Maidenhead hoping surprise result or two sets them on the path to survival

Maidenhead winger Drew Prince in action against Farnham. Photo: Paul Morgan

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Maidenhead will look to wriggle themselves further clear of the predicament they find themselves in when they welcome promotion chasers Tunbridge Wells to Braywick Park on Saturday.

Maids remain in the mire, a couple of points above the bottom two automatic relegation places with three games left to play.

They have though lifted themselves out of the bottom two for now with last weekend’s 26-24 win over Farnham at home. Max Thomas scored the winning try with virtually the last play of the game and it might yet prove to be the decisive moment in Maidenhead’s survival battle.

Any point they get against Tunbridge Wells would be a bonus, given the disparity between the teams so far this season. Tunbridge Wells have 13 wins to Maidenhead’s five, but Maids also have spirit in abundance and favour playing on their own ground, so perhaps they can produce another eye-catching result.

“Any bonus point we get now makes their job tougher,” said Maids’ head coach David Mobbs-Smith. 

“It gives us a chance of wriggling out of this predicament we’re in. Wimbledon are safe.

“Their question is are they catching Worthing or is one of us still playing them. That’s the equation. The bookies would say Wimbledon will be hosting one of us.

“This coming week we’re at home to Tunbridge Wells. They’re flying high, very ambitious and that’s a very tough game, but on the same weekend, Hammersmith are away at London Scottish and Camberley are away at Jersey. So, anything we can get out of our game, must be huge as it adds the pressure more for the following fixtures.”

He added: “We have to play Tunbridge Wells, Old Alleynians and CS Stags who are all in the top five and they’re there for a reason. They’re good teams. The bookies would say they’re favourites. CS Stags and Old Alleynians, and they’ve won the exact same number of matches as Farnham.

“They might be two positions above them in the league, but that’s because of bonus points. When you’re playing London Scottish and Jersey.

“They haven’t lost a match Jersey and London Scottish have won 15 matches. Tunbridge Wells aren’t far behind. They’re all very good sides who don’t lose often home or away.”

A point or two here or there could make all the difference and their rivals in the bottom two, Camberley and Hammersmith & Fulham will also be feeling the pressure to get something - anything from their remaining matches to try and catch Maids and finish in 10th.

That’s the best any of these sides can hope for now, with Wimbledon having hauled themselves clear off the back of several strong results.

They’ll still not be safe from relegation, with a play-off to follow the end of the season to see which of the Regional 1 South Central teams will take on an aspirational and in-form team from the level below. Finishing 10th may yet prove a stay of execution, but Maids and their rivals desperately want those extra matches to try and prove themselves worthy of remaining at this level.

Maids didn’t exactly expect to be down in the bottom three come this stage of the season, and Camberley and Hammersmith will be feeling equally aggrieved to have been pressed down by the quality of the teams above them. Some have defied expectations - like second placed London Scottish and Old Alleynians while others - like Wimbledon, Maidenhead and Camberley have performed below what was expected of them.

Maids’ main problem this season - aside from their disappointing away form - has been an inability to pick up bonus points from defeats. Just a few more would have made a world of difference.

“If you can score four tries in a game, you have a chance of winning that match,” added Mobbs-Smith. “And if you don’t you at least get a bonus point. That would obviously be our target.

“But the last time we won a league game without the four try bonus point was Horsham away at the start of the 2024 season.

“When we win rugby matches we score four tries. That’s what happened against Farnham. If we’d only scored three tries, we would have lost, but we managed to get four and win. That’s what we do.

“For the fans this new format is exciting and for the players it’s motivational. This adaption the league has made (relegation and promotion play-offs) has worked.

“Tunbridge Wells are coming to us third in the table, and they’d have nothing to play for normally because Jersey are 21 points ahead of them. But they’re trying to get a home tie in the second and third playoff game.

“Arguably that will make it tougher for us because the sides that are still in the hunt to achieve something are the top four. Old Alleynians are 10 points behind Tunbridge Wells, but let’s say we beat Tunbridge Wells and they won also, they’d only be five points behind and in the hunt for the play-offs with two games to go. That’s the beauty of this change, and it does make the league more exciting, but it also adds pressure because you’re more likely to be playing a team that has something to play for.”