Under 16's

Huntingdon 3 Shelford 22

This was sweet revenge over the County Champions - Stags may have got the better of Shelford over 14 minutes, but it was over a full game that Shelford showed their true mettle. In a first half against a strong wind, the Shelford defence held firm, allowing only a drop goal against them, showing how strong the defensive line was, notably Rory Stone chasing and then bringing down Chris Budd only inches out. After half time, Shelford never left their opponents half, with wave after wave of attack - when they didn't have the ball, they forced Stags to kick aimlessly or make silly mistakes. Great chasing from George Newnham put pressure on Stags at the 5 metre line, for Shelford to turnover the ball for Newnham to go around and through the defence to make it 5-3. Once again, Shelford pressure saw the Stags fly half, under his own posts,  juggle with the ball as if it was a bar of soap - Alasdair Paterson caught the ball to touch down for Ben Wierny to convert. Shelford's third came from man of the match Ryan Kenny, who finished off a text book try in the corner. Again, Kenny was to the fore, slicing through the defence like a ghost taking a walk - Tom McFadzean tackled well to force the ball in the air for Stone to touch down.

Under 15’s

Shelford 5 Colchester 13

Shelford took the advantage from the kick off with some well placed kicking from Callum Munday finding touch close to the Colchester line. With the return of some key players from injury the Shelford pack were rucking well and pushing back the strong Colchester forwards. Opportunities were few for the Shelford backs who found little room to run. A number of penalty decisions were given in Shelford’s favour some twenty metres from the Colchester line but the home side just could not find a way through. Very much against the run of play Colchester were able to break through the Shelford defence and went over the line to open the scoring. This seemed to inspire the Shelford team who immediately fought back winning a number of turnovers and pushing up to the Colchester line. It was not pretty rugby but very effective with Luke Whale putting down over the line with the assistance of his pack to bring the scores level. Ben Kelk was unable to add to the points with a difficult conversion attempt. The score at half time was 5-5. After the break Colchester’s weight advantage in the pack began to show. Kelk had a couple of opportunities to break through the opposition but the Colchester defence was solid. The Shelford backs were coming under greater pressure and there seemed a certain inevitability when they conceded a second try allowing the Colchester scrum half to score. As the game wore on there were a number of minor injuries to the home side and the coach Dave Dunnett had to rotate his team which caused some disruption. Shelford gave away a late penalty in a dangerous position which  Colchester were able to kick over the posts leaving the final score 13-5.

Under 14’s

Shelford 0 Colchester 33

Shelford made the trip to Colchester with a very much depleted squad of 18, decimated by the absence of many first choice players through injuries & holidays. Matters were made even worse during the warm-up as our one remaining regular back row player Nathan Taylor injured his back and could take no part in the game whatsoever. This meant Shelford had to borrow a (very useful) prop from the opposition to even make up a pack, and field also two very new squad members in the back row in Harry & Michael. The game started very evenly with both sides keeping their share of possession through phases of play. This continued as an even contest for around 10-15 minutes, with Shelford having a few opportunities to shine through a few breaks from Ben & Alex in the centres. However, Shelford were beginning to lose the battle of the contact areas, and for the remainder of the half Colchester took control with 4 converted tries, where weak ‘first-up’ tackles were missed allowing them to get in behind us. A few choice words at half-time were given about our poor level of physicality in the tackles & the rucks, and although we were always second best at the breakdowns in the second half, our commitment in the tackle was not and it did improve our competitive edge somewhat. A lack of communication was at fault on numerous occasions in defence, with very little ‘marking-off’ of the opposition back line very much in evidence, but our tenacity in chasing back on ‘lost causes’ particularly by Dan Smith & Toby Poirier kept the score line down in the second half to one further Colchester try. A lack of any amount of possession or territory in the second half meant this was a real ‘backs to the wall’ effort, which despite our lack of regulars was commendable at least. With the hope of most of our regulars returning next week (with the exception of Sam Perry, who was there today cheering his team mates on!!), it is time for the boys to get back on track with a real committed team performance, and get back to the kind of form we know is in them and were beginning to show in the county cup earlier this season.

Under 13’s

Huntingdon 25 Shelford 55

Shelford U13 A’s had to dig deep to beat a spirited Huntingdon side 25-10. James Gibson opened the scoring and Johnnie Martin added a second try shortly afterwards before the home team pulled one back before half time. Callum Miller picked up from the base of the scrum for the first of his two second half tries. Pressure on the Huntingdon scrum on their own line resulted in a fifth try as Jamie Huffer pounced on the ball after the clearance kick had been charged down. Shelford U 13 B’s went one better as they ran in six tries in a 30-15 win. The speed of attack from the Shelford backs was the key to the win. Sam Morris carved through to open the scoring and Tom Fleck’s speed of foot led to his two tries. Harry Allhusen support play earned him a try, before George Rutherford and Freddie scored two great individual tries.