Stags just lose out

Newbury Stags are just beaten by second in the table Maidenhead II in a closely fought good game of rugby

NEWBURY STAGS 24 v 26 MAIDENHEAD II

Stags just lose out

Sat 7th April 3pm KO - Wadworth 6X BBO Div 1

Newbury Stags are just beaten by second in the table Maidenhead II in a closely fought good game of rugby

A much-changed Newbury Stags squad fight to the end but just lose out by 2 points to second in the table Maidenhead II in a good hard-fought game of rugby

Maidenhead kick off Stags return to touch, from the lineout Maidenhead win a penalty, their kick doesn’t find touch allowing Stags to run the ball getting a penalty at the tackle which is kicked to touch still in their own half, from the lineout Ben Sherratt makes good ground and Stags get a penalty which is kicked to touch in Maidenheads 22. Stags attack from the lineout but spill the ball at the tackle, Maidenhead kick clear, Stags gather and Timothy Roach makes good ground before putting a chip kick over the defence, Maidenhead kick clear under pressure, Stags again run at the Maidenhead defence and get a penalty which is kicked to touch in Maidenheads 22. Maidenhead steal the lineout and kick to touch just outside their 22.
Stags win the lineout just and attack but play comes back for a Maidenhead knock on in the tackle,
from the scrum Stags attack Jamie Futcher making good yards, Stags win a penalty at the tackle which is just wide of the posts. Maidenhead take the 22 drop out kick, stags gather and a good Duncan Craigen run takes play back into Maidenheads 22 before Maidenhead manage to steal possession and put up a high kick which they manage to regather but go into touch on half way.
Stags again attack from the lineout but cough up possession allowing Maidenhead to kick clear, Stags gather and set off on another attack winning a scrum on half way when Maidenhead knock on in the tackle, Stags attack from the scrum but a loose pass is intercepted by Maidenhead who run the 65 yds to score and convert 16 mins 0-7

Stags restart and manage to regain possession and win a penalty which is kicked to touch, lineout won Stags spread the ball wide through the backs Jamie Futcher getting into Maidenheads 22, Stags win a penalty which is kicked to touch, Stags forwards pick and drive from the lineout winning another penalty which is kicked to touch, Stags again attack from the lineout getting another penalty and Maidenhead get a yellow, Stags take the scrum and their forwards pick and drive through several phases before James Baker breaks through to score 5-7 25 mins

Stags gather the restart kick and run the ball but a loose pass is picked up by Maidenhead who attack making ground before a knock on gives Stags a scrum, Stags run the ball but a knock on gives Maidenhead a scrum, Maidenhead put pressure on the Stags defence before getting tackled into touch, Maidenhead steal the lineout and get up to the try line but are held up, Maidenhead win the scrum and attack winning a penalty, Stags get a yellow, from the penalty scrum Maidenhead make the break through to score and convert 5-14 35 mins

Stags restart kick is caught by Maidenhead but a good chase by Stags results in a penalty to them, Will Carlisle slots the kick into touch, Stags win the lineout and spread the ball wide through Tom Carlisle to Sasha Efimov to Jamie Futcher who runs the touchline and release’s a pass in the tackle to Timothy Roach who cuts a great line to score, Will Carlisle converts 12-14 38 mins

Maidenhead kick off Stags gather and run but lose the ball in the tackle, Maidenhead attack but a forward pass stops them 5m short, Stags are unlucky to knock on at the scrum giving Maidenhead a 5m scrum, from the scrum Maidenhead spread the ball out wide quickly to score, 12-19 half time

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Stags kick off the second half, Maidenhead kick to touch, Stags win a scrum at the lineout and from the scrum spread the ball wide for Ben Sherratt to score wide out on the right, 17-19 44 mins

Maidenhead take the restart kick Stags gather and run, Maidenhead infringe at the tackle giving Stags a penalty scrum, from the scrum Stags run the ball but a knock on gives Maidenhead a scrum, from the scrum Maidenhead attack through several phases and win a penalty which they kick to touch, Maidenhead attack from the lineout but lose the ball allowing Stags to kick clear, Maidenhead knock into touch. Stags win the lineout and run the ball but get held up in the tackle giving Maidenhead a scrum, from the scrum Maidenhead clear to touch.
Stags win the lineout and a good passage of attacking rugby results in Duncan Craigen making good ground before passing to Georg Anderson to break the tackles to score Will Carlisle kicks the conversion 24-19 60 mins

Maidenhead have the better of the next few minutes spending most of it camped in Stags half, but again good Stags defence keeps them out and eventually they get the ball and win a penalty which they kick to touch, from the lineout Stags attack but lose the ball, Maidenhead run out of defence getting a penalty at the tackle which is kicked to touch, from the lineout their forwards maul the remaining yards to score plus convert 24-26 70 mins,

Neither side are able to add to their score although Maidenhead have the best of the last few minutes spending it camped in Stags 22, eventually they kick to touch to bring the final whistle to a good hard fought game of rugby

Newbury Stags Squad
Paul Sayers, George Anderson, Aaron Johnston, Duncan Craigen, Stephen Ansell, Alex Weekes,
Steve Denner, James Baker, Henry Meredith, Will Carlisle, Ben Sherratt, Tom Carlisle,
Sasha Efimov, Jamie Futcher, Timothy Roach, Nigel Swan, Joe Salazar, Tony Hart,

Stags final league game is away on 21st April at Chinnor III