| Youth Reports - 20/1/08 |
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| Written by Andrew Baron | |
| Monday, 21 January 2008 | |
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Colts National Colts Cup – Round 4 (last 32) Shelford 7 Gravesend 5 The game turned out to be a battle of attrition in the mud at the Davey Field this weekend. Shelford with the elements behind them in the first half, had all of the possession and territory but it took 15 minutes for them to get a penalty in a kickable position. This unfortunately was pulled wide by the wind. At last, on the 22nd minute, quick ball from the base of the scrum saw the backs do a show and go and Toby Mepham broke the line to score near the posts which was converted by Tom McGinty. Shelford should have added to their points tally before the break but poor passing or indecision at the last moment saw them fail to do this. 7 - 0 at the turn around and with the elements behind them Gravesend took the game to Shelford. Some good defending and poor execution saw Shelford hold out for 20 minutes. Gravesend eventually broke though the Shelford defence and earnt their reward for their efforts. In the gale though, the conversion was missed. Then the game changed as Shelford started to put pressure on the Gravesend line and slowly started to force them back into their own half and take control of the game, forcing Gravesend to run/kick from deeper. Both teams were grateful for the final whistle as the mud and conditions took their toll on the player’s self control. Under 17’s Shelford 13 Biggleswade 7 A much changed Shelford team (three players playing for the Colts in the National Colts Cup 4th round and players resting niggling injuries ahead of the Eastern Counties Cup Final on the 3rd of February) saw them too disciplined and committed to succumb to an ill disciplined Biggleswade team. Shelford won the toss and had first use of the strong wind. Combining good ball retention and sensible play in the muddy conditions, they went ahead with a Will Barnes penalty which was quickly followed up by a Tarren Runham try which was also converted by Barnes. With the pitch now cutting up badly following the recent rain, a further Shelford penalty by Barnes was to prove crucial, as Shelford went into half time 13-0 up.Biggleswade came out for the second half with all guns blazing and scored a quick converted try to bring the scores to within 6 points. However the Biggleswade discipline was poor, resulting in two dismissals, allowing Shelford to shut out the game.
Under 14’s Shelford 34 Saffron Walden 0 From the start, the Shelford forwards carried on from where they left off against Stamford , dominating the breakdown and winning any loose ruck ball. An early Shelford drive saw them gain 15 yards towards the try line only to be held up However from the ensuing scrum the ball went across the backs for Toby Poirier to score. Lewis Cracknell scored a difficult conversion. For the first time this season Shelford didn’t ease up and the immediate pressure from the kick off saw Shelford move back into the Walden 22, Connor Denton picked the loose ball up and drove over into the corner. Another good conversion from Cracknell in windy conditions and Shelford were 14-0 up. Another break from Connor Denton saw him offload to Nick Webb who went over the try line, but was unlucky not to get a try on his debut when the ref judged his foot to have gone out. Another phase of strong driving from Shelford saw Connor Denton pop out the side of a maul to drive over and then another pick and go from Connor Denton saw Shelford complete the half 24-0 to the good. After a scrappy opening to the second half, George Teebon was introduced as unlikely hero on the wing, the ball came out of the ruck in Walden’s half and George came inside to slot into the back line at pace and immediately offload to Alex Flynn, having drawn the SW centre, Flynn then offloaded quickly to Ben Anderson for him to crash over the line, an excellent try created by some quick thinking from Teeboon. The last score of the game saw Connor Denton break out of the maul in Shelford’s half and run the length of the pitch to score with two of the SW backs left trailing |
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| Last Updated ( Saturday, 09 August 2008 ) |
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