Colts

Under 17’s

National Plate Last 16

Shelford 10 Old Albanians 12

On a difficult day for rugby following the torrential overnight rain and the strong winds, both sides had to play a limited game plan to adapt to the conditions. With Shelford playing the first half with the elements of slope and wind, it was a full 20 minutes before they registered their first points with a well taken Tarren Runham try. Old Albanians were however, proving a difficult nut to crack and they kept the ball close for long periods, driving upfield. The crucial moments of the half were to be a Will Barnes penalty goal miss and Albanians score just before half time to level the scores. With the second half Shelford adopted their opponents tactics of ball retention, and for 30 minutes both sides cancelled themselves out, Shelford eventually engineered a line out in their opponents 22 and with a catch and drive, Josh Musk scored what looked like the winning score. However with 5 minutes to go, Shelford thought they had the game won, and allowed their opponents to score with just three seconds left, the Albanians kicker slotted the kick(made easy with the strong wind).Final score 12-10. These were two well matched teams, who on a better day would play a much more attractive brand of rugby than we saw today.

Under 12’s

Wendens Ambo Tournament Winners

One of the most eagerly awaited days of the year had arrived - the Wendens festival. This would be the last one the boys would contest as they move on to 15 a side next year so everyone was moved by gentle nostalgia - last year's nailbiting victory on points difference, a convincing win over Cambridge when their parents got all batey.......All happy memories. The weather had risen to the occasion. The spectators, expecting to be gently caressed by warm springtime zephyrs, were instead buffeted by arctic wind and rain. The daffodils, instead of softly swaying in the fragrant breeze, had been flattened, rather as if a giant yet immobile dreadlocked white shirted  winger had fallen on them, tackled before he had travelled the necessary 63 metres required to work up a pace marginally in excess of sedentary.

Game 1 Shelford 38 Bishop’s Stortford 0
First up were Bishops Stortford. Last year this had been a tough battle which ended in a draw. The boys were expecting a fight. Instead the ref had to stop the game when we had run up a 38-0 lead in about 10 minutes playing time. Stortford's top team were obviously engaged elsewhere (or at least their tacklers were). Two tries from Joe McNeill (who had a storming game) and one each from Nick Cox, George James, Stephen Douglas and Will Lander hammered Stortford into submission. Will and Rory Hutchinson shared four conversions.
Game 2 Shelford 19 Bury St Edmunds 5
Next opponents were Bury St Edmunds. The first half was comfortable enough and we were two tries to the good at the interval, scored by Sam Jones and Rory Hutchinson. However in the second half the conditions started to affect us and we let the big Bury pack rumble back into the game. A second Hutchinson try made the game safe but disappointingly we allowed Bury to score a consolation. Two Hutchinson conversions added a gloss to the score as Shelford ran out 19-5 winners.
Game 3 Shelford 22 Wendens Ambo 0
The final game against unbeaten Wendens Ambo was a winner takes all showdown. Wendens looked tough and aggressive and had a big and effective pack. By now the wind was blowing so fiercely you couldn't even hear Harry moaning at the referee. However our forwards were up for it and we soon got our rucking game moving. The backs were on fire and our pace and quick handling got the scoreboard ticking over. Tries from centres Hutchinson and Douglas, fly half Jones and winger James Tilbury put the game beyond Wendens.. Will Lander kicked one conversion - at least one other was straight between the posts but prevented from going over as a ferocious gust of wind blew the ball back to our hapless kicker. The final score was a very satisfying 22-0 to Shelford.
The title was ours and all that remained was to pick up the trophy. Yes, well, but...... Last year under 12s still have it so bring it round any time please Stuart. The boys proudly picked up their medals in the howling gales and headed home for warmth and sustenance. The boys have played their last Wendens tournament and ended on a high - well done to them! 

Under 11’s

Wendens Ambo Tournament Winners

Shelford U11’s retained the Wendens Vase Trophy this weekend; on a cold, wet and windy day the Shelford squad played some good festival rugby, scoring 60 points and conceding only 5.

Game 1:  Shelford 25 – Bishops Stortford 0The team was up for the game, the forwards played as a unit and the backs ran with the ball.  Tries were scored by:-  Connor Hein-Jones (2); Max Burgess-Clerke; Rory McMeikan and Conor Sullivan.

Game 2: Shelford 5 – Wendens Ambo 0Shelford had to dig deep to contain and beat a well drilled Wendens team.  The defence of the try line in the first half was what stood out, with the team tackling time and time again to hold the opposition at bay.  The only try was scored as a result of some brilliant inter play by the backs with Rory McMeikan crossing the line.

Game 3: Shelford 20 – Saffron Walden 0The team played the first of two back to back games against Saffron Walden.  The team ran out winners by four tries to nil.  Tries were scored by:- Peter Gordon; Rory McMeikan; Max Burgess-Clerke and Callum Lees.

Game 4: Shelford 10 – Bury St Edmunds 5The final match of the tournament saw the Shelford team  come away with four wins out of four.  They won the match with a try in each half, the first from prop Matthew Summerscales and the final try of the tournament from Connor Hein-Jones.A big ‘thank you’ to all ‘the guys’ who turned up and played their part in a successful tournament, it was a squad effort that won the day.  Well Done! 

Under 10’s

Wendens Tournament Winners

GAME 1: Shelford 25- 0 Bishops StortfordScorers: Ollie Barnes = 1 try,  Reuben Patrick = 3 tries,  Simon Tyte = 1 try

GAME 2: Shelford 25- 0 Wendens BScorers: Ollie Barnes = 2 tries, Reuben Patrick = 2 tries, Simon Tyte = 1 try

GAME 3: Shelford 15- 5 Bury St.EdmundsScorers: Ollie Barnes= 2 tries, George Franklin = 1 try

FINAL: Shelford 15- 5 Wendens AScorers: George Franklin = 2 tries, Ollie Barnes = 1 tryConditions were extremely wet and very cold at the Wendens Tournament. All the children played very well as a team, supporting each other and only conceding two tries the whole day.

Man of the tournament for Shelford was Joe Akak. 

Under 9’s

Wendens Tournament

Game 1: Shelford A 30 – 0 Bishop Stortford AShelford try scorers: Tom Whitehead 3, Tom Cropper 2 & Tom ParkesWe got off to a great start in our first pool match against Bishop Stortford A. While the weather was grotty our rugby was excellent. From the start we pressed Stortford and our first break came from Tom Cropper who found a hole in the Stortford defence to score in the corner. The second came from Tom Whitehead who picked up the ball following a lot of Shelford pressure with good rucking from the forwards. The third came from Tom Cropper who broke through the Stortford defence again to make it over in the other corner. Our fourth before half time came from Tom Parkes who made it over the line after good runs from Tom Whitehead and Cropper. The second half started well with our fifth try coming from Tom Whitehead who smashed through 3 or 4 tackles to make it over the line. And to round off the rout Tom Whitehead picked up the ball from a lot of pressure following a number of mauls and rooks from the Shelford forwards James King, Garret Shannon, Tom Shortt and Jack Tribbeck. No win would be complete without some good tackles going in from Ben Frisk, Kieran Hatter and Conner Wells.

Game 2: Shelford A 15 – 5 Bury St Edmunds AShelford try scorers: Tom Whitehead, Stan Clark & Ben FriskThis is where the morning turned to farce with the opposition with the exception of Bury St Edmunds capitulating to the weather. Therefore by default we found ourselves in a final as the last teams standing. Well done to Bury for coming to play rugby. It was a much closer game with both teams who had won their first group matches well. We started as we left the last game with lot of pressure which created the space for Stan Clark to make it over the line in the corner following a 20 metre run.  Our second came from the ever impressive Tom Whitehead who played well throughout, following our line out on our 22, he ran through the Bury line and the length of the pitch to score. Bury pulled one back which increased the tension. However Shelford piled on the pressure with some fantastic direct running from Jack Tribbeck to turn defence positions into attack. This earned Jack a well deserved Man of the Match. Again there was great defensive work from Stan Clark, Ollie Parkes and the other forwards. To make the game secure Ben Frisk showed Bury his heels as he ran the full length of the pitch to score in the corner. While we didn’t walk off with the trophy we felt we earned it by the end. Well done to all! 

Under 8’s

Wendens Ambo Tournament

Tigers

Shelford 10 v Saffron Walden 10:- Luke Burnham 1 & Harry Simpson 1 

Shelford 25 v Wendens Ambo 5:- Harry Simpson 2, Hayden McKenzie 1, Jamie Coates 1, Daniel Arbide 1 

Shelford 15 v Bury St Edmunds 10:-Harry Simpson 1, Hayden McKenzie 1, Angus Thomson1

Shelford 25 v Bishop’s Stortford 15:- Daniel Arbide 2, Jamie Coates 1, Angus Thomson 1, Harry Simpson 1

After a very slow start against Walden, the Shelford Tigers upped their game in conditions that got progressively worse. Nevertheless the boys tagged and out gunned the opposing teams with ease in the end. A great effort by all the boys. In truth they were most probably the best side on the morning. Unfortunately Wendons chose to close the tournament for our age group early, so no awards were given out .............. a great shame. It is difficult to distinguish any 1 player as outstanding this week. Nevertheless Harry Simpson showed an excellent attitude on the day and Daniel gutsed it out when it came to gathering tags with frozen fingers Luke, Hayden, Angus & Will also played their part in holding back the challenge from some excellent strike runners from the opposition teams.

Sharks

Many of the U8 Sharks are new to the game but this did not show in their two games against Bishops Stortford.

Shelford 25 Bishop’s Stortford 15:-Josh Butler 2, Aiden Thomas 1, Tom French 1, Harry Baker 1

Shelford 25 Stortford 25:-Tom French 2, Josh Butler 1, Harvey Redfern 1, Josh Whitmore 1

I observed the second of the two games and have to say the passing was an example to the Tigers team. All boys had a chance to run with the ball and moved the ball around with ease. From those on the side line it appeared that we were unlucky not to win both games. To the new boys in the side Tom Coster, Tom French, Harry Baker and  Daniel Hoole, well done for staying with the game on such a bad day. If its any consolation I think our two sides deserved to win something, as we appeared to be the only sides still standing at the close of play for our age groups. On this basis I think ALL THE BOYS FROM BOTH TEAMS deserve to be PLAYER OF THE DAY. Thanks to all the moms and dads for their support and help on the day. Lets hope we do not experience similar conditions for some time.