Under 17’s

Shelford 50 Hitchin 10

Woodford 0 Shelford 46

Shelford took the trip to East London to take on a competitive Woodford side in atrocious weather. Shelford travelled with only 20 players and were still struggling for front row players (as were Woodford), so the scrums were uncontested for the whole game. Shelford took the benefit of the elements in the first period, and played for territory first by kicking deep and setting the platform. Pressure on a Woodford 5 metre lineout resulted in us making a mess of their possession and a moment of hesitation by Woodford saw Sam Porter dive on the loose ball for the first score of the game. The game continued to be a tight affair in the first quarter, but Shelford began to get on top at the breakdown area with Sam Porter and Louis Rawlings being particularly outstanding. An ‘in at the side’ penalty against Woodford gave Shelford the opportunity to extend their lead with a Lewis Cracknell penalty, 8-0. Woodford had a few runs in midfield, but good defending by Shelford saw us turn the ball over on numerous occasions, Lewis Green was particularly sharp in getting to his feet very quickly after making the tackle. The ball was moved wide from one particular turnover, and resulted in Ben Anderson crossing the line out wide, converted well by Cracknell from the touchline, 15-0. More good defensive pressure by Shelford gave us a 5 metre scrum, which Alex Long took blind and crossed the line for 20-0 half-time lead. A fine break by Woodford at the beginning of the second period gave Shelford notice of their opponents’ threat if they weren’t closed down early, but Nick Webb put in a fine try saving tackle. Shelford again quickly turned defence into attack as the ball was moved to James Clare in space for him to run in under the posts, converted by Joe Sherrington-Scales, 27-0. More defensive pressure by Shelford saw us win an attacking 5 metre scrum, and James Clare again went over the whitewash with a ‘pick & go’ from the back of the scrum, converted by Sherrington-Scales, 34-0. The final two scores resulted from more good Shelford defence as two interceptions were made, firstly by James Clare for him to complete his hat-trick and secondly by Joe Sherrington-Scales as he showed great pace to outstrip the defence, converted by Cracknell to complete the scoring at 46-0.

Under 15’s

Shelford 0 Woodford 64

In driving wind and rain Shelford U15s endured a torrid morning against a well-drilled Woodford ‘A’ team. The conditions dictated a game for the forwards, but the Shelford pack were overwhelmed by their powerful opponents who helped themselves to any loose ball, cleaning up in the rucks and mauls and dominating the set scrums and line-outs. Woodford signalled their intentions straight from the kick-off as the first passage of play led to a try, and from there on in it was one-way traffic. Woodford score four more tries without response to finish the first half 31 points ahead. Shelford made a stronger start to the second half, but any optimism in their ranks was soon subdued as Woodford hit their try-scoring stride again. A further five unanswered tries provided them with an emphatic victory and the game ended Shelford 0 – Woodford ‘A’ 64.