The Journey did not seem to have affected the team as they got off to the perfect start, with Tim ‘Chalkie’ White barging his way over in the corner after some excellent build up play with back and forwards combining effectively and efficient ball recycling. Worthing scored a break away try to take the lead at 7-5 but Shelford hit back with a penalty and another score by the human bulldozer to take a 13-7 lead.

Shelford were dominating the lineout and looking extremely effective around the breakdown securing quick ruck ball, turnovers and stringing together some well worked phases. In the back line James Worthington was covering well and  using his strong kicking game very effectively, while Warwick Anderson was proving very hard to bring down and made some strong breaks through the centre, powering over for a score under the posts following yet more well worked Shelford phases. The conversion and another penalty was followed by a runaway score for Worthing to leave Shelford 23-14 up at the break. A couple of forced substitutions after the break proved costly for Shelford as they started to try to force the game a little too much and worked less as the effective unit that had dominated the first half and more as individuals. Worthing capitalised on this and took the lead through two scores to leave us trailing 23-26.

We managed to get back down into the Worthing half and took the points on offer to level the score at 26-26. A second foray into the Worthing half led to another penalty wide out and again the points were duly taken to give us a 29-26 lead, with about 5 minutes left. We then allowed Worthing to dictate the closing minutes which led to a score in the corner giving them 31-29 lead. Despite holding on to the ball for the remaining time no gaps could be found and the final whistle went with Shelford left exhausted and disappointed in letting the game slip out of their grasp. 

The game was characterised by some excellent periods of play by Shelfod, which were unfortunately punctuated by some costly errors. We will need to work hard at training this week to continue the improvement that has been so evident in the first few games. We will also need to focus on correcting the mistakes and ensuring a more a consistent performance against Portsmouth next Saturday at home.