the toughest teams in the Invicta division.  With no recognized 9 or 10 in the team, it is always going to be a struggle and sure enough the Mustangs  struggled.  The big heavy Maidstone pack ran out of steam after around 50 minutes, despite the stand-out efforts of Matt Vickers and Tom Chandler. In the backs,  Dan Fisher was the stand-out player at full-back, despite being a career back-row forward and he was joined in the back 3, by two other flankers.  Some backs are badly needed, from 9 to 15, if the Mustangs are going to turn their season around  with a few wins. Great to have Dan Taylor back for his first game in around 18 months - in time to turn out with younger brother Jake who is on leave from his college in Cumbria.

The B only had 10 names on their team sheet by the end of selection last tuesday and it was envisaged that they would go to Leigh, concede the league match, borrow 5 or 6 players and play a beer match whilst picking up a league point for showing up.  In the event, Craig did so well in assembling a team that with the loan of only 2 players, they had enough to play for the League points - which was probably a mistake, losing 106 - 5 (which translated into a much more palatable 45-5 in the league's  "points-difference" table.)  Still, it gave our boys plenty of tackling practice and Leigh observed afterwards in their very gracious match report:  you have to applaud Maidstone who kept at it for the full 80 minutes as if it were a one try difference game. They certainly showed Leigh how to be a rugby team, with huge voices letting loose with club songs from the changing room afterwards.  AND LATER An even bigger mention goes to Maidstone who displayed such dignity and humour and were a pleasure to host.  Well done guys: proud of you.

And so, to the battle of the Somme and a memorable win for the Vets. I saw Helen Court and Amanda Maddaford in the bar before the game and when they saw the age of the Thanet team that came out of the changing room, there was a certain amount of disbelief and apprehension at what their ageing (but still comparatively young) husbands had let themselves in for.  They needn’t have worried !!

(The match report has been sanitized with a spell-checker, to calm the nerves of any readers with GCSE English, but is otherwise intact as written)

El capitain here.
Match report Thanet 3s
Well, well, well.
Last week we had 97 points scored against us.
Two weeks ago we had 82 points scored against us by Deal. Last week Thanet 3s beat Deal 27 - 21.
This was Thanet's development team which was absolutely rammed with youngsters. And on paper you would not have fancied our chances. But we're a dogged lot, us old boys.
Pre match team talk centred around playing a tight forward's game, only releasing the ball to the backs once in or around the opposition's 22.
The game started perfectly with Thanet kicking to us and the sun on our backs. A clean catch and some quick phase play soon put us up in their 22 where we maintained continual pressure until a Thanet player got a toe to a loose ball putting us on the back foot. Fortunately David Ruaux showed great pace to catch and tackle the young Thanet back and before you could thank him we were back up in their 22.
However it didn't last long before Thanet turned over the ball again, spinning it wide to their left winger who broke the back's defensive line and we were 7 points down. 10 min later we found ourselves in the same position but from the right flank.
A quick team talk whilst the conversion went over to try and tighten things up a little in the forwards and we were off again.
A tactical restart switching the kick to the right so the sun was in their eyes worked a treat, they lost sight of the ball mid flight and winger Philip Trevor White showed good agility to clean up the loose ball, setting up the ruck for the forwards to drive over, thus putting Thanet on the back foot and we were once again back up in their 22. Thanet under pressure gave away several penalties and Mick Walker kicked accurately into the corner to further increase the pressure. We were dominant in the line out thanks to some accurate throw ins by Richard Gray and super hands by the leaping salmon himself Richard Ewence eventually the pressure paid off and we were rewarded with a well finished try from Ben Court playing his first game for the vets team, thus bringing the score to 14 - 05.
The remainder of the half was played in much the same fashion and just before half time the ball was spun out to the backs on the edge of the 22 where inside centre Stuart Russell burst through the Thanet defence to find himself being tackled just meters from the try line. Showing great strength and determination he drove the two defending players back and with stretched out arm placed the ball against the base of the goal post. Stuart then slotted the ball between the posts for a further two points 14 - 12.
Half time oranges (yes, old school) and a team talk by Mark Fish from the spectators gallery and we were ready to go!
The second half saw Thanet come out of the blocks guns blazing and within a short time we found ourselves another two tries down (team talk didn't work Mark).
After giving ourselves a damn good talking too we soon found our MoJo again. Pinning Thanet back in their 22. The pressure resulting in a sniping scrum half try by Simon Randall who saw a gap from the back of the maul created from another well taken lineout by Richard Ewence. 26 - 17
A short  burst of hand bags saw their winger who was already on the bench red carded and sent straight home by his team, and their 8 and our prop Martin Maytum yellow carded. This forced skipper Neil Cole to move from back row to front row at hooker and Richard Gray to move to prop. The next ten minutes seemed like 30 as all we seemed to do was scrummage on Thanet's 5 meter line but eventually we were rewarded as Ben Court crashed over from a few meters out. 26 - 22
With only minutes left on the clock we found ourselves 4 points behind, but with total belief we dug deep against a younger fitter Thanet side. Again we applied pressure and won a penalty 35 meters out. After consulting with the referee to check if there was enough time for a lineout Mick Walker put us on the 5 meter line for the final play of the game. Again a perfect throw and the safe hands of Richard Ewence and the drive was on. Reaching the try line Richard Gray peeled off the rear of the maul to crash over and score our winning try. Mick Walker drop kicked the conversion to give us a 3 point Win!
Final score 29 - 26 Wop Wop Wop!!
We had several other chances to score throughout the game but were held up at least 3 times.
Nigel Maddaford managed a full second half after a solid 1st half by this weeks oldest player John Brooker.
Mac gave his all as usual especially when we had about 8 scrums in a row. a short swap to back row seemed to do the trick and he was back punishing his opposite prop.
The game also saw the return of Chris May to the Maidstone ranks.
Playing at flanker he had an awesome game always in the thick of it.
Man of the match was chosen by Tuggy and Jim Tinsley from the sideline who both said it had to be Richard Ewence (for the second time this season) They said he was outstanding!
Plus he won the drink off !!
To sum it up we had an absolutely outstanding performance. Dogged is an understatement. Full of self belief and determination to win.
No twat of the match this week as it was a great team performance although if he were in the bar after the game it would probably have gone to Fishy for his half time talk.
I was a proud skipper!
Finally I would like to share a text I received from our youngest player Alex deRitis.
We smashed it today!!

 Lastly on the playing front, more news of our Fabulous U16 squad

The u16s fielded a mixed side on Sunday with half term taking its toll on availability for their home fixture against Cranbrook and recorded a comfortable victory by 7 tries to 2.

This Sunday the squad is off to Hertfordshire to face a strong Hertford side.

See the weekly round below, for more nostalgia from 10 years ago. (Whilst on the subject of nostalgia, looking around the changing room on Saturday and seeing such gourmet connoisseurs as Ben Court, Nigel Maddaford and Martin Maytum assembled, it struck me that next Thursday will be the first of the month and maybe it’s time to re-assemble the Curry Club – with the proviso that Ben needs to be home before midnight these days.

Also, whilst looking back, I note that it’s 6 years this week since we lost Andy Vickers to this world at such a young age. I still remember clearly the crisp cold October Sunday morning when I heard the news of his sudden death (never even having realised that he was diabetic despite playing dozens of matches with him). Apart from being a great bloke in the Vickers mould, I am often reminded what a useful and enthusiastic rugby player he was and how much we could do with him now. I am sure though that he would have been impressed with the person and player that “little brother” Matt has become.

RE

Fixtures 29th Oct 2016

Weekly News Round-Up  23^rd Oct 2006

Saturday’s results

Maidstone beat  London Irish Amateurs  13-20  away       L2S

Mustangs beat Gravesend  24 – 6  at home     Invicta League

Maidstone III beat Ashford II  away  16-7   Friendly

Maidstone IV didn’t play

Maidstone V lost to Ashford IV  10-36 away      Friendly

Maidstone Vets lost to Cranbrook  5-24     at home     Friendly

Good wins for the three senior sides.  Congratulations especially to the 1sts, who have now won 4 of their last 5 and to the Thirds who have won their first seven matches. The Mustangs too deserve credit for a convincing League win that puts them straight back into contention in the Invicta League.

The 4^th team didn’t play owing to fixture uncertainty and a disappointing lack of numbers, whilst the 5^th team’s winning streak (of 1) came to an abrupt end at Ashford.

Having beaten Cranbrook Vets twice last year, a slightly understrength Maidstone Vets failed to deal with the power of Cranbrook Vets and had a 10 minute lapse to let in 3 tries in what was otherwise a hard-fought fixture, going down by 4 tries to 1.

Speaking of Vets, John Brooker  was unable to find any of his clothes when he came out of the shower after the game (it’s an age thing I’m afraid) but luckily one of the kindly old gents in the Vets was able to supply him with a white Tyvek overall to cover his modesty – although I did notice later in the evening that the seat of this overall seemed to be missing and exposing rather a lot of well-rounded flesh; either that or there was a full moon on Saturday.  I suppose anyone who gets married during the summer without telling anyone should expect to have his Stag Night some months after the wedding but the whole thing seemed to take John quite by surprise.  I’m sorry to say that I left the Club-house before the entertainment arrived but I’m sure that it was something tasteful and appropriate and right up John’s alley.

NEXT WEEKEND’S FIXTURES

The Firsts travel to Gloucestershire to play Coney Hill from South West division II West, in the first round of this year’s National Trophy. We wish them every success.

The Mustangs are at home to Sidcup II and will be looking to reverse the two league defeats that they suffered last year in the Invicta League against a useful Sidcup outfit.

The Thirds have no fixture on Saturday as most of the team have been sub-poena’d by Ross Laing to play for Maidstone in our first ever Evergreen Cup Match (for players of 35 and over). The opposition is Tunbridge Wells and the match kicks off on Sunday at 2:00 pm on the 1^st Team pitch.  It should be a great occasion and a fascinating contest, so I would encourage everyone to come and support our team. It will be especially interesting to see if the players who have dominated Mid Kent A division for a decade now, can extend their hegemony to the Evergreen Cup. Whatever the outcome however, the tradition of the Evergreen Cup requires that plenty of beer should flow afterwards and mutual respect and appreciation should be the order of the day.

The 4ths will resume their Mid Kent B League activities away to Gravesend III, whilst the 5ths entertain Old Williamsonian’s 2nds at home in what will be their first match for a few seasons. The Vets were due to play Vigo III but Vigo can’t raise a side owing to cup commitments and so we are looking for a suitable replacement fixture.

There is a club Quiz Night on Friday and it would be good if each team in the club could be represented (apart from the 1sts who are away in Gloucester). Teams of 8 or fewer are invited and should ideally contact Wendy Pound in advance so that we know how many to cater for. Tickets are £5/head including a Ploughman’s supper.

Don’t forget the Bavarian Bier Fest on 25^th November: Keep it free in your diaries.

RE

Results 15^th Oct 2016

 *(That’s the score used by the league and I’m going with that one)

Frustratingly, there was no suitable fixture available for the Mustangs, so they were forced to take a further week off.

Tough day at the office for the only Maidstone team to play on Saturday.   Lesson for the day: try to avoid wide pitches when your wingers are in their 50s and 60s and the opposition three-quarters are less than half or even a third of that age. 

Some questions are being asked about why our Vets are playing league matches vs younger opposition this season.  The answer is that there are very few regular Vets or Social sides around to provide us with suitable vets opposition now and most Veteran players who want to play regularly, now play in regular teams/matches.  The exception is the Spitfire Gold Trophy competition, which is strictly for over 35s and intended mainly for over 40s, but this provides no more than 5 fixtures per season. The answer I think is to combine Veteran players with some youthful legs to get a better balance to the side. There was always a tradition of young players (mainly sons of vets) cutting their teeth in veterans rugby, (Sam Bailey, Aaron Bishop,James Hughes etc) so I think that the solution is for the Vets to get busy procreating again !!

Meanwhile, here’s a very welcome match-report from our incumbent Vets Skipper (who would like it to be known that he’s much better builder than speller).

Where to start?
The only maidstone game of the day saw us in a league fixture against Canterbury 5ths. with a squad of 22 players.
A strong team with a solid front row of Martin Maytum, Mark Ingram and John McIntyre and a choice of 5 second row players ment we dominated the battle of the forwards with 90% of play being conducted in the oppersitions half.
However, domination does not automatically lead to points. Canterbury were very disoplined at the breakdown, only commiting players when required making breaks around the fringes difficult and when we got isolated they often had numbers and turned the ball over. That said,we alwaysmoved forward over the game line were Canterbury rarelly made progress in the forwards.
Their game plan was the same as their other 3 league games. when in possesion spin it out to the young fit 20 year olds in the backs. Dispite repeated attempts the 30 year age difference meant we could not match their pace and adjility. The backs tried hard to stop the youngsters with some great tackles made by Mick Walker at 10 and especially by Eugene Moore at fullback who had an extreamly busy afternoon.
Canterbury remained ruthless throughout the game regardless of the score, taking quick tap penelties and quick lineouts in a bid to get the ball out to the backs in order to score more points.
Maidstone kept their heads up and continued to battle, with no points on the score board the team played for pride and were finally rewarded with a well finished try from Tom Clarke playing at 8. which was converted by mick walker.
The game saw the return of Nigel Maddaford after 4.5 years out of the game. Nigel managed 20min at second row before his back injury started playing up, however he had 2 great breaks one of which was a 25 meter break before being tackled by 2 Canterbury players. a great return performance.
We had a new player Marcus Barnes who was also new to rugby who did well for a first game. he and nigel were well matched at 2nd row as marcus is about the same size as nigel if not bigger!
Man of the match went to martin mayhem whos ball carrying was 1st class.
I was going to give Mac twat of the match for kicking the ball to their backs in their own 22, from which they scored. but i thought that was punishment enough and he only did it the once (lesson learnt. forwards dont kick!) dispite that he also had a great game.
Twat of the match went to me (again) for grounding the ball over the try line after a really maul which even involved winger Brian Costello in his first game of the season. I clearly scored but having placed the ball i was driven back. One of the canterbury players picked it up and as i turned round i watched him sprint down the pitch closely followed by the ref who awarded a try at the other end. Most of the canterbury players were confused as they had all stopped having seen me score. the ref however had not and stated that he could not reverse the decision dispite canterbury players talking to the ref.
I hold my hand up to making a massive mistake, as nice as it is to play on the first team pitch it will be the last. we need a narrower pitch where the speedy youngsters cant find wide gaps to exploit and we can play a tighter game in defence thus helping the backs.
oh yeh the score 97- 07

In other news, The Ladies continued their impressive form with a narrow 17-12  loss to Stockwood Park, (wherever that is?)

And more good news:

Hi Richard

Just to let you know two good results for the u16's today.

The A's had a resounding 50-0 win at Thanet and the B's a entertaining 36-10 win at Southwark Tigers.

RE

See below for more nostalgia from 10 years ago.  Its amazing how clearly One can recall individual matches .  I can still picture Matt Hayton getting two early tries for the 4^th team vs Sevenoaks before our hearts were broken late in the second half by a try from Marcus Carling that won the match for Sevenoaks.  I also remember being amazed when the hand of correction came close to being wielded by Mayhem when he lost his rag with the amount of whinging from our own full-back, Gus Parker.  It was the first (but not the last) time that I saw the “feisty” side of Mayhem.  Which brings me onto another “Mayhem” related story. In a break in play during the second half vs Canterbury on Saturday, one of the Canterbury centres told me and Martin that one of his cricketing friends had told him about a player on the Maidstone Team known as “Psycho”.  “Really nice bloke apparently, despite the name”.   Martin and I were equally bemused until the penny eventually dropped that he had mixed up the words “Psycho” and “Mayhem”.   Not exactly synonyms I feel, and I much prefer to play with a Mayhem than a Psycho. So much more genteel.

Fixtures 22nd Oct 2016

Weekly News Round - Up 15th October 06

RESULTS

Maidstone won 35-27 at home to Sevenoaks    London 2 South

Mustangs away to Sevenoaks II aborted owing to lack of referee       Invicta League

Maidstone 3rds won  25-11 at home to Sevenoaks III   Friendly

Maidstone 4ths lost 10-17 away to Sevenoaks IV (Acorns)   Mid Kent B

Maidstone 5ths won 19-0 at home to Sevenoaks V    Mid Kent D (This is not a mis-print)

Maidstone Vets won 14 –0 away to Ashford III.

WHAT A GREAT WIN AT THE WEEKEND   

No, not the First Team – although that was pretty good too.  I’m talking about the Fifths, who recorded their first win of 2006 – and without the aid of their captain Martin Carr, who was taking a week off. Congratulations fellas. Hope this is the start of a 25 match unbeaten run. (You never know).

As for the Sevenoaks Block Fixture, I guess we took the honours, although it was hugely frustrating that the Fourths lost to The Acorns after being 2 tries up wwithin 10 minutes. Not half so frustrating as it was for the Mustangs though, being all warmed-up and out on the pitch ready to start before the awful truth dawned on them that there was no referee. What a let-down !!.  Having experienced the same thing a few times in my playing career, I know that there are few experiences more deflating.

In terms of availability and playing strength however, it was a terrific week for Maidstone FC, with 6 strong sides out and players to spare. Hopefully, we can maintain this momentum with players enjoying their rugby, playing in strong, settled sides and making themselves regularly available.  It’s the right formula for a successful, happy club.

Its no good having a large playing membership though, if we incur the costs but don’t reap the extra revenue.   There should be no-one playing now who hasn’t made arrangements to pay a standing-order of just £12.50 per month for Seniors or £3-00 per month for youth/students, or paid a cheque for their annual subscription. Subs play a vital part in keeping the show on the road, so make sure that you are not free-loading at the expense of your team-mates.

NEXT WEEK

Can’t quite believe the fixture list, but it looks as though The Mustangs have a home fixture – their first of the season.  They entertain Gravesend II in the Invicta League.

The Firsts meanwhile, travel to London Irish Amateurs for their First league Match against the Irish.  This trip is a must for any travelling supporters because the facilities and ambience at this beautiful ground are not to be missed.  A trip to Sunbury reminds one why, in the days before League Rugby, the top clubs were called First Class and only ever played against other First Class Clubs.  It should be a great day out and hopefully, a successful one in terms of moving us further up the L2S League Table.

The 3rds and 5ths travel to Ashford to play friendlies against their 2nds and 4ths, whilst the 4ths and Vets stay at home to play Dover III and Cranbrook Vets, also in friendlies.

LOOKING AHEAD

Don’t forget the quiz night on Friday 27^th October to determine which is the brightest team in the club.   Parents and coaches from the Junior Section are especially welcome and senior skippers should be marshalling their troops even as I write. There is no limit on the number of props you can have in a team, but common-sense suggests that you wouldn’t want too many if you are going to mount a realistic challenge for the title. (Not only that but they’ll eat all your crisps and nuts and frighten your women.)  Tickets are £5/head including food and are available from the bar or from Wendy Pound.

RE

Results 8^th Oct 2016

Without much to write home about in the men's rugby this week, there is no doubt that pride of place should go this week to the Maidstone Ladies. Just typing the words "Maidstone Ladies" feels good as until so comparatively recently, the idea of having a women and girls section was just that - an idea. Thanks however to the perseverance and dogged determination of Miles Tempan in particular, that idea has become flesh (and lots of it) (meaning that the numbers are now truly impressive - of course).

On Sunday, I had the absolute pleasure for the first time, of watching them in action in a cup match vs old Brockleains as they achieved their first ever victory and a well deserved one at that.  Big thanks to Simon Wright btw for reffing so ably and helping to make the game as good as it was.

I was keen to get a photo of the squad after the match and loitering near the post-match huddle I listened to one of the best post-match team talks I have ever heard -and I've heard a few in my time - but I don't think I have ever heard anything to match the sheer "joi de vivre" of this one. The skipper (I presume it was the skipper: if she isn't, she should be) thanked everyone including Miles, the coaches, the club, the ref, their friends and families and eventually, God himself (although why he should have favoured Maidstone over Brockleians remains the subject of theological debate). I wish I had thought of filming the speech as it could have been an Internet sensation but instead, you will have to take my word for it.

It would probably be wrong to single out individuals but I did notice some very strong running from the number 8 and some text book tackling from centre and wing. I feel slightly ashamed not to know any of the names yet but I feel sure that many the Maidstone Ladies are destined to become big personalities around the club in due course.

Incidentally, as a regular listener to Woman's Hour on radio 4, I am well aware that "Ladies" is no longer considered an appropriate soubriquet for adults of a female persuasion, as it is deemed patronising - a la Nicholas Parsons perhaps - compared with the much less value-laden "women" as favoured by say David Dimbleby on Question Time. However, I have to say that "Maidstone Ladies" just sounds right, whether politically correct or not. The alternative I suppose, would be to adopt an animal's name like say Leicester Tigers or an inanimate object like say Kent Spitfires. It would not surprise me if even now, greater minds than mine were already engaged on a quest for re-branding of the entire women's section.  However, I notice that most clubs have the suffix “Ladies” attached to their name, so perhaps “Ladies” it should remain?

Anyway, enough of this Girls Talk.  The Men’s First Team lost their 3^rd consecutive match, which is a dip in form that we haven’t seen in the last 2 or 3 seasons, but there is every reason to believe that it can quickly be corrected.  After a 2 match enforced injury lay-off, Captain Ben Williams returned to form with a barn-storming MotM performance but it wasn’t sufficient to halt a well-drilled Gravesend team on this occasion.

With no League fixture for The Mustangs this week, it was pretty important to get them a fixture, so when we saw Crawley 1^st Team advertising for a match on the Sussex Fixture Exchange, it seemed heaven sent – albeit a very tough challenge and a long way to travel. Not so, as it turned out, because Crawley were in fact advertising for a fixture for the following week and our hapless travellers arrived at Crawley to be greeted by blank faces all round.  One of the reasons I took up the job of Fixture Sec 11 years ago was to make sure that this kind of situation (of which I have been the victim more times in the past as a player than I can remember) does not happen.  Perhaps I’m losing my grip and its time for someone else to take the helm?  Anyway, my heart-felt apologies go to the Mustangs. Worst of all is that (predictably) Crawley don’t want a fixture for their First Team at all, so now we are still faced with trying to find a suitable game this week.

Anyway, despite everything, The Mustangs had a slightly less torrid time than the Vets/BXV, who travelled just as far or further and got thumped 79-0 by Deal & Betts III, who have had an influx of players from Ash and were bigger, stronger, fitter and faster than us almost to a man.  The two notable exceptions were the youngest player 17 year old William Moore who tackled like a demon all afternoon, showing no fear as he scythed down the big runners and making 3 times as many tackles as the rest of the team combined  - or so it seemed, and the not-quite-oldest player Keith Newman, who as one of our two over 60’s on the day, put himself about with great strength and determination in the loose – when not recuperating on the touch-line.  In fact, though the score-line indicates a thrashing, there was a great determination about the whole team and it was pleasing that there was no one on the team who was not committed to sticking at it to the bitter end.  At least we got plenty of tackling practice anyway.

Lastly on the playing front, a news item has come flooding in from the U16s:

Just thought I would let you know the u16s had 2 wins today in case you wanted to use them in your weekly report.

The A's made there first visit into Essex with a 10-48 win against Romford and Gidea Park and the B's had a hard fought win 27-17 against Dover.

Thanks again for arranging the ref: Jamie was most impressed with him. (Nathan Fitzpatrick was the ref – remember him?)

See below for Weekly round-up from 8^th October 2006.   Its comedy gold.    How standards have fallen since then.

RE

Fixtures 15^th Oct 2016

Weekly News Round - up 8^th October 06

RESULTS

Maidstone won 29-22 at home to Tunbridge Wells    London 2 South

Mustangs lost 23-18 away to Tunbridge Wells II       Invicta League

Maidstone 3rds won  44-0 at home to Thanet III   Friendly

Maidstone 4ths lost 17-29 at home to Tunbridge Wells III   Mid Kent B

Maidstone 5ths – Called off by Maidstone on Friday, owing to too many late cry-offs from players.

Maidstone Vets lost 21-12 away to Hastings & Bexhill Vets.

 It was great for the 1sts to record another home win in front of a large crowd – including many of our U15 squad who were club guests for the day. Looking at the League table, whilst its good to be out of the bottom three its frustrating to think how we could easily be in 3^rd or even 2^nd place but for the last kick at Andover and the numerous missed chances against Colfe’s.  However, there’s still a long, long way to go. 

The Mustangs lost by 5 points after having been comfortably ahead at half-time at Tunbridge Wells, whilst at home, Maidstone Thirds were surprised by the unexpected arrival from America, of their iconic skipper just in time for kick-off.  In the event, they won 44-0 but it could have been a lot more (if Ross had missed his flight)

Despite having several players playing out of position and the disruption caused by late cry-offs, the 4ths had every chance to beat Tunbridge Wells III but failed to take their chances and to defend sufficiently well. There is always something to play for in these Mid- Kent League fixtures because if the losing side is within 10 points of the winning score, they gain an extra League point but even this consolation prize went begging.  However, it was a pleasure to play in a match that was refereed so well and in which the players on both sides responded by leaving the referee to get on with it, instead of offering the constant benefit of their advice.  Thanks are due to Martin Carr and the remainder of the 5ths for providing much needed substitutes on the day.

The Vets had their 1^st trip to H&B in quite a few seasons, primarily because Maidstone’s Fixture Sec was so impressed by the quality of the mashed potato served up after he played in a 5^th team game there last season that he wanted the rest of the Vets to have a chance to sample it. (Brake Bros Frozen Mash with cracked black pepper - in case you’re interested).   Glyn confirmed after the game that the food had indeed been good but it wasn’t enough to make a second consecutive defeat more palatable, especially after lending H&B two players to make up the numbers. He assured me that it would be a different story when Maidstone Vets entertain H&B Vets on The Somme on 10^th Feb (attrition guaranteed).

NEXT WEEK

Its a triumph for the Fixture Secs as we go back to the Golden Age of the Block Fixture, with 5 sides playing team for team against Sevenoaks- and all of them League Matches to boot.  (Still not quite sure how we did it !!)  Meanwhile Maidstone’s Vets head off to play Ashford III, as Sevenoaks no longer run 6 sides and their Vets (The Acorns) ply their trade in Mid Kent B, masquerading as their 4^th team (unlike us who now appear to be running 2 Vets sides, one of them at the top of Mid Kent A, masquerading as our 3^rd team)

Top billing goes to the 1^st team of course, playing at the Mote where a large crowd will be guaranteed an entertaining and highly competitive fixture.  Last season the honours were shared, with both sides contriving to lose at home.  Lets hope we can reverse that trend.

LOOKING AHEAD

There is a quiz night on Friday 27^th October to enable us to determine which is the brainiest team in the club. Just in case you are worried about the formidable intellectual challenge posed by the presence of The First Team you can relax:  they will be away in Gloucestershire, preparing for their National Trophy Match against Coney Hill the following day so the “Celebrity Porn Video Download” round is still wide-open (if you’ll pardon the expression).  If we have at least one quiz team from every side in the club – including parents and coaches from the Junior Section, it should be a very good night.  Tickets are £5/head including a Plowmans supper (Matt’s going to have his work cut out preparing all that bread and cheese)

And as if that wasn’t enough excitement for one season, just 4 weeks later we will be enjoying our Bavarian Fest evening on November 25^th. The bar staff are already assembling their “serving-wenches” outfits and the Oompah Band are busy polishing their horns:  don’t delay in assembling your costumes or all the leather shorts will be gone.

RE

Results1^st Oct 2016

 Sorry folks.

I was away in Spain for the weekend and didn’t get a chance to catch up on rugby news – except the results.

However, Neil Cole produced a match report for the Babas/Vets, which is the least he could do in a match where he scored 2 tries himself. Shame that his Spell-checker had a week-off.

Match report for saturdays fixture at home to gravesend 4ths.
Having taken on the barbarians fixture we found ourselves the only home team and hence a massive crowd cheering us on.
It must have been the size of the crowed and the noise of the cheering supporters that put us off coz we didnt turn up for the first 30mim and Gravesend put 4 tries past us.
Slowly we started to respond and the final 20min of the half saw us camped out in the oppersitions 22. gravesend broke out from time to time, but some fine footwork from Mick Walker s boot put us back up the feild. finally the pressure paid off with gravesend getting sucked in to some phase play in front of the posts. The ball was then spun wide through the hands with Peter Jones well timed pass 2 meters out allowing skipper Neil Cole to flop over the line to score maidstones first try.
The second half saw us continue to dominate in the forwards with gravesend barely playing out of their own half except for breakaway tries where they had younger fitter players in the backs and back row.
A bad clearance kick from gravesend and a fantastically competed catch by Lee Morrison saw him out sprint 2 gravesend players to score out wide.
Finally a break down the left wing from barbarians skipper Craig Nicholasand an inside pass to x skipper Adrian Clark saw a final pass to skipper Neil Cole who made it across the line to score his second in a truly skippers try.
A drop kick by Mick walker saw the try converted.
The final score was a consiquince of a slow start,the second time in two weeks.
Marco Trismegisto Bauchiero had a particually difficult time at fullback, the result of the rest of us not putting in our tackles.
This game saw the return of last seasons player of the year Simon Randall at 9.
My man of the match goes to Mick walker for his posative attitude, tackling around the fringes and great positional kicking which kept Gravesend continually under pressure.
Twat of the match goes to myself for my header of the ball at the kickoff to the second half.
my final mention goes to Philip Trevor White for putting his body on the line in the second half by standing his ground against gravesends biggest player and getting absolutely flattened and then literaly walked all over. but he did slow him down enough for two others to bundle him into touch.
If we can start as we finish it should be a good season.

See below for Weekly Round Up from 2^nd Oct 2006.   Its interesting to note that its now 10 years since we ran the very successful “Meet the First Team” sessions for our youth section.  Its probably high time to revive the idea.

RE

Fixtures 8^th Oct 2016

Weekly News Roundup 2^nd October 06

Results

Maidstone lost 13-16 away to Andover    London 2 South

Mustangs – No Fixture

Maidstone 3rds won  19-17 away to Aylesford III  Mid Kent A

Maidstone 4ths won 22-19 at home to Aylesford IV Mid Kent B

Maidstone 5ths at home to Gravesend 5ths . Match abandoned.

Maidstone Vets lost 10-22 away to Dartfordians Vets.

This week’s results were completely overshadowed by the death of one of Gravesend’s players, who collapsed whilst playing for Gravesend 5ths against Maidstone 5ths and died later in hospital. We understand that he was a veteran of many years standing at Gravesend and his death will be a great blow to their members.  Tom Challis, our Hon Sec, has sent a letter of condolence to Gravesend RFC on behalf of all at Maidstone.

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Having read the 1^st team match report from their League game at Andover, one can imagine how agonizing it must have been for players and spectators alike to see Maidstone lose the match with the last kick of the game in the 9^th minute of injury time after being in front for most of the match. However, there seems to have been much about Maidstone’s performance to suggest that there will be better times ahead for this talented young Maidstone team.

Talking of talented young teams, Maidstone’s 3rds could live up to only one of those epithets but still managed to claw their way back into a tight game against Aylesford 3rds to snatch the League points from under the noses of their powerful opponents.

Maidstone 4ths meanwhile, nearly accomplished the reverse as they let a 22-0 half-time lead slip to 22-19 at the close but thankfully clung on to take the League points from their visitors.

The Veterans though, travelled to Dartfordians Vets with a somewhat makeshift side and came away having suffered their 1^st defeat of the season 10-22 despite having been in contention throughout.

Next week

Next week sees Maidstone’s First Team confront newly promoted Tunbridge Wells at the Mote, with both teams needing a win to distance themselves from the wrong end of the league table.

The Mustangs return to Invicta League action away to Tunbridge Wells II and the 4ths also meet Tunbridge Wells, playing TW3 in Mid Kent B Division at the Mote.

That leaves Maidstone 3rds to entertain Thanet Wanderers III in a friendly at the Mote, Maidstone 5ths to travel to play Gravesend’s Moles in a friendly and Maidstone’s Vets to head down the long road to Hastings & Bexhill to strike-up an acquaintanceship with the H &B Veterans in what promises to be a very entertaining friendly.

Our guests at the club on Saturday to watch the First Team in action against Tunbridge Wells, will be the boys of the U15s squad together with their coaches, so we hope that they have an enjoyable afternoon watching Maidstone and we also hope of course that they will witness a second home win of the season.

 Following the visit of the U7s and U8s, who were guests of the club for the Beckenham Game, we received from Neil Crawford-Smith, our Youth Chairman, the following:

The feedback from the kids and parents was great.  Sean Neave (Who?) was fantastic with the kids and really put them at their ease and talked them through what was going to happen.  The coaches joked with me on Sunday that all the boys want to do now is tackle!  Which is quite difficult when you are teaching them tag!

All in all it was a great afternoon and the view of the parents and coaches is that we must continue to do more of the same.

So, sincere thanks are due to Shaun and some of the First Team subs on the day, for making the effort to entertain the boys and to answer their many questions – mainly lurid questions about injuries as it turned out. (Should have got Jon Sargent involved).

RE

Results 24^th Sept 2016

It was a difficult week for selection this week, with a number of injuries to First Team players having a knock on effect, not to mention injuries and unavailabilities throughout the rest of the club. Maybe, it's the unseasonably dry weather and hard-pitches that is contributing to injuries and/or reluctance to turn up and play.

By all accounts, it was a difficult day for the First Team at home to Tottonians, who came to Maidstone and claimed a well-earned victory for a second successive year. Biggest cheer of the day was reserved for Mayhem, when he came off the bench to add his considerable presence to the front-row, the size of which with Will Fox added to the mix, ensured that whatever else happened, we weren’t going to be outweighed in the pack. However, this wasn’t enough to secure a win – or even a losing bonus point for that matter, which could cost us dear come the end of the season.

The Mustangs reached Saturday with only the bare-bones of a team on the team-sheet, although it included returning First Team Players Matt Iles and Jason Smith but somehow a credible team was pulled together with the late addition of Ben “Sick-note” Weston, who had come along to watch and “Fiji John”, who had come to watch his son play and Rich Gray transforming from team-manager into prop to plug a gap. This, coupled with strong performances from new centre Will Hanlon and his centre partner Manu Laqeretabua and an outstanding display from stand-in full-back Dan Fisher, meant that the side managed to contain a strong Dartfordians 2^nd team and salvage an unlikely draw, which felt like a win in the end.

The B Team – aided and abetted by some of the Vets - were able to console themselves in a similar manner at Vigo, where “last try wins”  gave them some satisfaction after shipping 47 points before Mark Ingram (who had only turned up to watch) scored the last try of the game to rescue some pride from what had been largely one-way first-half traffic, although in fairness, Maidstone were “held-up” over the line four times before scoring.  The indefatigable Paul Hodges, who at age 46 and with two arthritic hips gets the train from Tunbridge Wells every week to turn out at full-back for the B, sustained a nasty concussion in a collision with the thickest part of Vets skipper Neil Cole (and that’s pretty darned thick!!) and needed a trip to A&E after the game but we hear that he was released without needing further treatment. (NB see the Vigo match-report for an example of good match-reporting)

During the match, (which was my first of the season), I found myself thinking that, whilst I would rather like to retire from Rugby now that I’m closer to 60 than I am to 50 and I rather like watching the First Team play on a Saturday, I couldn’t think of anywhere I would rather have been than making up the numbers which would otherwise have been a bare 15 and short of a second-row.  It also made me think that unless players turn out to play for their team regularly, they can quickly find that there isn’t a team to play for when they decide that they want a game. This week, we only managed to field 3 sides and had to forfeit the Vet’s League Game vs Snowdown II. 

When it comes to a tough afternoon away at Old Villains RFC, are you the sort of player who drops out and leaves your team-mates to turn up and face the opposition one-short, or are you the sort that goes there to stand-up and be counted ?  I know how I would rather be thought of (having said which, I will be in Spain next week-end and therefore, unavailable).

Talking of how one would like to be thought of, I would just like to echo Ben Williams words this week, (whilst deleting the expletives) to say that being thought of as someone who is too cheap to pay their membership subscriptions, would not be an accolade that would fill me with pride and I can think of a number of faces that I see around the bar and club whom I know to be serial duckers and divers. Clearly, there are cases of financial hard-ship and no-one wishes to prevent anyone from playing rugby when they genuinely cannot afford it, so there has always been provision to speak confidentially to the membership secretary about your situation.  But don’t be cheap !!

You need to commence your monthly dd by 4^th October for the payment to come out on 15^th October – or you can get a substantial discount by paying for the whole season in one go.  Again, this needs to be done by 4^th October at latest.

On a happier note, as an Ex-Sevenoaks player I still receive their newsletters every week and I hear much about how marvellous their youth section is.  It was therefore with great pleasure that I watched the 16 boys of our U16s A team (The B Team were away at Folkestone) win their cup-match vs the 22 boys of Sevenoaks 28-12 on Sunday. I arrived just in time to see Maidstone score their last try and post a 28-0 lead and then watched the Maidstone team defend for their lives for the next 45 minutes.  A tremendous performance from a great squad of players, that can rival any in the county. 

Lastly, thanks to Marilyn and Julian Debnam, there will be a MacMillan Cake Sale at the club on saturday and sunday, so please either bring a cake to donate and/or purchase some cakes to support this good cause

See below for The Weekly Round-up from 24^th Sept 2006, including the Maidstone debut of one of our longest serving current First Teamers, Josh Pankhurst. 

RE

Fixtures 1^st Oct 2016

Weekly News Roundup 24th September 06

Results

Maidstone won 16-6 at home to Beckenham    London 2 South

Mustangs lost 44-14 away to Beckenham II      Invicta League

Maidstone 3rds won 0-40 away to Cranbrook II  Mid Kent A

Maidstone 4ths lost 32 – 34 at home to Sheppey II    Friendly

Maidstone 5ths lost 0-34 at home to Deal-Betteshanger IV.

Maidstone Vets won 16 – 6 at home to Folkestone Fossils

Great to see Maidstone collecting their first  points of the season in London 2 South in front of a large home crowd. Disappointing however, to see the Mustangs knocked off the top of the Invicta League by a heavy reversal at the hands of Beckenham II, last year’s league winners.  However, this may well prove to be the most challenging fixture of the season for the Mustangs so there is still everything to play for.  Meanwhile, Maidstone A carried on where they left off last year, with an emphatic away win over local rivals Cranbrook II.  Maidstone IV under-estimated a young Sheppey 2^nd team that, having arrived 2 short, showed rank ingratitude after Maidstone lent them a player to even up the numbers, by winning with the last kick off the game. This was despite 17yr old No 8, Josh Pankhurst scoring 4 tries on his debut for Maidstone.  Up on the Park meanwhile, the 5ths were mauled by an experienced and grizzled old DB Lions team that contained however, sufficient young legs to run in 5 or 6 unanswered tries.   Equally grizzled but without a young leg between them were Maidstone Vets, who despatched Folkestone Fossils in a tight game on the field but whom sadly, were then subjected to a nasty and unprovoked attack upon their man of the match, Richard Weston, who was forced to stand on a chair in the club-house and consume a king-size mars bar concealed in what looked like a pint of Guinness (but which was probably far nastier). I guess that’s just the kind of uncivilized behaviour you have to expect from clubs that play their rugby so close to France but it would be a shame if it took hold in other parts of Kent.

Next Week’s Games

There are only 5 matches next week (30^th) as the Mustangs were unable to get a fixture in time and are resting.  With the 1sts away at Andover and the 3rds away at Aylesford III, star billing at home goes to Maidstone IV in their opening League game against Aylesford IV.  Also at home will be Maidstone V as they look for their first win under new skipper Martin Carr against Gravesend V in Mid Kent D.   The Vets travel to Dartfordians for what is always a tough but entertaining fixture against Darts Vets.

Results 17^th Sept 2016

On Saturday I was privileged to visit Sevenoaks and watch the First Team in action in their 3rd League game of the season. By the end of the game, I felt exhausted, just from watching, so goodness knows how the players felt: battered and bruised no doubt - but ultimately triumphant. Sevenoaks are a very good side and having posted a 10-0 lead after as many minutes, their many supporters must have anticipated a rare victory vs their County Town rivals (the club against whom they have played more league matches than any other, as it happens).

Maidstone's players had other ideas and showed no sign of panic as they played their way back into the match, using the wind effectively in the 2nd half to gain ground and take control of the match. The result was still in doubt until the final whistle, which kept both sets of supporters on edge, but victory, when it came was the first away win vs Sevenoaks for Skipper, Ben Williams, and very welcome on the occasion of his 100th match as Club Captain.

Thanks to Sevenoak's statistician extraordinaire Howard Pearl, I can reveal that this was the 25th league game between the two clubs and the tally now stands at 19 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses - in Maidstone's favour I'm pleased to say. I'm also pleased to say, especially as a former Sevenoaks player myself, that it's a very friendly rivalry based above all, on mutual respect. 

On the occasion of Ben William’s 100th match as skipper it’s just worth pausing a moment to reflect on Ben’s contribution to the club, since joining as a 5 year old.    Ben bleeds Red, black and white.  He was part of a hugely successful Youth team under Pete Barford that dominated the Kent Youth League and Cups throughout their teenage years.  As soon as he was able, he joined the senior section and played in the lower ranks or Mustangs or 1^st Team, mainly back-row in those days.  He played for Hartpury College whilst a student and then relocated to Chester where he played Back-row or Prop for Chester in the national leagues but there was never any doubt (social media being what it is these days) that his passion was for Maidstone Rugby.  Nor was there any doubt that upon returning to the Maidstone area that he would become Maidstone’s 1^st Team Skipper and from day one, he was always going to be the Club Captain, rather than just captain of the First Team.  Nor let there ever be any doubt but that he could walk into the First Team of any other club in Kent and be welcomed with open arms, so the fact that he has pinned his colours so firmly to Maidstone’s mast speaks volumes for his commitment to the cause and should be a huge inspiration to young players coming through our Youth Section. Of course, it has not been all one-way traffic and Ben has enjoyed a large measure of success with Maidstone in League and Cup and at the head of some terrific teams, on the road to the realisation of an ambition to restore Maidstone to its former position in the very front rank of Kent clubs.   100 matches is a significant number in anyone’s book.   Congratulations Ben.

On to the more prosaic:

Saturday approached and we were in the very unusual position of having two home games and only one referee. Rather than cancel either of the two fixtures, I worked on the assumption that eventually SOMEONE would take a whistle and referee the match with no ref.   As luck would have it, a Lordswood supporter spoke to Bob, (our one ref for the day) and volunteered the information that he used to be a ref himself.  Before he knew what was happening, he had been given a whistle and a pair of shorts and was on the field to referee the Babas vs Lordswood II match, which by all accounts he did very well.   He yellow-carded James Greengrow in the 1^st half (someone must have given him cards to go with the whistle) and in the 2^nd half he yellow carded our old “friend” Sean Evans for repeated tackling without use of his arms.  To find a player as powerful as Sean Evans in the opposing team when one turns out for a bottom-division league game is never going to be much fun, so well done to the Babas under stand-in skipper Colin Frost, for sticking to the task and scoring a couple of tries of their own along the way.

The Vets meanwhile, in the 1^st League game of their 30+ years history, lost to Dover IV and sustained a few injuries in the process, which hopefully will not prevent them coming back for more:  (Stop press: Following Tuesday’s selection, the Vets and Babas will need to amalgamate for Saturday’s fixture vs Vigo III and drop the away fixture at Snowdown, which is disappointing in the 2^nd week of the season, but its early days for old bones to be on hard-pitches.)

Subscriptions

A quick word about membership subs. 

Running a rugby club becomes more expensive by the day.  Having not increased subs for over 3 years, we have decided to make a small increment for senior players from £18 pcm to £20pcm.  However, the much better news is that for anyone who sets up a one off payment by Direct Debit before the 4^th October (which will be debited on 15^th Oct) or who pays over the bar by cash, cheque or card by 4^th Oct) the playing sub will be discounted to £175 for the year.  Remember, there are no match fees to pay, so access to all of the club’s facilities and Physio etc, not to mention RFU insurance cover, will be secured by your payment.  Also, we are taking delivery this week of a brand new Epos Till system, so in future, paid up members will receive a membership card that will secure discounts on bar-purchases etc.

If you don’t want to take advantage of the one-off payment opportunity, then you still need to have your monthly DD in place by 4^th October.

See the Membership Tab on the home-page for further details and access to the online DD signup.

See below for news round-up from Sept 17^th 2006

RE

Fixtures 24^th Sept 2016

Weekly News Roundup 17^th September 06

Results

Maidstone 1 lost 44-15 away to Sutton & Epsom    London 2 South

Mustangs won 43-14 away to Dartfordians II      Invicta League

Maidstone 3rds won 34 – 8 at home to Folkkestone II    Friendly

Maidstone 4ths lost 34 -12  away to Whitstable

Maidstone 5ths lost 12-0 away to Whitstable III.

Very pleasing to see The Mustangs unbeaten after 3 away matches. (2 of them in the league.)  Next week will be a big test of their title winning credentials, when they travel to last year’s Invicta League champions, Beckenham II, who are also unbeaten this season.  A win for the Mustangs would be a great boost to their campaign for 2006 – 7.

The fortunes of the 4^th team and 5^th team at Whitstable this week, were both impaired by a shortage of players on the day that probably cost both sides their game. This was due partly to some late cry-offs, which though sometimes unavoidable, are nevertheless damaging and disappointing for a team and its skipper and it was also due in part to some no-shows from players who had said the previous week that they would be available.

Please could all players check the web-site for team selections every week and then text or email the skipper concerned to confirm that you will be turning up.  That way, the skipper can tick you off his list and he should only have to make phone calls to one or two stragglers each week.  Its one text or email from each of you or fifteen phone calls for him, so please help to make his job a little easier.

Next Week’s Games

There should be a programme of 6 fixtures for next week, with the Vets making their traditional later start in the hope that the pitches will have softened a little (Some hope !!). Currently the 5ths have no fixture listed, but there should be no difficulty in finding something suitable on the Fixture Exchange.

The Firsts and Mustangs both entertain Beckenham in League fixtures, the Firsts at home and The Mustangs away. The 3rds kick off the defence of their Mid Kent A League Title with an away match at Cranbrook II whilst the 4ths have a home friendly against Sheppey II.  Maidstone’s Vets play Folkestone’s Fossils and will hope to despatch a 3^rd Folkestone team in 3 weeks, (Maidstone 4ths and 3rds having already beaten Folkestone’s 3rds and 2nds.

Next Saturday sees the start of a series of invitation days, whereby all age groups from U7s to U15s have been invited by the club to attend a First Team League match in order to experience the excitement and competitiveness of Senior Rugby played at this level. Our guests next Saturday for the Beckenham game will be the U7s and U8s and their parents and coaches.  As well as some light refreshment before the game, a highlight of the pre-match build-up will be An Audience With 1^st team manager Shaun Neaves, who will be previewing the game and will also be happy to answer all but the most personal questions from his young audience.  If you should meet any of our young guests and/or their parents/coaches during their visit, I hope they will be made to feel very welcome.

Lastly, looking ahead, it is never too early to be assembling your costume for the Bavarian Night to be held on 25^th November. This is guaranteed to be an outstanding evening’s entertainment at the club, (as anyone who remembers the last one, 20 years ago will know)  Lederhosen will be at a premium on the night so make sure that you secure yours early, by hook or by crook. (I can promise you, having spent much of my child-hood wearing lederhosen, that they are a practical, stylish and hard-wearing addition to anyone’s ward-robe, so its worth investing in a good pair). Incidentally, its also a great chance for your WAGS to dress up in a  Dirndl outfit and  fulfil their Sound of Music fantasies.  Perhaps we should invite Andrew Lloyd-Webber?

RE

Results  10^th September 2016  

OK, I know that the season started for most of you back in August but Saturday 10^th was my first rugby outing and effectively the start of the season as far as the Round-Up is concerned.

This means that I missed out on reporting on the pre-season training fixtures; on last week’s agonizingly narrow loss to Tunbridge Wells and most importantly,  on how much beer was drunk by our Vets at the Ashford Vets Tournament and Beer Festival, aided and abetted as they were by Craig’s older Barbarians.

However, making up for lost time, I am pleased to report that Saturday was a good day’s rugby for the club, with the First Team winning in emphatic style for the enjoyment of the sun-drenched spectators, the Mustangs losing by a similar scoreline to TJ 2nds on the bottom pitch but performing with great credit and the Vets/Baba combination producing a win at Weavering for new skipper Neil cole.

Maybe it’s the new fixture board by the main gate, doing its stuff but I spoke to a number of new spectators around the touch-line (whilst selling programmes) and it was very pleasing to welcome them to the club for what is a very entertaining and cheap afternoon out.  Tell all your friends: they might just enjoy it too.

Glad to see that Will Massey took the Spectator’s Biddenden Vineyards MotM award again.   His performances are always dynamic but this week his dynamism was supplemented by 3 tries to his personal tally. Ben Williams also got a couple and to his own amazement, Danny Baker bagged his own yearly tally by scoring under the posts from a full 10 metres out.

Whilst on the subject of front-row, the Mustangs sported a giant (albeit inexperienced) front-row comprising Matt Cooper and James Bicker, with Harry Cole suspended between them.   (although there was also the considerable back-up option of swapping a far-from inexperienced Mayhem into the mix) Bearing in mind that it was James’ first ever outing at prop and they were up against National League standard opposition in TJs 2^nd team, it was an outstanding effort and overall, despite conceding a number of tries, it was a performance to make the manager and coach very proud of the Mustangs in their first match of the season.  

Whilst on the subject of make-shift front-rows, if I had been forced to guess the line-up for the Vets versus Weavering, I would probably have exhausted all mathematical possibilities before naming Gary Whitehead at prop and David Ruaux alongside him at hooker.  However, it seems to have paid off (apart from Gary rupturing an Achilles when kicked from behind by his own 2^nd row) but apart from that small matter, at least they recorded the first win of Neil’s tenure before venturing into the new territory of League rugby for the Vets, when they entertain Dover IV at home.

Neil is the kind of skipper I like, having produced a makeshift match-report as follows:

El capitain here. 
well thats my 100% record gone. we won!! 
29-19 
tries from 
gary whitehead = 2 
matt = 2 
lee = 1 
micky walker = 2 conversions 
We kicked off with an assortment of players. Some new, some playing out of position and consisting of both barbars and vets. 
New player Matt colins had a great 1st game playing the first half on the wing with a try and the second half in the centre again scoring a well finished try. 
The other newbe Jeffery was hoping and expecting to play in the backs so we played him at second row! where he was totally at sorts with scrums and lineout but he took instuction and advice really well and almost scored with a break straight through the middle of the park. 
We saw David Ruaux​​ turn out who took one for the team by playing hooker and apart from his lineout throws had a great game. 
We also saw Gary Whitehead​​ play prop who again had a great game with a brace of trys. 
The other try was scored by winger Lee Morrison who scored a well finished try, showing both pace and strength by driving and bargging his way past the fulback with only a foot of touch line to spare, finally going over in the corner (a true wingers try). 
Mick Walker​​ had his kicking boots on with some great kicks to touch keeping the pressure on weavering and two drop kick conversions. 
There were too many players and too many things to mention but overall it was a good performance from a team that was put together by craig and myself whilst sitting on the pitch 15min before KO.

NEXT WEEK

There are fixtures scheduled for the First Team, Barbarians and Vets next week.  The Mustangs have only 16 League matches this season, so we will be looking for a suitable friendly for them this week, to help prepare for the start of the league programme the following week.

RE

Fixtures 17^th Sept 2016

Weekly round up for Sept 12^th 2006

Senior News Round-Up  12^th September

Weekend Results

First Team lost 0-5 at home to Old Colfeians (League)

Mustangs won 17-3 away to Tonbridge Judds II (League)

Thirds thrashed Llanishen 21-17 on their tour week-end in Wales

Fourths won 36-0 away to Folkestone III (Friendly)

Club Day - Cricket & Pig Roast

Don’t miss the action photos and very entertaining match report from JS under the Social Section of the Web-site.

Thanks are due in particular to Jon Sargent for getting the event off the ground and making it a success and to Wendy and her helpers for the excellent catering. Thanks are due also to The Mote Cricket Club for providing facilities for the day, so it was pleasing to see them reap the benefit in terms of substantial bar-takings.

Next Week (16^th Sept) sees 5 senior sides in action, with League games for the Firsts against Sutton & Epsom and for the Mustangs against Dartfordians II. The thirds play at home against Folkestone II and the 4ths and 5ths travel to Whitstable to play their 2nds and 3rds.  All fixtures have been confirmed at time of writing.

2006-7 handbooks have now been printed and should be available for distribution next week. We will be aiming to distribute as many as possible by hand to save on postage.

RE