NEWS

HEAD COACHES NOTES

Hi all

I’m sure it comes as no surprise that all Rugby activity has been postponed until 14th April and possibly until the end of the season.

The club house is closed.

I would like to thank all of coaches and volunteers that have made this a very enjoyable season and one to remember. We have great bunch of players and very much look forward to next season.

It is a shame the season has ended this way but on behalf of the coaches and volunteers thank you for your support. Keep well and see you all soon.

Best Regards

Lee

NEWS

HEAD COACHS NOTES

Hi all

A great performance by both squads on Sunday ! Showed some great team spirit. With As beating Guildford who are seeded 1 in the Surrey League. The Bs showing a great performance against Camberley.

The game was videoed by Ollie M which is proving very useful. We did a Video session for As last night. I would like to do the same for Bs before training on Sunday for 15 minutes. So meet in the Bombery. . If you want a copy of the video please let me know.

SUNDAY

We are hosting Camelot A squad on Sunday they are currently top of the Hertfordshire League so should be a good match details below. The Bs will still be training.

Thanks Lee

	MAIDENHEAD B
OPPOSITION	Camelot RFC
LOCATION	Maidenhead RFC
MEET	1000
KICK-OFF	TBA
DRESS	Number 1’s

1	Will P
2	Alfie B
3	Dawud M
4	Brandon P
5	George D
6	Sam L
7	Charlie M
8	Maison C
9	Ollie H
10	Raphael S
11	Fin S
12	Will K
13	Ben M
14	Sam R
15	Josh F
Game Changers
	Tom M
	Tom C
	Reggie P
	Will C

CORONA VIRUS

We are keeping a close eye on the situation and will be guided by the government and RFU. One note we shall not be bringing communal water bottles on the pitch anymore. Please bring your own water bottle which is clearly labelled that we can bring on during training and matches. This will the case until further notice. Please ensure the players follow guidelines when getting changed. 

Many Thanks

Lee 

NEWS

HEAD COACHES NOTES

Hi all,

Well a great weekend! I hear some super rugby being played at A & C with many players really stepping up in different positions – great for player development. A shout out also goes out to the 5 players representing Berkshire who beat a strong Middlesex side 24-22. Certainly a game of two halves but the Maidenhead lads did us so proud. I am sure the next set of players will do us equally well.

First and foremost the senior first team are at home against Barnstaple which should be a super match, please try and get down to support!

So onto this weekend. At last we are all together at some point with two matches being played, both A & Bs. The As are playing Guildford and Bs kicking off 1^st against Camberley. Details below.

SQUADS

	MAIDENHEAD A	MAIDENHEAD B
OPPOSITION	Guildford	Camberley
LOCATION	Home (AGP)	Home (AGP)
MEET	1000	0915
KICK-OFF	1115	1000
DRESS	Number 1’s	Number 1’s

	Maidenhead A	Maidenhead B
1	Dawud M	Charlie L
2	Will P	Ellis O
3	Brandon P	Jenson L
4	Maison C	Reggie P
5	George D	Finlay C
6	Sam L	Will M
7	Charlie M	Alfie B
8	Will K	Will C
9	Ollie H	Cyrano T
10	Raphael S	Tom C
11	Fin S	Cam B
12	LJ	Charlie W
13	Ben M	Josh B
14	Sam R	Taylor G
15	Josh F	George G
Game Changers		
16	Tom M	Jakob A
17		John C
		Hugo H

See you all soon,

NEWS

HEAD COACHES NOTES

Hi all

A great Sunday at Newbur. Very pleased we could get many playing after the break due to weather etc. We have a fixture arranged at Amersham and Chiltern this weekend both As and Bs. Well done Josh F for 4 try haul ! Also mention to Tom C for making the crossbar challenge in the wind ! 

Video is not the best of quality but currently being edited I will send the link

We are down to the bear bones of the squad as we have 5 playing for Berkshire against Middlesex so good luck to them. As a result a few changes in the squad. Please let us know if you cannot make it.

Training is on Wednesday as usual.

A&C can be located here.

	MAIDENHEAD A	MAIDENHEAD B
OPPOSITION	Amersham & Chiltern	Amersham & Chiltern
LOCATION	Away	Away
MEET	1015	0915
KICK-OFF	1115	1000
DRESS	Number 1’s	Number 1’s

	Maidenhead A	Maidenhead B
1	Dawud M	Charlie L
2	Alfie B	Ellis O
3	Will P	Jenson L
4	Maison C	Hugo H
5	Reggie P	Finlay C
6	Will C	Will M
7	Sam L	Taylor G
8	Brandon P	Jamie C
9	Raphael S	Cyrano T
10	Tom C	Josh B
11	Sam R	Cam B
12	Ben M	Charlie W
13	Fin S	Henry M
14	Tom M	John C
15	Josh F	George G
Game Changers		
16		Jakob A
17		Jordan V

See you all soon,

Lee

NEWS

HEAD COACHES NOTES

Dear All

Couple of tough weeks shame the Newbury was called off. I was looking forward to that, as I was for the Berkshire County games against Sussex where some of our boys would earn their first County Cap !!

A little bit of reflection from our games against Reading and Hungerford.

Both games were very much affected by the standard of the official. As coaches there is only so much we are allowed to do, for instance :-

We can not really address the referee, we cannot cross the touchline unless due to an injury and then strictly speaking with permission of the referee. We are advised and from experience, the right thing to do is not engage with spectators in a conflicting manner. Amongst many other rules we have to follow as the sanctions can be severe for the whole club. However that said the referees can do all of the above to help. In fact, when I have been officiating myself I have threatened to call a game off unless the crowd stop calling out. 

So clearly in both games the referee totally lost control of the game. In case of the Reading game the referee did apologise and stated he had not had a game for 3 months. When the club selects the referees and are offered a Berkshire society referee we would expect a certain standard, sadly this was not the case. 

So what can we do in these situations?

A couple of points that I have put forward to our coaches to remind them of their rights.

Coaches

1. As coaches we can call the game off if we feel the welfare of the players is at risk.
2. We can try and talk with the official however this tends not to work as the coaches can be sent off.
3. The referee does not have to control the crowd but can influence by talking with the coaches for them to deal with their own spectators or he can call the game off.

Spectators

1. Do not get involved with opposition or officials with competitive cheering or otherwise, applauding positive play for both sides is clearly a good thing to do
2. If abuse is being heard report it ASAP to the coaches. 
3. There was a situation where a Reading coach pushed one of our players which is wholly unacceptable and if I would have seen or been reported to me this I would called the game off immediately. 

Reading and Hungerford supporters do have a very poor reputation with reports I believe being made against them a little as 3 weeks ago. My action going forward will be to warn our supporters in the newsletter that in the event of a club with a poor reputation that this may be a tense situation. I actually feel sorry for the Reading game Referee who was put in to a fixture which was always going to need a strong character. He may give up the sport as a result and we are short enough of referees. He is after all a volunteer as are the coaches, managers, first aiders etc etc. 

Please feel free to discuss the situation with myself or any of the coaches. We can assure you our goal is to ensure our players have a great experience throughout their rugby development. Safe to say we will not be taking fixtures against Reading or Hungerford unless stipulated by Berkshire. We have found some super teams to play against where players, supporters and officials have a great day.

A few other points

VIDEO ANALYSIS

As part of our player development and courtesy of our age group sponsors I have employed a game analyst and videographer for all of our squad, both A & B games. This will be aimed at how we perform as a squad. Our analysis will be more tailored to U15s rugby and positive development of the players. The video and stats will be posted on a private YouTube channel. We shall then have a video session about 3 times a year with the aim to get 4 games each taken per year. Please let us know if you object to your child being videoed.

NEXT YEAR PLANNING

As a coaching team we are currently planning for next season where we go in to the Berks Buck Oxon league (BBO). We obviously want to do very well in these leagues and no reason why we shouldn’t, we will share the plan with you within the next 4 weeks. 

WEDNESDAY TRAINING

This as always is on as always some of these sessions may be videoed please let me know if you object to this.

THIS SUNDAY

Training on Sunday for those not on the slopes and so long as Storm Dennis plays ball!

Thank you to all apologies for length Newsletter.

Best Regards

Lee & the Coaching Team

NEWS

Dear All

Much wound licking after the weekend for both As and Bs. A great video of the As games against Reading where a lot of analysis is currently taking place. I would like the video camera to go to Newbury at the weekend if I could have a volunteer that would be great. The Bs have league game against Newbury at the weekend.

A lot happened at the weekend which is currently being investigated. Some action points will be coming out as a result which I shall keep you all informed. While Reading supporters are always vocal as are some of the other teams we come up against. Normally a strong referee can deal with this type of situation however, the coaches have had a meeting to discuss our action should this happen again. One thing we will not do is get involved at the time as this will only inflame the situation.

Training Wednesday

This is on but for those that have been selected for Berkshire games on Sunday please rest. Hopefully a good Bs training session in preparation for Sunday. I will be videoing this session if you have any issues with this please let me know. For those not selected for Bs or County training please use this opportunity to rest it has been a busy few weeks.

Thanks Lee

	MAIDENHEAD B
OPPOSITION	Newbury RFC
LOCATION	Newbury RFC
MEET	1030
KICK-OFF	1130
DRESS	Number 1’s

1	Will P
2	Ellis O
3	Jenson L
4	Henry M
5	Reggie P
6	Will M
7	Taylor G
8	Will C
9	Cyrano T
10	Tom C
11	Sam R
12	Webby
13	Josh B
14	Cameron B
15	George G
16	Charlie L
17	Jacob A
18	John C
19	Hugo H
20	Finlay C
21	Alfie B

NEWS

Hi All

Apologies for the late newsletter we were awaiting some details to come in before publication. The As have an eagerly awaited league game against Reading this weekend, with the Bs travelling to Hungerford also in the league. The details are listed below. Please, please let us know if you can not make it.

The club is playing the game on Sunday where we see England beat France at the start of the Six nations campaign!

	MAIDENHEAD A	MAIDENHEAD B
OPPOSITION	Reading	Hungerford
LOCATION	Home – Changing room 2	Away
MEET	1000	1000
KICK-OFF	1100	1100
DRESS	Number 1’s	Number 1’s

	Maidenhead A	Maidenhead B
1	Dawud M	Charlie L
2	Alfie B	Ellis O
3	Will P	Jenson L
4	Brandon P	Henry M
5	George D	Finlay C
6	Will C	Will M
7	Sam L	Taylor G
8	Will K	Reggie P
9	Ollie H	Cyrano T
10	Charlie M	Tom C
11	Fin S	Cam B
12	LJ (C)	Charlie W (C)
13	Ben M	Josh B
14	Josh F	Teilo A
15	Raph S	George G
Game Changers		
16	Tom M	John C
17	Sam R	Jakob A
18		Jordan V
19		Hugo H

Additional info for Hungerford Fixture:

Hungerford are expecting the club to be very busy on Sunday. There is overflow parking at John O’Gaunt Secondary School (100 yards on the right hand side before you get to the club entrance – when approaching from town centre) if you can’t find room at the club.

Reminder that Hungerford also has a no dogs rule on the playing fields.

Changing room and pitch allocation for the game will be confirmed on the white board by Changing Room 1.

Further News

MRFC Summer Ball

Please see the attached flyer for more info about the ball.. This is going to be a fantastic event held at the club in a Marquee. We have reserved two tables so please let Jane know if you are interested in going.

See you all soon and good luck to the teams!!

Regards

Lee

NEWS

HEAD COACHES NOTES

HI All

Thank you to Marlow for hosting us on Sunday and with willing coaches at least all of the boys got some game time.

Just as a note if we get a situation where it is marginal whether the conditions will be playable normal protocol is a pitch inspection at around 8am that morning, we shall then send an email out.

We are using certain fixtures to change players positions and roles. This weekend is a training weekend at home however we will have many that are away at County training. The following weekend (2nd) we have Reading at home for the A’s and Hungerford away for the B’s in the Berkshire Youth League. Please look at the dates and let us know if you are not available. 

Training as usual on Wednesday 

See you all soon

Regards

Lee

SOCIAL EVENTS

We have a couple of dates for your diaries. Firstly, the club are hosting a fantastic sports lunch on Friday 5th June, details below. This will be hosted in a large marquee at the club which will also be the venue for a rugby Summer Ball on Saturday 6th June. More details to follow.

NEWS

Hi all,

Well a terrific weekend with the A’s playing Wellington College. A very close game with two different brands of rugby being played. We narrowly lost 25-20, thought I don’t think we missed a tackle! A super performance. A big thank you goes out to Phil Hall for teeing this up and also Wellington College who hosted so so well.

So on to this weekend :-

We are away at Marlow. Two sides so the whole squad will be travelling with the B’s kicking off first.

	MAIDENHEAD A	MAIDENHEAD B
OPPOSITION	Marlow	Marlow
LOCATION	Away	Away
MEET	1030	0945
KICK-OFF	1130	1030
DRESS	Number 1’s	Number 1’s

	Maidenhead A	Maidenhead B
1	Dawud M	Will P
2	Alfie B	Ellis O
3	Brandon P	Jenson L
4	Mason C	Reggie
5	Harris S	Jamie C
6	Sam L	Will M
7	Charlie M	Will C
8	Will K	George D
9	Ollie H	Cyrano T
10	Raphael S	Tom C
11	Sam R	Teilo A
12	LJ	Charlie W
13	Ben M	George G
14	Finn S	Cameron B
15	Josh F	Taylor G
Game Changers		
	Tom M	Finlay C
		Charlie L
		Jakob A
		Hugo H
		John C
		Hugo H
		Aydee S
		Jordan V

The pitches can be boggy down at Marlow so please bring studs.

See you all Sunday 

Regards

Lee

NEWS

HEAD COACHES NOTES

Hi All

Apologies for lateness of the newsletter we were awaiting details from Wellington College.

So firstly, a great first half from the Bs. We then had to make some key subs which I think made quite a difference, but some outstanding individual performances.

In the A’s game after a fantastic try, which you just couldn’t script, we made heavy weather of the rest of the match; but great to grind out a win against local opposition.

WEDNESDAY TRAINING IS ON 7-8PM

So on to this weekend. The As have a fixture against Wellington College on SATURDAY YES SATURDAY. It would be great to see as much support as possible for this match. There is tea and refreshments for the parents and players. 

Once you arrive at Wellington you will be directed to the main Pavilion and informed where to park.

Home

MAIDENHEAD A
OPPOSITION	Wellington College
LOCATION	Wellington College, Crowthorne
MEET	1300 Saturday 11th January
KICK-OFF	1430 Saturday 11th January
DRESS	Number 1’s

	Maidenhead A
1	Dawud M
2	Alfie B
3	Brandon P
4	Mason C
5	Harris S
6	Sam L
7	Charlie M
8	Will K
9	Ollie H
10	Raphael S
11	Finn S
12	LJ
13	Ben M
14	Josh F
15	Tom M
Game Changers
	Sam R
	Will P
	George D
	Will C
	Webby
	Josh B

Sunday 12th January

The Bs game against Newbury is cancelled, so there will be training for the B team at home, usual time.

See as many as possible on Saturday failing that see the rest of you on Sunday

Regards

Lee

LOST PROPERTY

Did anyone pick up a black Canterbury training top by mistake on Sunday? Dawud is missing his, it should have Dawud’s name initials on the labels inside.

Many thanks

Jane.