Sat 24 Jan 2026
Aylesford Bulls produced a dominant derby display to make it two wins from two against Maidstone.
In front of raucous travelling support at The Mote, Bulls weathered a scrappy start to run in six tries for a 8-42 victory.
Bulls had the lion’s share of possession in the first forty and battered their hosts up front but time after time chances went begging.
There were handling errors from both sides, with looping passes dribbling into touch on more than one occasion.
The game started promisingly for Bulls when, after two minutes, a loose ball bobbled into the hands of full back Tom Hughes.
True to form he made light work of the finish and Chester Clough was on hand to slot a tricky conversion.
Clough soon added to his account, a Maidstone infringement gifting him a simple penalty.
Maidstone clawed back three points after 15 minutes.
Clough slotted a penalty with minutes to go to bring the score at the break to 3-13.
The second period started much as the first had ended, but with each cagey exchange Bulls seemed to be growing into the game.
Big trundles from Phil Wilkins and Cam Parker plus a stellar kick chase from Addison Geer and Ed McConnell saw Bulls make territorial gains.
They got a deserved breakthrough when winger Sam Tripp embarked on a powerful run and was then on hand to finish the move he’d started.
It was Tripp, too, a minute later who upped the ante, receiving a sublime offload from Travis Coetzer and running over and round defender after defender for his second try. Clough converted.
Bulls were warming to their theme and Maidstone were struggling with the sudden frenetic pace.
Tripp was proving troublesome on the right wing, at one point improbably collecting a cross field kick one handed.
He was brushing off yet more defenders moments later to pave the way for Bulls’ bonus-point try, scored by a seemingly impossible-to-fell Wilkins. Clough converted.
Bulls’ fifth came after McConnell won a penalty at the ruck. His front-row colleague Ben Pass pulled off a sickening dummy from the ensuing line out, freeing up space for scrum half Josh Pettitt to scamper over.
Bulls’ final try came from the restart, the ball shipped wide to Christian Dolley who finished well against a flagging Maidstone backline.
Maidstone had the final say, though, kicking up field and driving an exhausted Bulls pack over the line.
Bulls, now fourth in Counties Two with a game in hand, meets leaders Tonbridge Juddians on Saturday for a rearranged fixture.
In front of raucous travelling support at The Mote, Bulls weathered a scrappy start to run in six tries for a 8-42 victory.
Bulls had the lion’s share of possession in the first forty and battered their hosts up front but time after time chances went begging.
There were handling errors from both sides, with looping passes dribbling into touch on more than one occasion.
The game started promisingly for Bulls when, after two minutes, a loose ball bobbled into the hands of full back Tom Hughes.
True to form he made light work of the finish and Chester Clough was on hand to slot a tricky conversion.
Clough soon added to his account, a Maidstone infringement gifting him a simple penalty.
Maidstone clawed back three points after 15 minutes.
Clough slotted a penalty with minutes to go to bring the score at the break to 3-13.
The second period started much as the first had ended, but with each cagey exchange Bulls seemed to be growing into the game.
Big trundles from Phil Wilkins and Cam Parker plus a stellar kick chase from Addison Geer and Ed McConnell saw Bulls make territorial gains.
They got a deserved breakthrough when winger Sam Tripp embarked on a powerful run and was then on hand to finish the move he’d started.
It was Tripp, too, a minute later who upped the ante, receiving a sublime offload from Travis Coetzer and running over and round defender after defender for his second try. Clough converted.
Bulls were warming to their theme and Maidstone were struggling with the sudden frenetic pace.
Tripp was proving troublesome on the right wing, at one point improbably collecting a cross field kick one handed.
He was brushing off yet more defenders moments later to pave the way for Bulls’ bonus-point try, scored by a seemingly impossible-to-fell Wilkins. Clough converted.
Bulls’ fifth came after McConnell won a penalty at the ruck. His front-row colleague Ben Pass pulled off a sickening dummy from the ensuing line out, freeing up space for scrum half Josh Pettitt to scamper over.
Bulls’ final try came from the restart, the ball shipped wide to Christian Dolley who finished well against a flagging Maidstone backline.
Maidstone had the final say, though, kicking up field and driving an exhausted Bulls pack over the line.
Bulls, now fourth in Counties Two with a game in hand, meets leaders Tonbridge Juddians on Saturday for a rearranged fixture.
