A lovely spring day at Swanswood saw Vigo progress to the final of the vets Shield with a hard fought victory over Maidstone. A good crowd cam to cheer on the side put together and captained by Brad Powell in what was to be his last game. Obviously, his ‘retirement’ has been put on hold, perhaps fitting then that his swan song will now be in the Shield Final on the 13th April.
A scrappy opening saw both sides feeling their way, almost gingerly into the game, the ball stubbornly refusing to stay in anyone’s grasp for any passage of time. I expect there were a few on both sides who hadn’t played for a while and the concept of having to catch the ball and progress at more than stately speed for any distance was a tad discombobulating and outside the comfort zone of these ageing warriors. Eventually, however, Vigo did actually manage to put together a decent passing move, Mark Robinson entering the line from full back and making about 60 yards before being hammered by a great cover tackle by Maidstone’s defence. But this got Vigo on to the front foot, but with a scrum to Maidstone. However, Maidstone’s stand off shanked his clearing kick and the ball dropped invitingly into the arms of Matt Griffiths on the 22. The doughty winger ran round Maidstone’s flat-footed defence to score in the corner.
Maidstone immediately fought back, themselves suddenly finding their hands to move the ball to Will Silver on their left wing. Showing indecent haste for an alleged veteran, off shot Mr. Silver making about 40 metres before being hauled down. But Maidstone got a little bit over-enthusiastic and gave away a penalty allowing Nick McPherson the chance to clear the lines . Maidstone attacked again but lost the ball in contact. John Kelly, a fearsome prospect in the centre, was quickly on the ball and fed Nick McPherson who strode away to the line. Again, Maidstone responded well – a pattern they were to show all match – forcing Vigo to defend their line. Good defence by Vigo forced a turn over, but Maidstone were showing themselves to be worthy opponents. An injury allowed your correspondent the chance of a comfort break, and needless to say, no doubt down to the expert ministrations of Marissa the Miracle Worker, the injury break was negligible and as your correspondent was about to find relief, McPherson scampered through the Maidstone defence for a fine (allegedly) individual try, having to hold the pose until the photographer was able to sprint (well, jog …ok, amble back) to be able to record it with his Kodak Instamatic (not a euphemism). Dan Norton converted for a handy 17-0 lead. There was still time for Maidstone to once again threaten, scrum half David Tugwell, almost catching Vigo napping with a sharp break down the blindside, thwarted by a desperate last ditch tackle by Matt Griffiths.
Vigo began the second half on the front foot, attacking Maidstone on a broad front. Perhaps they wanted to entertain the crowd with some intricate moves, but it was a case of willing spirit, not-so-compliant flesh as some ambitious moves came to nought, Maidstone certainly not entertaining any nonsense with some forthright tackling. Tom Lane putting in some diligent defence as Vigo tried to break loose. But Vigo remained on the front foot and were able to put Brad Powell away on a curving line only to be brought down with a superb tackle by Lane again. Vigo recycled the ball moving it Huw Thomas on the right wing. Thomas made ground before chipping an intelligent kick into the corner. Needless to say, the ball bounced wickedly off the hard surface, eluding the covering Maidstone defender, and there was Ash Smart, who had a great game, to plunge onto the ball for a fine try.
Once again, Maidstone shrugged off this setback and attacked Vigo with some venom, but a loose pass gave Norton the chance to find a superb touch and relieve any pressure that was building. Maidstone tried hard to get back and were in the process of building a coherent attack, only to lose the ball in contact. Vigo counter-attacked, McPherson – much to the delight of the (by now) well lubricated crowd - did a cheeky through-the-legs reverse pass to John Kelly who stormed over. Almost from the kick off, Vigo added to their lead. Dave Dunn made the initial burst with a typical beefy surge. Maidstone managed to halt that attack, again with great defence, but Vigo simply recycled the ball quickly, popped it down the backs where Huw Thomas was waiting on the wing. Thomas’ pace was too much for Maidstone’s cover and over he went in the corner, superbly converted by Norton.
The crowd were now in full voice, no doubt aided and abetted by copious amounts of electric soup (alcohol to you), but that only seemed to wind Maidstone up and back they came hard. Vigo could not afford to relax, but perhaps they did, and Maidstone showed they were not to be trifled with. A chip through saw the ball evade the grasp of Vigo’s cover and James Ferris was able to latch onto the ball for a thoroughly deserved try. That shut the crowd up for – well, a nano-second or two – but they were soon back to full voice, celebrating a typical Dave Dunn try, breaking from the back of the scrum and blasting through a startled Maidstone defence for his obligatory try.
Maidstone knew by now that the game was up but carried on with the spirit one would expect from a fine club. They came hard, Ash Smart especially prominent in defence, but Maidstone kept coming and gained just reward with a very well worked try, Dan McNeery spearing through Vigo’s defence for a fine try. Appropriately, the excellent Tom Lane kicked the conversion , a second before Adam Hollins, who had a very good match, blew for time.

Vigo team: M.Robinson; H.Thomas, S.Henry, J.Kelly, M.Griffiths; N.McPherson, B.Powell (capt.); D.Norton, M.Endene, D.Cox; A.Smart, W.Mace; G.Cole, J.Townsend; D.Dunn
Replacements (all used) P.Sewell, A.Hatzidakis, J.Davis, J.Morgan, S.Carter

Referee: Adam Hollins (Kent)

Scorers: Vigo: Tries: M.Griffiths (15’), N.McPherson (25’,35’), A.Smart (52’), J.Kelly (60’), H.Thomas (63’), D.Dunn (72’). Cons: D.Norton (2). Maidstone: tries: J.Ferris (72’), D.McNeery (80’). Cons: T.Lane (1)

The Vets will be playing against Blackheath in the Vets Shield Final at Maidstone on Sunday 13th April. Kick off 13.45. Car Park entry is £5 per car