Under 17’s

Shelford 53 Sudbury 22

Shelford looked very rusty, playing their first game for 4 weeks. however they showed enough quality in patches to easily win this game against a forward orientated Sudbury team. Shelford started sluggishly allowing Sudbury all the early pressure, but three decisive backs tries from Theo Norris, Tom Ward and Max Johnson with two conversions from Will Barnes, effectively ended the match as a contest, this allowed Shelford to make a raft of changes which affected the side’s continuity, allowing Sudbury to score a close range try. Shelford had the last say of the half with Chris Haigh and Adam Hodgkisson both scoring long range tries.(half time 29-5). The second half was similar to the first with Shelford looking dangerous with the ball but ill discipline led to sin binning of Hugh Scott for repeated killing of the ball, this allowed Sudbury into the game for a 10 minute period when they scored a try and penalty try which was converted. Shelford reasserted their authority with the return of Scott, scoring four further tries from Tristan Tegg, Will Barnes, Adam Hodgkisson and Theo Norris with two conversions from Barnes. Sudbury rounded off the scoring when loaned player Chris Shaw scored against his team mates. 

Under 16's

Sudbury 7 Shelford 26

After a cagey opening 15 minutes when both sides' packs tested each other out, it was Shelford who spread the ball out wide first, for Rory Stone to glide, wraith like into the corner, very well converted by Ben Wierny. 5 minutes later, it was Number 8, Ian Morrison, picking up and driving for 20 metres, allowing George Newnham to collect the quickly recycled ball and barge through - again well converted by Wierny - 0-14 at half time. Having not been in Shelford's half for any of the first period, Sudbury came out the needier and scored into the corner to make it 7-14. This only served to spur Shelford who, after several changes, began to exert themselves, terrier like Alasdair Paterson harrying their scrum half and back row into a series of errors - it was Paterson who stole the ball and shipped it to Pearce Staples who drew the defence and allowed Newnham to score his second. Joint Man of the Match Ben Meggitt's tireless work in the loose saw another steal, allowing his fellow Man of the Match Newnham to score his hatrick try, bursting through like a starving man late for his tea. A great run, beating two defenders by Thomas Queripel deserved a score at the close but it was not to be, as the tiring Sudbury defence rallied one last time - 7-26 to Shelford, the final score. 

Under 15’s

Shelford 22 Sudbury 8

Shelford beat a competitive Sudbury team on Sunday. The home team started confidently challenging strongly in the pack and giving their backs opportunities to threaten the Sudbury back line. They eventually broke through with Alex Poirier scoring after the ball had been passed right through to the wing. Callum Munday successfully converted. Sudbury came back into the match after Shelford lost their rhythm following a large number of substitutions. Shortly after half time Sudbury scored a try but failed to covert. Mistakes were being made by Shelford and they conceded a penalty shortly thereafter which the Sudbury fly half was able to put over the posts giving the away team a slender lead. This seemed to awaken Shelford who gradually managed to take control of the game with some excellent rucking. Callum Munday added three points by kicking a penalty. Luke Whale scored a try  following some excellent scrimmaging from the Shelford pack. Luke Whale was able to replicate his success with a second try five minutes before time which Callum Munday was able to convert giving Shelford eventually a comfortable victory. 

Under 14’s

Shelford 7 Sudbury 26

Shelford under 14’s put in an improved performance from recent weeks against a strong Sudbury team. Shelford were competitive in all areas of a close fought game, but defensive lapses were their undoing towards the end of the both halves. The squad, with so many new faces this season are still getting to know each other, and are still lacking a great deal of communication on the field, particularly in defensive situations. The first half for most part was a very tight affair, although Sudbury probably had the territorial advantage, but Shelford’s commitment to the breakdown meant that whatever ball the opposition had was quite slow, and they dealt with their attacking threat with some good cover tackling. A breakaway from the back of a maul by Sudbury ’s useful no. 3 close to the Shelford line gave them a 7-0 lead, which was doubled soon after when their full back joined the attack to carve a hole in the Shelford defence for a 14-0 half-time lead. Shelford made a number of half-time changes, and this seemed to bring a fresh impetus to their play with a sustained period in the opposition half. A superb solo try by Connor Denton (converted by Joe Sherrington-Scales) first handing-off a couple of tacklers, and then out-pacing the chasing pack to score under the posts gave Shelford a huge lift, and the belief that they could get something from this game. A lot of quality possession followed, but the occasional wrong option when an overlap was available meant that we wasted a number of good scoring opportunities to get on level terms. Towards the end of the game a tiring Shelford conceded two late tries, one from a pick & go from the back of a 5 metre scrum, and then another breakaway from the aforementioned no. 3, to leave the final score 7-26 in Sudbury’s favour.The commitment from all could not be faulted, and it was good to see a number of backs also hitting rucks at pace with excellent body angles (Toby, Dan Burling & Lewis to name but three) to help the tireless forwards on a number of occasions. This was a performance that was a step in the right direction even if the result wasn’t.  

Under 13’s

Sudbury 5 Shelford 29

Shelford U13’s A team dominated the first half against Sudbury as they produced some free flowing rugby. Freddie Eggleton opened the scoring after a dynamic run from the 10 metre line and a George Knowles interception shortly afterwards set the tone. Sudbury were pinned back and a powerful drive from Johnnie Martin led to another try. Eggleton and Knowles both scored another try each before half time to make it 29-0. Shelford then changed the entire team for the second half and they were unlucky not to stretch the lead. Sudbury did score right at the end to make it 29-5 to Shelford. 

Under 12’s

Shelford 50 Saffron Walden/Wendens Ambo Mixed 0

The squad was back to full strength for the first time this season. This presented a few selection problems - how do we accommodate five hookers in the same team? When I attended my Level 1 training course the tutor asked the question "what is the role of the hooker?" Some bright spark answered "to be an irritating and provocative little so-and-so who spends his time annoying the opposition, the referee and his own team-mates while conducting a constant monologue on the failings of the ref, the opposing front row, the ball, the pitch, his coach etc etc etc" . We had a number of players with all the necessary attributes so it was clear that something had to be done if we were to avoid some sort of disciplinary meltdown. Some candidates eliminated themselves on the grounds that the mental challenge of trying to remember three letters of the alphabet for line-out calls and having to push and hook at the same time in the scrum was way beyond them. They were relegated to something less cerebral like prop or second row. Henry wasn't a problem as we knew that his full commitment on the edge style of playing would result his being incapacitated by some bizarre injury at some stage and allow a role for someone else (he duly obliged). Harry Hitchcock played as a sort of openside flanker (even though we don't have them at under 12s). This was a resounding success as freed from having his arms pinned by two big blokes he marauded around the pitch and scored three late tries. Harry has now made a bid to make the role his own. Harry is an extremely pleasant, polite and well-behaved member of the squad, who always listens at training, uncomplainingly accepts the referees' decisions, is popular with his team-mates and never indulges in foul play. He clearly has a lot to learn before he becomes our first choice number 2. The combination of our recent improved form and a full strength squad meant that it was always likely to be a tough day for the Wendens/SW combo. The opposition held on bravely but four tries in the final quarter put a gloss on the score for us. It finally ended 50-0. Tries were scored by Harry Hitchcock (3), Ollie Walker (2), James Tilbury, Cam McMeikan and Nick Cox (against his former team-mates). Conversions came from Sam Jones (2), Will Lander(2) and Tilbury. 

Under 10’s

Shelford 60 Wendens 45

Game 1: Shelford 10 -10 Wendens.  This was a very tight and evenly played match with tries by Charlie Moss and Reuben Patrick.

Game 2: Shelford 30-15 Wendens.Shelford played well, distributing the ball sensibly. Scorers were Luca Stephenson (his first try for the club), George Franklin, Ollie Barnes (two tries), Joe Akak and Edward Manning.

Game 3: Shelford 20 - 20 Wendens.Again a close and evenly played match, with tries scored by Harriet Walker and George Franklin (three tries) for Shelford. George Franklin played an outstanding match, with excellent running, strength and try scoring.
 

Under 9’s

Shelford 110 Wendens Ambo 10

Game 1: Shelford Tigers 5 – 0 Wendens Ambo

Good defence and teamwork gave Shelford the win. Tackling by Tom and Ollie Parkes with Tom Cropper led to a turnover ball which Tom Whitehead picked up to score the only try of the game.

Game 2: Shelford Peacocks 40 – 0 Wendens Ambo

Ben Frisk picked up a loose ball after a tackle by Garret Shannon to run half the length of the pitch to score our first. Kieran Hatter scored our second try after a lot of Shelford pressure. Ryan Lees was tackled after making a good run passed off to Garret Shannon who scored our third. Again good defensive work by Ben and Garret led to two quick tries before half time by Stan Clarke. Shelford were 25 – 0 up at half time. Soon after the start of the second half Shelford had pushed Wenden back over the try line and Kieran Hatter was quickest to jump on a loose ball to score our sixth try. Kieran Hatter scored our seventh after picking up a loose ball and ran over half the length of the pitch. Our last try came from Ben Frisk.

Game 3: Shelford Tigers 15 – 5 Wendens Ambo

Another good defensive performance. Tom Whitehead scored all 3 tries. Tom’s first try came after he picked up a loose ball, second after some very clever work when he took the ball from the back of a ruck and waited till Wenden’s players committed themselves which created the space for Tom to break through their line to score. Tom’s last try came after excellent tackling from Tom Cropper and Tom Parkes.

Game 4: Shelford Peacocks 50 – 5 Wendens Ambo

An impressive win with the first two tries coming from Kieran Hatter after good pressure created the space for Kieran to score. Stan Clarke scored the third and Ryan Lees got the fourth following a good run. In the second half Stan Clarke scored our fifth followed by Ben Frisk after a good run, Kieran Hatter scored our seventh from the start after Wendens had scored. Clever work by Kieran to keep the ball in play allowed the ball to be picked up by Stan Clarke to run over the try line to score and Garret Shannon finished of a good morning by running in our last two tries.There were many good performances today with Man of the Match going to Tom Cropper for his excellent tackling and support work.   

Under 8’s

Shelford 105 Wendens Ambo 45

Over three games we saw excellent running and movement with the ball, with developing players and senior boys putting equal effort in and more importantly sharing the ball around. This enabled the team to move with much more freedom around the pitch and open up the defence of the opposition. The top try scorer for the day was Hayden McKenzie with 6 tries, Jamie Coates with 3 tries & Harvey Redfern with 2 tries. Further tries from  Harry Simpson; Luke Burnham; Angus Thomson; Will Stepney; Dan Summerfield; Josh Whitmore; Cameron Allen;  Josh Santry, Sam Harvey & Henry  Breeze scoring their 1st tries for the U8 team a great effort). The all important TAG COUNT  was led by Daniel Arbide with 20 tags ( an excellent display of defence) then Hayden McKenzie with 16 and most of the other boys with a few tags each. This defensive aspect of the game will be key when playing stronger sides later in the season. Well done to one and all and if wondering who the player of the day was it goes to Hayden for the 1st time this season. His concentration, lines of running and effort in both defence and attack were excellent this week.

Under 7’s

Shelford 110 Wendons Ambo 110 

An excellent turn out of over 30 boys & girls on Sunday. We played a number of games, all were very competitive. The more experienced players put in some great performances against a very competent Wendons squad. Again tags, tries and plenty of effort from everyone especially the new players. Each week we see an improvement in the squads skills and commitment, so well done to everybody who played. Next week we are away to Braintree, details will be sent out shortly. Look forward to seeing you all there.