Under 16's

Shelford 31 Harpenden B 5
 
After a long lay-off due to the cold snap Shelford had their first competitive game since Mid-December. On what turned out to be a perfect morning for rugby, Shelford rotated their squad to make the game as competitive as possible and we saw a really close fought game with Shelford shading the breakdown with greater numbers when required to give themselves the majority of possession in the first half.
 
Slick hands by the backs put winger Harri Beasley into space to finish off at pace around the outside of the Harpenden defence for a 5-0 lead. Harpenden then tried to attack from inside their own half but spilled the ball, but Toby Poirier was quickest to respond to the loose ball and with some lovely footwork he stepped inside the covering defence to score a great individual try and extend our lead to 10-0.
 
The forwards were working hard in the loose and two outstanding performances were seen by Ben Foster and Nathan Taylor as the pair went on a number of rampaging runs to set up quick ball at the rucks once the support was there. Taylor was also on hand late in the game to thwart what looked likely to be a certain Harpenden try as he emerged from a maul close to our line with ball in hand.
 
A superb line break by Shelford then saw James Wilson straighten the line superbly well to give space on the outside for winger Harri Beasley to double his tally, converted by Calum Shaw for a 17-0 half-time lead.
 
A host of second half changes were made with many players being in unfamiliar positions. The second half was a much tighter affair with Harpenden now having a good deal more possession and were a major threat going forward. Shelford’s defence though held firm and when a loose ball found its way to James Clare he finished off under the posts, converted by Alex Flynn 24-0.
 
Harpenden responded well (now bolstered by a couple of Shelford players in Lewis Cracknell & Alasdair Kerslake in their ranks) and scored a deserved try of their own. From an attacking Harpenden 5 metre scrum their no. 8 finished off well in the corner as he twisted in the tackle to score, 24-5.
 
Shelford finished the game strongly, but with a 4-man overlap and about to go over the line the referee inexplicably called us back for penalty to Shelford which James Clare finished off and Alex Flynn converted for 31-5 victory. It was also good to see Lachlan Finlayson back after a four month lay-off and having a solid game as well.
 
Well played to both sides in an entertaining and hard fought game.