Maidenhead & Windsor

Maidenhead Maids ensured that justice was done when they exacted sweet revenge against Oxford Harlequins at Braywick last Saturday.

Back in November, the Maidenhead Maids let victory slip through their fingers at Oxford where they had two match-winning tries disallowed after staging an epic comeback.

Then, the laurels of battle went to No 8 Piers Morgan who scored three of Maidenhead's five tries but then twice had the ref rule out what looked perfectly legitimate touchdowns in the closing stages.

Maidenhead Maids had held a commanding lead at 21-5 after 30 minutes against a side who at that time had not scored a try in 200 minutes of rugby.

On Saturday, the Quins were contained by a Maidenhead side depleted by an injury list which has lengthened with the addition of scrum half Ben Ayres who - like full back Rob Hawkins and backs Danny Martin and Sam Hocking - have been ruled out for the rest of the season.

Maidenhead Maids coach Simon Edwards still faces a dilemma over the full back position. His son Gareth now moves to his natural role at scrum half, having shared the No 15 shirt with Ayres and last week's wearer Stu Mackay whose talents suit him better as a centre.

Happily, skipper and fly-half Mark Ruddick chose this match to score his first try of the season while Morgan, who may well consider himself to have been cheated in the previous encounter, got his own back with the first score of the second game.

A match that lacked lustre but which Maidenhead never looked like losing, saw two small packs cancel each other out in the early stages.

But Maidenhead's superiority in open play combined with their speed and quick hands of the backs, eventually saw them through.

Things looked ominous for Maidenhead Maids when centre Simon Cripps went off with a facial injury after ten minutes, bringing teenager Rob Thomas into action.

Morgan managed to get the only score of the half after 17 minutes, but Ruddick was unable to convert the extra points from a relatively straightforward position.

Maidenhead increased their lead three minutes after the interval through Mackay, Ruddick again missing the chance to stretch the margin.

But three minutes later the Quins cut the lead to five points when their flanker Ali Craddock crossed the line, that kick too going wide of the target.

Ruddick restored the advantage after 54 minutes, catching a ball which popped up into his arms and then racing down the line to score in the corner.

Ironically,from the most difficult of the three conversions he attempted on the day, this one sailed over.

Ruddick added a further penalty in the 72nd minute to complete the scoring and seal the win.

SOUTH WEST ONE

MAIDENHEAD 20 OXFORD HARLEQUINS 5

Maidenhead Maids: Mackay, Douglas, Hammond, Cripps, Nisbet, Ruddick, Edwards, Riley, Craig, Johnston, Gallina, Jones, Vorster, Lowden, Morgan. Subs: Parkhouse, Blackwell, Thomas.

ic Berkshire ~ Maidenhead