Mobbs-Smith: 'Time for Maidenhead RFC's young stars to shine amid injury crisis'

Maidenhead Rugby Club head coach David Mobbs-Smith has issued a rallying call for his side’s young stars to 'shine' as the club battles to improve a difficult run of form.

A 50-7 loss away to newly promoted London Scottish Lions on Saturday has seen Maidenhead slump to third from bottom in the Regional 1 South Central.

With almost a third of the season out of the way, it is a ‘worrying’ position for Mobbs-Smith’s outfit. And with the first team suffering injuries to key players, it will be difficult to turn the ship around.

“Will the season continue like this? I don't know,” Mobbs-Smith told the Advertiser.

“It’s been such a topsy-turvy start – I don’t think this would have been the bookies’ prediction at the start of the season.

“Yes, Jersey are at the top. But [CS] Stags, Camberley, Worthing, those types of sides were all up there in the top three or four positions last year – and they’re nowhere near there this year.

“I think it's going to be a very interesting run-up to Christmas, especially with ninth place being a relegation play-off.

“But it is worrying where we are – and the points difference.”

Maidenhead’s defeat at the hands of London Scottish Lions was their third hammering in four away trips this season.

A 67-0 loss to Chiswick-based CS Stags 1863 on the opening day of the season was followed by a 60-12 defeat to current table toppers Jersey Rugby Football Club earlier this month.

The latest defeat leaves Maidenhead with 10 points from seven games, and a points difference of minus 140.

Mobbs-Smith’s side have been more than competitive at home, dispatching Hammersmith and Fulham as well as Wimbledon at Braywick Park.

But the recent Lions’ defeat saw many of their troubles away from home rear up again.

Mobbs-Smith said: “It took almost 20 minutes for the first try, which was theirs, but we’d had a few opportunities and hadn't taken them.

“It was nearly on the half hour when they got another try, so it was quite a tight first half hour – and then they scored two late tries just before halftime.

“That suddenly took the game away and it was 24-0, having been, at the 40-minute mark, 12-0.

“We try to motivate ourselves at halftime, but they dominated from that moment on and it was very hard for us to get back in the game.”

Injuries to first team regulars have not helped, and have meant lengthy spells on the sidelines for captain Alex French, Alex Turton, Alex Ropeti, Ed Atkins, Olly Garratty and Scott Prince.

Mobbs-Smith said: “These were big blows and ones that we can't necessarily replace with a 19-year-old immediately because those guys play an important leadership role.”

Achilles, bicep and knee injuries – so bad that some players are considering their future in the game, according to Mobbs-Smith – mean there is a desperate need for new faces to step up.

“That’s what’s sort of happening, and you can see moments of it in the game, it’s just not there for the full 80 minutes,” Mobbs-Smith said.

“As soon as we start getting it closer to the 80 minutes – particularly away from home – then who knows?

He added: “There’s still a lot of hope in our season.”

Confidence is key for young players and despite Maidenhead’s early troubles, there have been some promising – if fleeting – signs of new talent coming to the fore.

With Maidenhead’s next opponents, seventh-placed Worthing, set to visit Braywick Park on November 8, Mobbs-Smith urged his young players to prove they can deliver.

He said: “It happens in all sports – it’s who fulfils that spot?

“Who’s the next person who steps up?”

“Well, usually, when they’re younger, they're not as good as the fading star that just left.

“It’s then up to them to become that new star.”

He added: “Some of them are just starting to shine and come through, and so hopefully we'll see signs of that against Worthing and the games coming up in the future.”