Edwards proud of Maids' spirit

“It was a fantastic performance, one of real heart and spirit.”

Those were the words of Maidenhead coach Simon Edwards after his side secured an unlikely draw with high-flying Chinnor on Saturday.

Just four short weeks ago Maidenhead’s forwards left Chinnor with their tails between their legs after being pushed all over the park during their 56-6 defeat.

On Saturday they fronted up and almost produced a shock result despite being without captain Mark Ruddick and five other first-choice players.

Edwards was delighted with the performance given the less than ideal pre-match preparations.

He said: “It’s not a good result because at the end of the day we didn’t win.

“But if you consider we were still picking the team late on Friday night, well let’s say it’s a result we hadn’t budgeted for.”

Edwards singled out his pack for special praise.

He added: “There is no question that our forwards were humiliated by Chinnor last month.
“They took it personally and they put it right on Saturday.
“It was a fantastic performance from our pack one of real heart and spirit.
“Warren Abrahams was obviously fantastic because he scored all our points, but games like this aren’t about men of the match, this was all about the collective spirit and commitment we showed.”

The result, while positive, has given an indication of what might have been this season.
Edwards added: “Our whole season has been about what ifs.

“It shows that maybe if we had had everyone fit that we would be top of the league.

“But this is just one of those seasons where everyone can and will beat everyone else.”