New Year, new kit, but a continuation of Shelford’s 2007 form.

Shelford played host to Lutterworth for their first league fixture of the New Year. Heavy rain in the days leading up to the match had waterlogged several of the pitches and so the girls jogged down to the furthest pitch, which is more exposed and was noticeably windier as the teams lined up.

Shelford had the wind in the first half and immediately looked aggressive, running up into Lutterworth’s faces.  Solid work by the forwards soon gave clean ball to the backs and saw the ball go over the line for the first 5 points for Shelford.

After catching the kick at the restart Shelford immediately ran back at Lutterworth and before the spectators had a chance to catch their breath, Naomi  Linklater was over the line. Suddenly Shelford were on a roll, trys coming in quick succession as the team worked well at playing their game. The smaller home pack held the Lutterworth forwards, despite having lost several key players to injury in recent weeks, and allowed the backs to run the ball wide and enjoy the game.

The second half was less of a tryfest for Shelford, but their work continued to pay off, both with individual runs, like Sarah Dixon flying out of the reach of the chasing opposition, and solid team work. Unfortunately, as Shelford tired they conceded a run of penalties, and found themselves defending on their line. Eventually this lead to Lutterworth’s solitary try of the match, before Shelford ran back at Lutterworth for more solid play before the final whistle.

The match finished with an impressive score line of 61:5, with most of the backs getting their names on the score sheet. A team victory to remind Shelford how much fun this game really is and set them up for a fantastic second half of the season.

Forward of the match: Ivy Owens

Back of the match: Katie Sharman