Under 14’s

Shelford 5 Colchester 12

This was a massive improvement on our performance against the same opposition earlier this season, when we lost heavily 33-0 and it could have been more. This game was played between two evenly matched squads, and is showing that the Shelford squad has a lot more depth to it than it did in the Autumn, and we were still missing a number of regulars yesterday, especially in the backs. Colchester started the stronger, and really put the Shelford defence under pressure for the first ten minutes, but good defence kept them at bay on a number of occasions, with a couple of outstanding tackles being made by Dan Burling at full back. However, this defence was caught cold when the Colchester full back ran through at least three missed tackles to eventually score under the posts for a 7-0 lead. Shelford’s forwards then took a decent grip on proceedings, and with some great service from George Teeboon at scrum-half gave Lewis Cracknell the time to clear his lines or put the ball behind their defence, despite pressure from a rushing Colchester defence that was penalised constantly for being off-side.Shelford’s possession & territorial advantage at that stage was not translated into any score, leaving us all a little frustrated. Shelford then started to struggle somewhat at the set-pieces, with numerous put-ins going against the head of their sharp left-footed hooker, but the defence was sharp and up quick enough to prevent Colchester taking advantage of the turnover ball. Nick Webb was also finding his feet well at outside centre, with a number of fine runs. The forwards were also finding a few gaps, but a lack of support at the crucial moment to either off-load to or secure possession meant that our frustration continued to grow when we were in strong field position. To make matters worse, Colchester scored a second try in the corner to consolidate their lead to 12-0 late in the game. There was however time for Shelford to get on the score sheet with the last play of the game that their endeavours deserved, and showed the benefits of good support play. Connor Denton at centre burst through a couple of tackles, only to be stopped just short of the line, but James Wilson was there in support and picked up the recycled ball to dive over to make the final score 12-5. There are always areas for improvement, and certainly the support play could be improved, and some of the basics like never turning your back to the opposition especially at penalties, as well as carrying the ball in two hands when going into contact. It was also disappointing that so many players arrived late for the planned warm-up due to start at 10.00, hence the warm-up session took some time to get going. However, the endeavour could not be faulted as Shelford pushed their opposition really hard for the whole 60 minutes of an elongated squad game. Well done to the whole squad, and keep it going for the remainder of the season.

Under 13’s

Shelford A 27 Colchester A 60

Shelford B 37 Colchester B 29

Report to follow

Under 10's

Game 1: Shelford 0 -40 Stamford

Shelford tried hard against a very strong Stamford team but were unable to score in this match.

Game 2: Shelford 35 -15 Royston

Scorers: Reuben Patrick = 4 tries, Ollie Barnes = 1 try, Harriet Walker = 1 try & Tom Cropper = 1 tryThe game between Shelford and Royston was fairly even, Shelford played well as a team and closely beat Royston.

Under 9’s

Game 1: Shelford 10 – 0 Stamford

Shelford try scorers: Kieran Hatter & Stan ClarkGood start for Shelford with a win against Stamford on a brisk morning. Shelford moved the ball much better. Our first try came after we won a scrum deep in our half, Kieran playing scrum half, took the ball from the scrum, spotted a gap, side stepped a couple of Stamford players to run over half the length of the pitch to score a the try. Stan’s try came in the second half after rolling rooks & mauls to put the ball over in the corner. James O’Sullivan made a good debut for the club.

Game 2: Shelford 5 – 0 Royston

Shelford try scorer: Tom CropperThis was a very tight game which ultimately ended with Shelford beating the County Champions. Shelford’s win came with a try from Tom Cropper in the first half, Tom capitalised on Shelford pressure to find space through the Royston defence. Both teams couldn’t be separated in the second half.

Game 3: Shelford 25 – 0 Stamford

Shelford try scorers: Tom Whitehead 2, Stan Clark, Jack Trebbeck & Tom ShorttLast game of the morning and we had finally warmed up. Our first & second tries came from Tom Whitehead where the ball came out of the scrum, Tom found space to run through tackles and make it over the try line. Stan had another great game playing as hooker and was rewarded with a try by scoring in the corner. Our fourth try came from Jack Tribbeck who ran from deep in his own half and through gaps in Stamford defence. Our last came after a period of sustained pressure from Shelford forwards and Tom Shortt was rewarded with a try after a good performance.Man of the Match went to Stan Clark for playing as hooker and overall contribution.

Under 8’s

Many thanks for turning out on what we thought would be a very, very cold day. As it turned out the sun shone and the boys ran their hearts out,  despite freezing fingers with few complaints. This week we once again played a mixed squad that performed especially well against Royston whom we seldom defeat - until today, this was followed by an excellent game between Royston and Stamford resulting with a draw 8 each. Our boys were then up against an upbeat Stamford with one of their diminutive players, causing a lot of damage with his excellent running and deception, nevertheless all games were played in great spirit. 

Shelford 20 Royston 15

This was a great starting game with all of our boys playing their hearts out to beat a side that had some swift runners and sizable players. In this game the try count was as follows:- Josh Butler 1 ( good run from his own half ); Harry Simpson 1 ( elusive as ever in attack ); Angus  and Henry Breeze 1 each ( choosing to run straight and hard ). The support play was excellent in this game, with all the boys playing their part in holding out a strong Royston side. By way of defence Harry and Angus tagged 8 each, followed by Tom French with 5 tags. Most of the other boys tagged at least once.

Shelford 30 Stamford 40

Shelford 110 Royston 105

Shelford 70 Stamford 70

Even on this cold and snowy day, an excellent turn-out meant that Shelford under 7’s were able to put out two very strong teams. Taking on Royston & Stamford the players put in great performances and tried very hard in both defence and attack. Against strong opposition all matches were competitive and strongly contested. In one particular game against a very strong Royston, Shelford scored one of the best tries of the season going through nearly 15 phases until finally touching down in the left hand corner. Well done to everyone who played and we look forwarded to seeing you all next Sunday at home to West Norfolk.