The players of Maidstone Rugby Club were elated as they won the RFU Intermediate Cup Final at Twickenham.

For Maidstone it was a dominant success over Bridgnorth as they ran out 31-18 winners scoring four tries to two, and having lead at one point by 31-6.

Head coach Paul Hathaway was an extremely happy man after the game. “I am so proud what we’ve achieved today,” he told KSN.

“It’s the end of a three year trip since we were last here, and for those involved in that defeat, today is definitely for them.”

“I thought that we controlled the game and fully deserved the win. Wasn’t too impressed the way we switched off when we had the 25 point lead, but I’m not going to get too upset now am I?”

Another very happy man was the Maidstone skipper Ben Williams who arrived in the interview area with two lots of ice on his mind – the first was a huge icepack strapped to his left knee, and the second was the “ice” that he knew finance Jo was now wearing after accepting the skipper’s proposal of marriage after the game.

“What a day!” he said, “It’s been a long journey and we’ve been to some dark places, so I think that today is finally closure on the last final.”

“We were so focused on today, which is a great end to our season and we try and get back up in with the big boys. Anyway, I’ve got to keep going as I’ve now got a wedding to pay for!”

Two tries in each half saw Maidstone run up that impressive 31-6 lead with a quarter of an hour to go as Ollie Newton, Alex Eastwood and Josh Pankhurst all crossed for tries in the first half before Eddie Cranston added the cherry on Maidstone’s cake ten minutes into the second half.

Scrum half Ben Pitken seemed surprised when praised for his performance. “It was a nice finish to what has been a long slog.”

“We knew that we had the speed and our speed from the rucks today was terrific and it was joy to play alongside.”

When asked if his side and his own first half performance was as good as it had been this season, coach Hathaway, replied for his number nine, “He’s played well this year, but yes I do think that today’s opening 40 minutes was just about the best 40 minutes of rugby that he’s played this season!”

Pictures supplied by Jake Whitehead.