Youth Reports will appear here as they are sent in by the team management... 

Under 16’s

Shelford 55 Peterborough 7

Peterborough competed extremely well in the contact areas, but once Shelford had their measure in this area quick ball was used to take advantage of their pace out wide and away from the breakdown. Nick Webb was first to cross the line after the ball was put through hands, and he quickly followed this with a second try after fielding a kick deep in his own half and jinked his way through a number of defenders to double our lead to 10-0. More Shelford possession went wide and this time Dan Burling’s initial run followed by a kick ahead was gathered by himself beautifully. Although he was tackled short of the line an exquisite off-load ‘out-of-the-tackle’ saw Connor Denton take advantage of his fine work to run in under the posts, converted by Lewis Cracknell for a 17-0 lead. Two further breaks from deep in the Shelford half by James Clare saw his pace out-strip the Boro defence, the second converted by Cracknell for a 29-0 half-time lead. Shelford continued the second period where they left the first, with Boro again making us work hard at the breakdown area. Within a few minutes of the half starting Nick Webb completed his hat-trick after the ball was again worked away from contact quickly. Joe Sherrington-Scales slotted the conversion for a 36-0 lead. A Boro scrum was then disrupted with a strike by Alasdair Kerslake ‘against-the-head’ and a peal away from the back the of the scrum saw James Clare burst through against a disrupted Boro defence, converted by Sherrington-Scales 43-0. Peterborough then came back at Shelford to score a try the efforts of their pack deserved, which was converted to bring it back to 43-7. Shelford then finished the game in the ascendancy as forwards and backs alike continued to keep the ball alive out of the tackle, as first Louis Rawlings crossed the line quickly followed by a second try for Connor Denton, converted again by Sherrington-Scales for a convincing 55-7 victory.

Under 14’s

Shelford A 62 Peterborough A 0

Shelford B 26 Peterborough B 0

The tone was set for this match right from the kick off. James Knoop caught the kick and ran mazily from one corner of the pitch to the other, seemingly trying to beat every Peterborough player before touching the ball down. The warm weather and firm pitch suited the Shelford handling game and Peterborough's big pack did not get a chance to impose themselves. The pace and power of the Shelford backs was too much for their opponents and Shelford scored 7 first half tries. Pacy winger Matt McCann grabbed 2 and Knoop added to his first minute opener. Toby Hackett, all grace and style, glided in under the posts. In contrast George Smith burst through with pace and raw power to score his try. Moses Kanyamibwa gained his reward for a really promising start with the club with the final first half score. Fly half Ivan Karsten marshalled his backs expertly and also kicked two conversions. A further conversion from Knoops made the half time score 41-0.Peterborough came out stronger in the second period and pressed the Shelford line. However further tries from McCann, Oscar Giles and Alex Tully, all converted by Ivan Karsten put the gloss on the Shelford performance. Final score 62-0 to Shelford A.The B team match was a closer affair than the score suggests. The big Peterborough pack showed their scrummaging skills against an inexperienced Shelford 8 and the boys were constantly under pressure. However the defence was strong and Peterborough couldn't force their way over. The pace of Shelford made the difference and two tries from Sam Jones, and one each from James Knoop and Matt McCann coupled with conversiona from Rory Hutchinson (2), and Knoop gave the scoreline a flattering look from the Shelford point of view. Final score Shelford B 26 Peterborough B 0.

Under 11’s

Shelford 26 – 7 Wendens Ambo

Shelford started the season with a victory against Wendens Ambo on a wonderful sunny and warm morning. Early pressure produced a try from Tom Whitehead after a powerful run through the Wendens defence and followed up with a conversion. Tom Cropper produced his first try of the season with a clever run but failed to make the conversion. Once Shelford started to pass the ball it came out to Erik Bell on the wing, Erik had the speed to run almost the full length of the pitch to put it over in the corner. Ryan Deamer making his club debut made the conversion.Shelford made a number of changes at half time which made the second half much closer, with Wendens pulling a try back early on but Freddie Robarts broke through the Wendens defence to score a good try. Kieran Hatter made the conversion. A good start to the season

Shelford 5 – 38 Wendens Ambo

Shelford development team found the going tough early on as Wendens bounced back after the first game. However it was a much better second half performance which produced a great try from Tom Shortt who made a powerful run through the centre to make it over the try line.

Under 10’s

Game 1 - Shelford mixed squad 5 (25) : Wendens Ambo 4 (20)

In the first half our senior players pulled out the stops with both strong rucking and good passages of back play. The forwards were rampant in closing down any lose ball and clearing out rucks with great effect. Josh Butler; Joe Thompson and Henry Breeze worked well as a unit making the ball very difficult for Wendens to control. Our backs also chose to move the ball well with good passing down the line to Luke Burnham through Harry, Jamie, Tom, Angus, and Mikey. The 2nd half was a tough one for many developing players, yet there were memorable moments - especially when Findlay Thompson bounced off a large winger but got up to tackle him again. A great effort by all Tiffany,Max Benton, Mathew, Jamie and the forwards who fought hard to hold the try count down especially Daniel Hoole, supported by Alistair  Graham and Max Murphy.Tries scored : Henry Breeze 2; Luke Burnham 2; Harry Simpson 1

Game 2 - Shelford mixed squad 7 (35) : Wendens Ambo 2 (10)

By the time Wendens got to the second game their squad of 11 players were tired but up for another game. Our squad had fairly well worked out the players to stop so Wendens forwards were very well wrapped up by both the senior forward pack and once again by a more confident set of forwards in the developing team. Strong forward play led to plenty of ball for the backs to run - which they did in both halves to the delight of Shelford parents ( and coaches ).  Daniel Hoole had his best g ame since starting rugby and rucked and broke free to score twice. Excellent linkage between our backs meant that Tom French could break through twice to score and likewise Will Stepney stepped up this week to show his flair and score twice. The best try of the day came from the solo effort of Josh Whitmore who made his way through all the opposition to score an excellent try in the corner. Only one try was conceded in the second half that showed just how much the developing players learnt from their first game with Wendens Ambo. Tries scored : Daniel Hoole 2; Tom French 2; Will Stepney 2; Josh Whitmore 1

Under 7’s

Shelford 15 Wendens Ambo 10

This was the first match of the season for the Shelford U7s and many of the players wearing the Shelford shirt were playing their first ever competitive game of rugby.  Despite going behind early in the game, Shelford came back well to grab a 15-10 victory over Wendens Ambo with tries from George Shannon, Oliver French and Joshua Speechley. After scoring the first try and making a number of important tags George Shannon was also named Player of the Match.  It was a great start to the season for all involved.