Match Report Shelford vs. Bishops Stortford Sat 27th Sep 2008

Written by Administrator

Monday, 29 September 2008

Bishop Stortford 12 - 17 Shelford T: Lea (2) C: Gough (2) P: Gough On Saturday, Shelford 1st XV played away at Bishop Stortford and with the home team having recently notched up an away win at Barnes, this was never going to be an easy fixture. The Bishop Stortford groundsman should be commended for providing a pitch which was almost fit for sleeping on, let alone for hosting a rugby match. Furthermore, we could not have ordered better weather - the sun shone and there was only a slight breeze - and this set the scene perfectly for an enterprising and a thoroughly entertaining game of rugby. Playing up the slope with the sun in our eyes, Shelford began the stronger and produced a sequence of powerful phases up the left flank, which resulted in a straight forward penalty for Gough to convert. Stortford 0, Shelford 3. Despite a very physical and lung-busting half where chances were created and squandered in equal measure, defences remained firm and the scoreline remained unchanged to the end of the half. With the slope and breeze in our favour and the setting sun in our opponent's eyes, Shelford should have turned the screw in the second half and put our hosts to the sword. This did not happen, however, as we were caught napping shortly after the break and a speculative kick through from the hosts resulted in their full back racing through to pounce on the loose ball, which had come to rest over the Shelford try line. Despite the remonstrations of several Shelford players and fans who were all within a stone's throw of the ball, the referee awarded the try and the home side went into the lead. The conversion was missed, making the scoreline Stortford 5, Shelford 3. In the final 20 minutes of the game, after having attempted to play an expansive game with little success, Shelford decided to play much tighter. Once inside the Stortford half, we used our forwards to great effect and a series of well-coordinated drives saw Aki Lea power through a stretched Stortford defence to put Shelford back into the lead. Gough converted, making the scoreline Stortford 5, Shelford 10. The home side bounced straight back from this concession and put together a series of well-controlled phases that saw them create and capitalise on an overlap for a try in the corner. The conversion sailed straight through the middle of the posts to put the home side in the lead once more. Stortford 12, Shelford 10. This was a real test of our resolve and will to win. With 10 minutes remaining, everything turned to attack as Shelford continued to look for weaknesses in the home side's defence. Once more, the all-important score came through the pack. Several powerful drives and over 10 phases of play saw the Shelford Chiropractor, Aki Lea, barge over the line for his second try of the game and a score that would surely seal our victory. With Gough converting superbly from the touchline and 30 seconds remaining on the clock, all we needed to do was to secure the ball, run the clock down and victory was ours. However, from the restart, we fumbled the ball, which bounced invitingly into the arms of a desperate home side attacker, who burst through some equally desperate defence to leave only one obstacle between himself and the Shelford try line, Chris Glynn. With the Shelford fullback having already sustained a nasty injury to his right shoulder, the odds were in the attacker's favour.Then..., bang! Putting his body on the line for the team, Glynnie brought down his man with a text book one on one tackle and in a subsequent phase of play, Shelford turned over possession and put the ball out of play to record our third straight victory of the season and maintain our 100% winning record. Although we did not produce anywhere near our best rugby in this game, this was a character-building victory for the Shelford collective. We refused to give in when that would have been the easiest option to take and we remained calm under pressure in both defence and attack at critical times throughout the match. We can surely build on this victory and become a stronger side as a result. There will be many narrow victories throughout the league this year and, as happened on Saturday, for the ones in which we are involved, we must make sure we are on the right side of the result. Next week welcomes another tough fixture, when we entertain Hertford at the Davey Field. We hope very much to see you all there.

Last Updated ( Monday, 29 September 2008 )

 

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