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Colts

Shelford 17 Bury St Edmunds 14

For the second week in a row Shelford had the luxury of replacements, this week there were 3 of them.  The opposition, however, only had 12 players by the time the delayed kick off time arrived. Feeling in benevolent mood we loaned them the required players & our thanks go out to those that fulfilled this thankless task. With a Shelford pack containing 7 front row players & only 1 line out jumper it was all set to be an interesting afternoon. The Shelford pack dominated the first 10 minutes of play & provided the backs with some decent ball but handling errors thwarted their efforts to cross the line. A short interlude then occurred following  Jonno Swain’s unusual tackling technique of putting his head in front of his opponents knee. A technique all others knew was doomed to fail &, indeed, left Jonno sprawled on his back with arms above his head like some cartoon character & in a little world all of his own. There now followed a few moments of moral dilemma, should we ask for one of our players back from the opposition, after all it was still 0 – 0! We decided to test the character of our team & play on with 14 men, this wasn’t looking such a good idea & when Elliot Mepham from the under 17s volunteered his services they were readily accepted. Moral dilemma sorted.  Shelford continued to dominate throughout the first half, but failed to cross the line until shortly before the half time whistle. Bury sent a high clearance kick into the arms of Tom Queripel who, having taken a brilliant catch, jinxed his way from just inside the opponents half to within a few yards of the try line. The ball was quickly recycled and Ben Wierny pounced on his chance to drive over the line for a try which he then converted. Half time score 7 – 0. Further Shelford pressure in the second half saw them go further ahead by a try from Elliot Mepham, score 12 – 0 & what should have been “game in the bag “. Bury , now with 14 of their own players, had other ideas &, came back with some strong running which paid dividends in the form of two converted tries 12 – 14, although it must be said this was assisted by Shelford’s decision not to tackle for about five minutes . There followed a nail biting period & time was not on Shelford’s side but they kept pressing the Bury line & with only a three minutes of the match remaining Cameron Fay, who had tackled ferociously all afternoon,  crossed the line for a well deserved try making the score 17 – 14. TRUE GRIT by all.

Under 16’s

Shelford 74 Bedford Swifts 0

A twelve try victory with eight of those tries scored by wingers was testimony to how much width and depth Shelford played with today on another perfect day for running rugby. Swifts were combative in the forwards and counter rucked Shelford off their own ball on a couple of occasions early in the game, but were ultimately outclassed by some slick back play once possession was secured and the ball went through hands. Good kicking out of hand by Joe Sherrington-Scales and Alex Flynn gave good field position for Shelford to launch some attacks from. First half tries were scored by Lewis Green (2), Lewis Cracknell (2) plus one for James Clare alongside 3 conversions for Lewis Cracknell making the half-time score 31-0 in favour of Shelford. A nasty looking injury to a Swifts player resulted in us moving pitches for the second period but thankfully the injury was nothing more than a dead leg. Shelford took a little time to settle in the second period, but once the platform was set more width was put on their possession for Shelford to run in seven more tries. Lewis Green scored two more to finish with four, alongside completed hat-tricks for James Clare & Lewis Cracknell. Louis Boulter scored a try on debut after some great off-loading, plus a final try for the team through Dan Burling. There were three further conversions for Lewis Cracknell plus one for Lewis Green completing the scoring for Shelford at 74-0.

Under 15’s

Shelford 31 Newmarket 19

Shelford U15s started strongest against a typically physical Newmarket side. With the forwards winning the loose ball and continual recycling to close support, the Shelford backs soon made room for James Gibson to go over for the first try. The pack's dominance was rewarded by a strong drive over the line by Hector Finch for a try converted by Gibson taking the score to 12-0. Good, quick hands in the backs then allowed Alistair Kingdon to make try scoring look simple, increasing the lead to 17-0.Further Shelford pressure told as George Knowles chased his own kick to nail the Newmarket full-back to his line. The pack were soon on hand to rob the ball which was fed to Kingdon who added his second try, converted by Knowles, giving Shelford a 24-0 half-time cushion. Shelford lost a little momentum in the second half as Newmarket used the break to re-group and came out fighting stronger. Their more robust approach paid dividends with two tries from their forwards. Shelford, however, provided the highlight of the half when Frank Omandlewis turned on the gas to tear through the Newmarket midfield and out-paced the defence to score a superb try under the posts, converted by Gibson. Newmarket managed a late consolation try, but Shelford finished worthy winners with a 31-19 victory. 

Under 14’s

Both Shelford teams recorded fine wins over tough opposition this Sunday. The long injury list meant it was hard for either team to establish a pattern but resilient defending punctuated by moments of individual brilliance won the day.

Shelford B 38 Harpenden B 12

The boys made a characteristically slow start and some sloppy first up tackling allowed the Harpenden outside centre to run in a soft first try. Shelford began to impose their style of play over the opposition and worked an opening for pocket battleship winger George James to score. On the other flank Harpenden were allowing George Smith too much time and space to use his pace and power and he duly delivered with two tries. A Rory Hutchinson conversion gave Shelford a halftime lead of 17-5. In the second half Matthew McCann replaced Smith and he also enjoyed the wide open spaces scoring twice. Harry Hitchcock, playing in the unfamiliar position of outside centre, was driven over by the pack to notch the final score. Three excellent conversions by Will Lander put the gloss on the Shelford performance. Harpenden scored a late consolation but Shelford were worthy winners, with the final score 38-12 to Shelford.

Shelford A 24 Harpenden A 12

Shelford 5 v 5 Ipswich

Sleepy Shelford managed to convert pressure in the first half when Garret Shannon got the ball close to the try line and powered forward to score. Ipswich scored from the start of the second half.

Shelford 5 v 15 Woodbridge

Shelford were given a lesson in passing and team play. Woodbridge deserved their victory. Our try came in the first half after a period of Shelford pressure when Kieran Hatter picked up the ball 10 yards out and bravely ran through the break in the Woodbridge defence to score.

Shelford 0 v 5 Sudbury

Shelford’s frustration continued as they failed again to win a game.

Shelford 5 v 10 Bury St Edmunds

This was Shelford’s last game in the BSE Festival and managed to play with a little more cohesion and teamwork. All the points came in the second half. Bury scored first.  Shelford try followed a period of pressure and Garret Shannon got hold of the ball from the back of the maul to thunder over the line in the corner. Bury needing a win to reach the final pressed hard and were rewarded near the end.

Shelford’s expectations were high today after winning the Peterborough Festival last week but it shows you can never be complacent. Many of the less experienced players stepped up with really good performances today.

Under 10’s – Bury St Edmunds Festival

Pool: Shelford 10 Ipswich 15

In part our boys were still not fully awake for such a stiff challenge, so early in the day but also our core skills of passing; rucking and tackling were not what we expect from our squad. The great thing about this game was our boys did not give up - Ipswich were two tries up and thought they had the game won. Our forwards started to drive over lose ball and move as a unit and the backs too went up a gear. Julian Renwick scored an excellent try and although new to scrum half passed the ball with confidence. Harry Simpson and Tom French linked up well for Harry to score and excellent try in the corner. With three minutes to go we felt the game could be drawn but it was not to be.

Pool: Shelford 10 Woodbridge 10

This was a game that probably both teams are saying they should have won! Our forwards in both halves played very well Josh Butler and Harvey driving the ball forward and in the second half Henry, Joe and Daniel linking up well to put pressure on a side we have only played once before. Strong supporting play amongst the forwards helped Henry Breeze drive over the line for an excellent try. The attacking play amongst our backs was excellent with some solid passing between Jamie Johnson, George Grey, Findlay Thompson and our combination of Tom French and Harry Simpson set Harry up for an excellent try.

  Pool: Shelford 0 Sudbury 0

I always felt that we were going to win this game comfortably but the boys were demoralised at being pulled up in every phase of play - granted some of it was right - we should not be entering rucks from an off side position or handling the ball in the ruck. Talking the Sudbury coach after the game he was greatly relieved that the result was a draw!

Pool: Shelford 40 Bury St Edmunds 0

So finally our squad clicked, their last game of the day proved decisive as the sun broke through. The first half pressure brought us three tries; excellent forward play gave Joe Thompson the space to score two tries and Tom French one for the backs. This set the platform for the second half Harvey Redfern stepped up his game with some encouragement from the big bear - Steve ( who has now lost his voice !) and scored an excellent solo try . Joe added to his first half score by finding an excellent gap for a score in the corner and Tom French was yet again mesmeric looping through gaps and driving with the ball in hand to score two more exquisite tries. Young Findlay Thompson continues to sparkle and danced and weaved his way through for an excellent try. All of this would not have worked with players NOT working together.  

Under 9’s – Bury St Edmunds Festival

Shelford Under 9's played very well at the Bury Mini Festival on Sunday. Conditions were good and the 15 members of the Squad tasked for the festival "played their socks off" according to coach Damon Astin. The tempo of the day was fast, with only 20 minutes between games. The players kept their concentration and energy throughout, winning against Woodbridge and drawing with Bury but losing to Ipswich and Sudbury.  Some extremely fast and agile runs by Alex Bedford and James McAuley, the latter literally spinning through the opposition's clutches. Some notable tries were scored by Haydon McKenzie, Alex Bedford, James McAuley, Jack Knight (who landed the deciding try against Woodbridge) and Charlie Love (there were others but this hack did not get all the names!). Some really good passing starting to take shape - Josh Borrett demonstrated some very well placed long passes. The team got through to the plate final only to be told at the last minute that due to some technical scoring rule of the competition they actually were not to play in the final. Team maintained its good humour and departed home a job well done.

Under 8’s – Bury St Edmunds Festival

Pool: Shelford 35 Ipswich 15

Pool: Shelford 30 Woodbridge 10

Pool: Shelford 30 Sudbury 10

Pool: Shelford 30 Bury St Edmunds 10

Cup Final:  Shelford 5 Bury St Edmunds 5   (Bury won with a Golden Try in extra time)

Pool: Shelford 30 Ipswich 35

Pool: Shelford 30 Woodbridge 10

Pool: Shelford 20 Sudbury 15

Pool: Shelford 30 Bury St Edmunds 20

Plate Final:  Shelford 40 Newmarket   45 (on Golden Try)

Report: Another festival and another outstanding performance by the Shelford U7s.  Shelford opened the pool stage of the Bury St Edmonds festival slowly with a 30-35 defeat to a strong Ipswich side, with three tries from Joshua Speechley, two from Harry Punshon and one from Edgar Watson.  By the second match Shelford had woken up and beat Woodbridge 30-10, with three tries from Speechley and one each from Punshon, Toby Owers and Ben .  In a much closer third pool match Shelford scored in the last play of the match to win 20-15, with two tries each from Speechley and Punshon.  In the final pool match Shelford continued their good run with a 30-20 win over Bury St Edmunds, with five fries from Speechley and one from Punshon.  With three wins from four matches, Shelford progressed to the Plate final where they met Newmarket.  By the final whistle the scores were even at 40 points each, with five tries from Punshon and one each from Speechley, Owers and Ben.  The final moved into the golden try format and after one possession each the Shelford line was breached and Newmarket scored the deciding try.  Shelford could again holds their heads high and be proud of the way they represented the club.  With two important tries and a number of match defining tags the Shelford player of the day was Ben.