Colts

Cambridge 25 Shelford 15

Shelford 27 West Norfolk 12

Shelford took on a full strength West Norfolk outfit at home today, and we saw a really keenly contested game between two well matched sides. We also saw a fantastic Shelford comeback after conceding two early tries. After a poor run-through prior to kick-off by Shelford, the omens continued to look bleak for them as they lacked a cutting edge in midfield partly due to over-complicating their backs moves. A couple of wild off-loads by Shelford put themselves under pressure and West took advantage of the possession to put a couple of scores on the board early on. The ball was moved quickly to their sharp left winger who beat his opposite number for pace before rounding Nick Webb at full-back to open the scoring at 5-0. More quick West ball found its way to the flank again, but this time poor Shelford defending (and four missed tackles) left a clear run-in under the posts for a West lead at 12-0. A couple of changes in the Shelford back line saw the balance of the game swing as Shelford started to look more direct going forward and certainly more solid in defence. Our hard working pack started to win some quick ball at the breakdown, and a sharp break allied with quick hands and good depth saw Lewis Green use his pace to finish off in the corner and put the Shelford comeback in motion, 12-5. A little bit of good fortune came Shelford’s way just before half-time when good pressure on West possession saw the ball go loose for Calum Shaw to hack the ball over the try line and gratefully dive over and score to reduce the deficit even further going into the break at 12-10 down. In the second half Shelford now had the elements in their favour and the majority of the possession. The back row of Perry, Porter and Rawlings were proving to be dominant at the breakdown, as they gained quick ruck ball for the backs (who were gaining in confidence) as well as winning a number of turnovers. A quick tap penalty saw us ship the ball through hands and a deft off-load for Ben Anderson to crash over for Shelford to gain the lead for the first time at 15-12. More quick ball again saw Lewis Green outpace the defence to move Shelford further ahead (and crucially two scores) to 20-12. West were now keen to get back in the game, but a combination of good Shelford defence and forced West passes meant that they could find no way through. A fantastic burst by James Clare saw a number of defenders bounce off him before putting Nick Webb through to score under the posts, converted by Alex Flynn to put the match beyond doubt at 27-12. This was a great game of rugby played in great spirit by both sides, as well as being a superb advert for junior rugby in the Eastern Counties. Well done to the whole squad!!

Squad: Sam Porter (Captain), Sam Perry (Vice Captain), Harry O’Callaghan, Cormac Starling, Dan Smith, Alasdair Kerslake, Michael Schumann-Pratt, James Clare, Ben Foster, Iowan Thomas-Mathieson, Ben Pirzad, Nathan Taylor, Louis Rawlings, George Teeboon, Alex Long, Lewis Cracknell, Alex Flynn, Calum Shaw, Ben Anderson, Josh Till, Dan Burling, Harri Beasley, Connor Denton, Toby Poirier, Lewis Green, Nick Webb, James Wilson.

Under 15’s

Newmarket 5 Shelford 34

Shelford 24 Huntingdon 20

It goes down in the record books as another win but in truth this was a game in which Shelford barely deserved to prevail. Victory was only won by the last kick of the match, a touchline conversion of Matt McCann's try by Rory Hutchinson. Until McCann crossed the line Huntingdon had never been behind in the game. There was no secret about how Huntingdon would approach the game. They would play with aggression, heart and directness. Every boy in a green shirt would be prepared to sacrifice himself for the team. At no stage in a desperately poor first half performance did Shelford come close to matching these qualities. The first few moments of any match are critical because that is when you make your statement of intent to the opposition. Shelford showed that they were not prepared to tackle, compete at the breakdown or take responsibility with the ball in hand. There was a glaring lack of leadership and a tendency to give away brainless penalties. Huntingdon took immediate advantage of this and scored their first try when their straight running inside centre ran through some non-existent tackling on the rightwing. A fantastic touchline conversion put Shelford 7 points behind. Shelford went 10 points down when they concede a kickable penalty right in front of the posts. A mazy run by flanker Ben Bishop halved the deficit but a second try by the Huntingdon centre through some weak tackling restored the Huntingdon advantage. With the conversion and another penalty kick the metronomic accuracy of the Huntingdon fly half was putting Stags out of sight as they ran up a 20-5 lead. Shelford at last put a move together as inside centre Rory Hutchinson broke through the middle and kept the ball alive for Sam Jones to score. With the conversion missed half time saw Shelford trailing 10-20. Changes were made at half time and this seemed to shore up the midfield and reduce the penalty count. As the game wore on our fitness and big squad became a factor as Stags started to tire. Shelford scored an excellent try as full back Angus Finlayson made the extra man to score in the corner. Rory Hutchinson kicked the extra points to set up a nail biting finale. Shelford were their own worst enemies during this period, running laterally and kicking away good ball. Eventually they managed to work an opening for winger Matt McCann to crash over in the corner. Rory Hutchinson kicked the touchline conversion and the final whistle went on a 24-20 victory to Shelford. The individual skill level in the Shelford team is high but once again our opponents showed us the value of teamwork and spirit. Congratulations to Stags on a gritty performance which went close to handing our boys their first defeat of the season. 

Under 12’s

Shelford 14 - 14 Sudbury

Shelford played in a hard game against Sudbury. Sudbury took a 14 - 0 lead within 8 minutes. Shelford battled well after that and got a try back from Ollie Barnes. After dominating the second half Ben Harper scored his first try for the club. The score ended 14 - 14 with two conversions from Edward Manning. 

Under 11’s

Shelford 30 Sudbury 20

Sudbury came into this game with an unbeaten season behind them and both teams were aware it would be a closely matched contest. The first five minutes were particularly tight with the ball barely moving up or down the pitch and each side effectively blocking the other’s offensive moves.  Eventually after a long Shelford drive, Ben Frisk pushed through the Sudbury defence and scored the opening try. Sudbury came back strongly, Ben Frisk cleared the ball off the Shelford line but Sudbury attacked again with their winger coming within inches of equalising.  After good defensive play by Tom Cropper and Finn Carlson, Sudbury came in again and scored a well-deserved equalising try.After the break, Sudbury went ahead with a strong forward drive that broke through Shelford’s defence.  Now Shelford fought back and their pressure was rewarded with a try from Tom Cropper, it was 10-10.  As before, Sudbury came straight back with a well executed move that put them back in the lead.  Shelford’s next push earned them a penalty just in the Sudbury half and after a strong run from Tom Short, Tom Cropper captured the ball to make it 15-15. Sudbury’s next attack was broken by a fine interception from Kieran Hatter.  Shelford built on this advantage with an impressive run from Ryan Deamer.  The ball was again captured by Tom Cropper who put Shelford back into the lead. As the game went on Sudbury continued to dominate the line-outs but Shelford were getting stronger in the scrum dominating that part of the game.  In their next attack, Bradley Goss took the ball right up to the Sudbury line, but a determined Sudbury defence regained possession and cleared the ball. A well placed Tom Cropper captured the clearing kick on the fly and ran in his fourth try to put Shelford 25-15 up. Shelford were looking to build on this lead and again brought the ball right up to the Sudbury line.  But a spirited Sudbury defence and counter attack brought them straight back into the game, 25-20.  The two sides battled it out to the end and in the closing seconds Tom Cropper once again took possession and sealed the game with a superb try in the far corner.  A superb all-round performance from two excellent sides. 

Under 10’s

Tigers 30 Sudbury 5

Shelford U10 squad had a tough morning’s rugby against a well drilled Sudbury squad. The Tigers team  out tackled , out ran and out thought the Sudbury defence to close out a bruising game with a victory of 30 points to 5. With Harry Simpson showing both excellent defensive skills and attacking flair to score two tries and Joe Thompson, Jamie Coates and Sam Hurd all scoring excellent tries.

Sharks 10 Sudbury 15

The Sharks team met a determined Sudbury side looking for victory. This game showed both teams to be equally matched in all aspects of the game. Sudbury opened the scoring to be followed by Shelford's Daniel Hoole driving his way over the line for a great try and Joshua Whitmore cutting through for an impressive try. In the closing seconds of the game Sudbury closed out with a try for victory.

Mixed Squad 35 Sudbury 0

In the final mixed squad game Shelford were dominant in most phases of the game with two boys scoring a brace of tries notably Joe Thompson showing his forward skills and Sam Hurd building his record ant centre. They were joined by Angus Thomson, Will Stepney and Daniel Hoole in scoring well worked tries.For the day try count was :-  Sam Hurd  3; Joe Thompson 3; Harry Simpson scored 2; Daniel Hoole 2; Joshua Whitmore 1; Angus Thomson 1; Jamie Coates 1; Tom French 1; Will Stepney 1

Under 8’s

Shelford 230 Sudbury 195

On Sunday we had a great turn out by both teams and a number of entertaining games. Having played Sudbury earlier in the season we knew that this was going to be a very tough morning’s rugby. With three matches running consecutively and all the teams mixing in very well, the standard of passing, tagging and try scoring was very high. Over the weeks our passing and off loading has improved and we are beginning to play some good structured rugby. Well done to everyone and see you all next week. 

Under 7’s

Shelford 75 Sudbury 105

Another Sunday and another four matches for the U7s. The four-match series started badly for Shelford with two heavy defeats but they demonstrated considerable resolve and greater commitment to fight back to draw the third match and win the final match.During the first game Sudbury gave Shelford a lesson in the value of good passing and strong support play.  Shelford lost 15-35 with two tries from Joshua Speechley and one from George Shannon. In the second game a different Shelford team took the field but was given a similar lesson going down 15-30 with two tries from Charlie Smale and one from Stuart White. After an opportunity to discuss the first two games and to shuffle the teams, Shelford played much better in the third game demonstrating considerably more commitment and did well to force a draw.  The try scorers were Joshua Speechley (2), Billy Manners and Ben Knight. The fourth match was proved to be the best of the afternoon for Shelford with them coming out on top 25-20, with a match-winning four tries from George Shannon and one from Brian O’Shea. All the players should take great pride in coming back so strongly and not letting their heads drop after the first two heavy defeats.  Well done.