Games of rugby are usually won when you have territory and possession from which to launch attacks.
Maidstone had little of either, which allowed an athletic and well-drilled CS side to dictate proceedings. What possession Maidstone did get was turned over all too often and the many unforced errors and indecisions in possession made the task for CS Rugby that much easier, allowing them to win at a canter.
Maidstone were never really in the game and whilst the forwards held their own in the set-piece, ultimately they were out-gunned by a CS Rugby side that consistently made the gain line and used their back-line effectively to cut through the mid-field Maidstone defence.
The attacking intent by CS Rugby was evident early on in the game when a Maidstone cover tackle thwarted what would have been a certain try out wide on the right wing. However, the first CS Rugby score came on the 5 minute mark, when the CS Rugby scrum-half went through the gap at the ruck, where you would normally expect a guard to be, to run in unopposed.
The next score came from a penalty infringement by Maidstone for hands in the ruck that set up a catch and drive from the line-out that although stopped initially, allowed re-cycled ball to be fed along the CS rugby back-line for their winger to score in the corner. The successful conversion brought the score to 0-12.
A knock-on from the tackle by Maidstone and the subsequent scrum on the Maidstone 22, led to the 3rd try by CS Rugby scored by the outside centre having skipped through a number of tackles to cut back in under the posts. This was duly converted to make the score line 0-19 after 25 minutes of play. A penalty awarded to CS Rugby for an off-side infringement was converted by the CS Rugby full-back to increase the score to 0-22.
The first half ended with a piece of individual skill by the CS Rugby fly-half who cross-kicked to the right wing to catch and score un-contested in the right hand corner. Despite a couple of runs from the forwards and an opportunity by Maidstone to put the ball through the hands from the opposition 15m line (that they chose to kick-through), the half clearly belonged to CS Rugby having scored 27 unanswered points.
The second -half started untidily with Maidstone finding it increasingly difficult to get out of their own 22. However, another penalty infringement allowed CS Rugby to extend their lead from a line-out catch and drive, scored by the CS Rugby second-row.
To Maidstone’s credit, the showed plenty of effort and endeavour but could not break the CS Rugby defence, even when they tried to move the ball wide. They had some success in taking the ball up through the 10-12 channel by the forwards only for a mistake or error to stop the attack and hand advantage back to the opposition.
The last score by CS Rugby came from a counter-attack by the full-back following turn-over ball that was eventually fed to the scrum- half to run in and pick up his brace of tries.
Maidstone then had their best passage of play, where they put pressure on the CS Rugby pack through a number of catch and drives and close quarter attacks but could not manage to breach the line. It took until the last moments of the game for the consistent, Pankhurst to cut one of his trademark lines to score under the posts.
This was scant consolation for a game that was effectively lost in the first 20 minutes but allowed Maidstone the last word and avoid being ‘nilled’ by the opposition.
Maidstone: Ben Williams; Josh Pankhurst; Tom Mount; Adam Knight, Matt Iles; Ben Knight, Lewis Stimpson, Ben Brill; Jack Leech; Euan Caborn; Matt Moore; George Perry; Ryan Copp; Vaki Antoniou; Rory Beech.
Replacements: Ashley Gilligan; Rob Field; Lucian Morosan (all used).
Report by Andy Golding.