With the season at the half way point, Shelford have built a firm foundation from which to move forward from. If they can maintain the momentum achieved over the past five games then they will continue to pose a challenge to whom ever they meet.

This rich vein of form is based around the ability to cross the gain line from first phase possession and re-cycle the ball quickly to their strike runners who then optimise the use of the space created. For the first twenty five minutes of the match, Portsmouth felt the full force of this simple game plan, as Shelford, playing into a stiff wind, cruised into a twenty two points to nil lead before their opponents could find their heading.

The first points were registered with a penalty conversion by Thomas Dann. From the re-start, space was made for Dominic Jones to show his pace and timing when he combined with Richard Davies to open up the Portsmouth defensive line and register an unconverted try. Within ten minutes, Sam Tovo was able to muscle over from a rolling maul after a series of inter passing by both forwards and three quarters had driven their opponents back towards their try line. With Shelford in full flow and attacking with commitment at any opportunity, their domination at this stage was rewarded with a converted penalty try when Charles Worthington was tackled without the ball just as he was about to collect a hack through two metres from the Portsmouth line.

By this time, the unrelenting wind had brought in overcast conditions and the skies had darkened. This heralded a change in scene on the pitch as well, with Shelford loosing the services of Sam Tovo as he was sin binned somewhat harshly for ten minutes. This gave Portsmouth the opportunity to build up a head of steam and registered fourteen points to take the game to halftime with the score line at 14 points to 22 points. As the skies continued to darken and the wind increased, matters on the pitch continued to go against Shelford, to such an extent that by the fifty second minute Portsmouth had established a one point lead having taken advantage of the disruption caused to Shelford by the loss of Edward Mills to injury and a visit to the sin bin for Scott Jackowski.

However, resilience is an attribute that Shelford have acquired and with their opponents tiring, the Shelford forwards, by now restored to their full complement, regained their drive. This was rewarded in the fifty fifth minute as Tomas Dann regained his side the lead with a converted penalty. For the match time remaining, Shelford sensibly maintained possession and territory with Aki Lea and Alex Birkby taking the direct route from a restored scrummage domination. This kept a weary Portsmouth on the back foot which allowed Richard Davies to drop kick the final points of the match and allow Shelford to reflect on a 24 points to 28 points victory.  

With a weeks respite from London League 1 rugby before the next fixture against Bishop’s Stortford  at the Davey Field on the 15^th December, Shelford have maintain their fourth place position in the league and now face the run of return fixtures that will determine who prospers at the expense of others.