Front row fallout: Injuries derail Maidenhead's momentum in Bracknell defeat

Drew Prince scoring his try on Saturday. Photo: Paul Morgan

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Maidenhead were beset by further injury problems across their front row on Saturday which head coach David Mobbs-Smith felt was a factor in the side’s 26-14 loss to Bracknell at Lily Hill Park.

While not blaming the injuries entirely for the result, he does feel Maids would have been closer to their hosts on the scoreboard had prop forward Elio Mandozzi not departed in the early minutes after picking up an injury while scrummaging.

Forward Jake Leech was also forced off after half an hour, having started the match with a slight injury. These issues heaped pressure on front row forwards Josh Nicol and Arif Akinyemi who struggled to give Maids a competitive edge at set pieces.

While injuries played a part, Mobbs-Smith added that sloppy defensive play also contributed to their downfall. Trailing 21-7 at the break, the visitors found some answers to those problems in the second half – dominating the ball and territory - however, they only managed to get two tries on the board through Drew Prince and Max Keller.

The head coach said his side deserved a losing bonus point for their spirited second half fightback but didn’t do enough to win the match.

He said: “Injury was a factor in the game itself as Elio Mandozzi was injured in the first scrum.

“We lost our capability of being able to rotate our props.

“That meant both Joshua Nicol and Arif Akinyemi had to play the whole game, while they rotated their front row. And Jake Leech was playing with a slight injury, so he could only make the first half an hour. That put us under immense pressure, but the boys held up.

“The reason we probably lost is because they scored a couple of easy tries in the first half, with the one they created well and that gave them a 21-0 lead.

“We slowly clawed our way back into the game but couldn’t finish that off in the second half, even though we had a massive territory and possession advantage in the second half.

“We were camped in their half, but we just couldn’t finish the game to get back close enough to them to possibly win it.

“As I said, it might have been a better story to have got two tries with all the pressure we put on, but even if we’d managed one try that would have given us a bonus point. Had we got that it would have been a truer reflection of what the game was. We played some great stuff and it’s a tough place go and score because the pitch isn’t very wide. If you give someone a lead, it’s tough to hunt them down there.

“It was a very close game in that context. The game was closer than the score, but they will be happy to have kept us out from getting a bonus point. I think they’re in a similar position to us in terms of a few key injuries, which is hurting them.

“They’re also fighting for points themselves and that's part of the rugby scenario. How do you deal with those injuries and keep the club moving forward when you’re missing key players.

“It’s just a factor of rugby and how you manage that, but I felt the team put in a heroic performance, it’s just Bracknell defended marginally better than we did and that was the slight difference in the score.”

It’s been a rollercoaster start to the Regional 1 South Central Division season for Maids. They kicked off with a surprisingly heavy 67-0 defeat away to CS Stags – who’ve established themselves at the top alongside favourites Jersey RFC. Maids bounced back brilliantly to beat Hammersmith & Fulham 47-15, with Luke Hayward scoring a hat-trick of tries, and while Saturday’s clash at Brackenll was more competitive, the hosts never really looked like relinquishing the lead they built up in the first half an hour.

Maids now have a two-week break until Camberley visit Braywick Park on Saturday, October 4. Like Maids, they’ve made a surprisingly inconsistent start, conceding 54 points away in losing at Worthing and 45 points in a home loss to newly promoted London Scottish Lions. However, they did manage to tighten their backline in Saturday’s 19-12 home win over Farnham.

“The CS game was a bit of a shock to the system, not the defeat but the margin of the defeat and the style of the defeat,” said Mobbs-Smith. “The Bracknell game was a tight defeat and sometimes you just don’t win those kinds of matches away from home. A big portion of the crowd stand behind the goal posts and it’s like they’re a 16th defender. That makes it tough.

“The home win was a fantastic performance against Hammersmith & Fulham and now we have two big games coming in the first weeks of October at home to Camberley, which will be a real test, and away to Jersey, which is probably the biggest test of the season.”