Under 17’s

Shelford 58 Ely 0

Shelford rotated their squad to good effect as we witnessed a stunning team performance against their old adversaries Ely. Shelford's squad was constantly changed throughout the game and this seemed to keep every player fresh and keen to perform well.

After a relatively even opening number of exchanges, Shelford then looked the more threatening with ball in hand but a rash of handling errors kept the game scoreless for around 10 minutes. 

Shelford's pack then started to run some fantastic lines on some 'inside ball' from depth and great surges were made into the heart of the Ely defence by Connor Denton, Calum Miller and Nathan Taylor in particular to set up some good field positions. The ball was then moved wide and a sublime 'back of the hand' off-load by Louis Rawlings put Dan Burling in for the first score, which Cracknell converted for a 7-0 lead. 

This seemed to settle Shelford's edgy start as they began to play with a lot more freedom, keeping the ball alive at every opportunity with some superb support play. Ely started to infringe a little at the breakdown in an attempt to slow the ball down, but from a quick tap penalty taken by Connor Denton, he off-loaded to Calum Miller as he ran in unopposed, converted by Cracknell, 14-0. Denton was again involved with the next score, as he cleared with a kick from the back of a defensive scrum. A fantastic chase saw a wall of defenders put pressure on Ely ball, as they forced an interception pass the way of Calum Shaw for his first score for over a year, 19-0.

Centre Alex Flynn then broke clear of the Ely defence for a 24-0 lead, followed quickly by a fast counter-attack from full back Lewis Green. The supporting Lewis Cracknell was the recipient of his off-load to score under the posts, which he converted for a 31-0 half time lead.

Shelford made a whole host of changes to their personnel at half-time, and also had to contend with the elements. However, having ran continuously with ball-in-hand in the first period Shelford were not going to change their game plan in the second. A superb performance by captain Sam Porter was capped by a try as he found himself in the middle of the back line to cross for the first score of the half. This was quickly followed by a deserved score for the outstanding Alex Long following a series of rucks. A dummy run by Denton was enough to catch the eye of the Ely defence as Long dived over from close range, 41-0.

The game was now extremely loose and perfect for Shelford's style of play. A fine break from deep by winger James Murdoch had the Ely defence back-pedalling, and coolly drew the final defender as Ross Ferguson screamed up on his shoulder to take the off-load, 46-0. 

With so many outstanding performances, it would be difficult to choose a 'man of the match' but Bob Thomas-Mathieson gets my vote after being absolutely everywhere in the second half. A fine break by Bob saw him break clear and Cracknell was again on hand to receive the final pass, but still with work to do. His score was converted by Ferguson, 53-0.

A final attack by Shelford, which was again instigated by Bob Thomas-Mathieson saw the ball go wide to Toby Poirier for him to touch down at 58-0.

Ely tried to get on the scoreboard late on in the game, but a stout Shelford defence and one superb final tackle by Murdoch (now at full back) denied Ely and made sure Shelford would not give up on a clean sheet A fantastic all-round team performance. Many thanks to Rory Finlayson for doing a great job at refereeing the game for us at such late notice.

Squad: Sam Porter (Captain), Sam Perry (Vice Captain), Lachlan Finlayson, Cormac Starling, Nathan Taylor, Calum Miller, Alasdair Kerslake, Dan Smith, Jack McDaid, Ben Pirzad, Louis Rawlings, Connor Denton, Ben Foster, Bob Thomas-Mathieson, Alex Long, George Teeboon, Lewis Cracknell, Ross Ferguson, Alex Flynn, Calum Shaw, James Murdoch, Harri Beasley, Toby Poirier, Lewis Green, Dan Burling.

Under 16’s

Biggleswade 14 Shelford 26

A great start to the game laid the foundations for a hard fought 26-14 win for Shelford Under 16s at a very windy Biggleswade on Sunday.

With the wind behind them Shelford took the lead in the first minute. Some nice interplay between the backs was halted near the Biggleswade 22 and after a forward drive Jack Owen broke clear to run in and score to give Shelford a 5-0 lead with the conversion being missed. Almost straight from the restart Shelford were back on the offensive and after another good move down the line by the backs winger Frank Omandlewis outpaced several Biggleswade defenders to score an excellent try underneath the posts. James Gibson added the conversion to make the score 12-0.

Another score followed  in the 15th minute. From a scrum on the 10 yard line, James Gibson broke the first line of defence and with support from Dan Pedler the ball found its way to centre Hector Finch who beat 2 Biggleswade defenders and scored underneath the posts. James Gibson added the conversion to make the score 19-0.From this point on Shelford seemed to take their foot off the gas and  the Biggleswade forwards began to come more into the game particularly in the loose and just before half time they scored a converted try following a good forward drive near the Shelford line which made the half time score 19-7 to Shelford.

This try plus the wind now in their favour put a renewed spring back in to Biggleswade's step and they dominated proceedings in the early part of the second half leading to a converted try after 10 minutes making the score 19-14.Again this try came about by a sustained aggressive forward drive near to the Shelford line. After this try Shelford managed to contain things in terms of territory with some good defensive work which contained Biggleswade in the middle of the field despite their ascendancy in the loose. And with 10 minutes left a good break by first James Gibson then Lawrence Glenister led to Shelford being held up 5 yards out. From this ruck Jack Owen picked up and drove over from close range with James Gibson converting to make the score 26-14 to Shelford.

And this is how the score finished despite some late Biggleswade pressure which Shelford repelled manfully. After last weeks display, praise must be given to the Shelford backs who played as a unit much more cohesively and looked very dangerous which ultimately gave Shelford the win.

Under 15’s

Shelford 19 Chelmsford 24 

Shelford try scorers: Ed Lowe (2), Oscar GilesConversions: Rory Hutchinson (2) 

Shelford threw away a comfortable half time lead with an ill-disciplined second half performance that gifted a good Chelmsford side the spoils.Shelford started poorly, with runners in front of the ball at the kick off. A pattern was established, with all the hard work of constructing good field position squandered by an elementary error or act of ill discipline. 

There was however some good rugby played during the first half. The trademark quick rucking, swift offloading and slick handling brought two tries for centre Ed Lowe. A wonderful flowing passing move covering two thirds of the length of the pitch brought a classy try for No 8 Oscar Giles. Two Rory Hutchinson conversions gave Shelford a half time total of 19 points. Ominously however Chelmsford kept themselves in the game after scoring from a tap penalty which had been moved forward 10 metres after a Shelford comment to the referee. This happened three times during the game which is unforgiveable. 

In the second half Shelford's discipline collapsed and Chelmsford took full advantage. They scored three unanswered tries - two through the forwards and one outwide after yellow cards had reduced both teams to 14 players. Shelford never got their game moving and did not threaten their opponents try line. So ultimately it ended in a 24-19 win for the visitors.

There were two lessons for Shelford from this defeat - the team must always stay disciplined and everyone in the squad needs to step their game up when things go against us. 

Under 14’s

Diss 7 Shelford 33 

Shelford under-14s made a good start before a ball was touched, by arriving punctually, assembling as a squad and emerging together onto the pitch with a sense of purpose that impressed the opposition. We travelled to Diss with a mixed team, giving priority in the starting line-up, and in game time, to those players who had not played, or who had played only briefly, the previous week against Huntingdon.  

Shelford got off to a strong start, David Pugh crossing the line with a bold run shortly after kick-off. A strong theme of the day involved players taking on unaccustomed roles and positions  and, in line with this, David was nominated “kicker for a day”, a role he performed admirably, comfortably securing the first of his four conversions to put Shelford 7-0 ahead. Dom Talbot added to Shelford’s score with two quick tries after making strong runs on the wing, the first converted by David. 

With Shelford leading 19-0 a few minutes into the game, team positions were switched to give players a wider range of experience and greater challenge. Backs became forwards, forwards became backs, we had a prop playing centre and a fly-half at No.8. The steep learning curve that resulted evened out the contest and Diss fought back, showing determination and good skills. Eventually pressure from Diss told, with a series of penalties close to the Shelford line leading to the award of a penalty try, the Shelford defence having shown a greater commitment to tackling the penalty-taker than the Laws of Rugby permit. A conversion ended the scoring in the first half at 19-7 to Shelford.  

The second half continued with the teams fairly evenly matched but with Shelford having the edge and taking the points. Demonstrating that time spent playing football is not necessarily wasted (a controversial view perhaps) David hoofed the ball towards the Diss line, took a second kick, got a kindly bounce and was about to touch down, when he was tackled off the ball by a defender, resulting in the award of a penalty try. Chris Oram scored the final try for Shelford with a strong, no-nonsense run at the Diss defence to touch down. Both second-half tries were converted by David to make the final score 33-7 in Shelford’s favour. 

This was a good result for Shelford, especially for the way in which it demonstrated the strength in depth possessed by the under-14 squad. Particular credit should be given to Ethan Abraham, Freddie Finlayson, James Lister-O’Shea, Jake Cropper, Matt Summerscales, Michael Impey and Jonny Durham who had not played the previous week, and who played all or the majority of the game today, showing good skills and stamina. Henry Starling performed well at hooker and Lawrie Oxley returned to the squad to get “man of the match” for a determined performance combining good running, good hands and strong tackling. James Thomas also deserves special mention for his performance, slotting well into the role of flanker, a position which was new to him. It was a pleasure to visit Diss, with our hosts offering good hospitality and making the players and parents feel welcome. 

Under 13’s

Shelford 22 - 12 Diss 

Tries scored by Ollie Perry 1, Ben Harper 1 and Sam Kiedyk 2.

Conversion by Ben Johnston

Under 12’s

Shelford 15 Bishop’s Stortford 35

Shelford played host to Bishop Stortford on a windy Sunday morning at the Davy Field on Sunday and  we played three games.

Game 1 Shelford 5 Bishop’s Stortford 15    

After a strong start from Shelford that saw Tom Whitehead go over for the First try of the morning after some great play from the Shelford forwards. The second half was all Bishop Stortford with three quick tries

Game 2 Shelford 5 Bishop Stortford 15    

Once again Shelford played well from the start With Ben Frisk getting the first try. The second half was again all Stortford with a very strong forward pack they piled on the pressure. But Shelford put up some strong defence with some good tackles coming form the Shelford full back and the rest of team defending well but Stortford proved to strong and scored three tries.

Game 3 Shelford 5 Bishop Stortford 5

This game was much closer with Lou Neal scoring with a great straight run down the middle leaving the Stortford players in his wake. The after the kick off Stortford gathered the ball and drove over to equalize. This was a great match up and a draw was a fair result.

Under 11’s

Shelford 45 Bishop’s Stortford 28

(Cambridgeshire County Champions v Hertfordshire County Champions)

1^st  ¼ Shelford 0 Bishop’s Stortford 7

Shelford kicked off with an old friend from last year, the slightly uncoordinated attack and a slow start. As we can do in games where the opposition is much more switched on from the start, we were knocked out of our rhythm by Stortford’s organisation and determined effort. There were some great try stopping tackles by Angus and Findlay Thompson who brought down a very speedy winger who had made great ground on separate occasions. Unfortunately towards the end of the quarter quick thinking and excellent kicking by Stortford led to a line out 5 metres from the Shelford line. The ball was claimed by Stortford who drove over the line to score a well worked try. 

2^nd ¼ Shelford 10 Bishop’s Stortford 0

A positive restart with Shelford beginning to look more cohesive with both the forwards and backs running through plays that we know they can deliver well. Good tackling and passing by the backs and driving by the forwards lead to Josh Butler crashing over the line to score our opening try. Although we can normally dominate teams from the forwards the Stortford pack were playing extremely tight and controlled rugby and this took a lot of work for our more lose pack to counter. Eventually this work got another reward with Daniel Hoole forcing his way over the line to score.  This quarter also saw some great examples of  kick and chase tactics used effectively, that helped alleviate any repeat of the pressure we had been under in the 1^st quarter.

3^rd ¼ Shelford 7 Bishop’s Stortford 0 

Stortford had been knocked out of their stride in the 2^nd 1/4 but got their game back on track with some strong play by both their forwards and backs. Shelford had also got into their groove and it wasn’t long before we were awarded a penalty. Space was seen in the disrupted Stortford team as they regrouped and a quickly taken penalty by Sam Hurd allowed him to charge up the field, darting through the bewildered opposition to score a well earned try which he converted. 

4^th ¼ Shelford 14 Bishop’s Stortford 7

The speed of the game notably increased and determination was exhibited by both teams with play going from end to end of the pitch. With the forwards starting to find their feet, a good push by Shelford towards the Stortford line allowed Joe Thompson pick up and dash over the line. This was again followed quickly by another try for Thompson who was now on fire. From a ruck situation he was advised calmly and politely from the sidelines that there was something of a chance that he could collect the aforementioned ball, and notwithstanding the efforts of the opposition to stop him, ground the ball over the try line facilitating points for Shelford. He thoughtfully collected the ball, stood tall and over the next few seconds, which past like hours, looked at the opposition line as their team seemed to part like the red sea and a golden glow marked his path to the try line. Then beeping like the road runner he headed at full speed for his well earned second of the day in the right hand corner. He also converted both his tries. 

EXTRA TIME

1^st ½  Shelford 7 Bishop’s Stortford 7

Stortford agreed to extra time which was beneficial for our mixed squad so all players could have more time on the pitch. Stortford came out very strongly and cracking try stopping tackles were made by Luke and Findlay on the wing. There was some great play by Sam with good passing resulting in the ball being fed to Findlay darting for the corner to score and then convert. A turn over at a Shelford line out by Stortford followed by quick passing along their backs led to a counter try. Stortford were clearly determined to try and level the score.

2^nd ½ Shelford 7 Bishop’s Stortford 7

Restart. Great tackle by Theo using his speed to chase down the opposition. Stortford were determined to take something from this period of play. From a Shelford scrum again turned over by Stortford, quicker passing along the Stortford back row led to a darting run and a try. Undeterred, Shelford backs made ground and we won a line out close to their line. Using one of our much loved line out routines Butler received and burst through the regrouping Stortford defence to score again.

All in all a great victory against a strong and disciplined Herts County Cup champs.

Under 10’s 

The Under 10s continued their good run of play after the enforced long winter break with a series of exciting matches against Bishops Stortford. The visitors arrived with a large number of players and with space available Shelford were able to run two matches simultaneously.  

Pitch 1: Shelford 20 Bishops' Stortford 5

Under 8’s

On a surprisingly warm Sunday morning it was a pleasure to welcome our friends from Bishop’s Stortford to the Davey Field.  With both clubs having large squads it was possible to play seven matches with Shelford and Bishop’s Stortford both fielding three strong teams.  Both clubs played some entertaining rugby with committed tagging and determined running.  Most of all it was a pleasing to see repeated examples of strong support play and thoughtful passing resulting in tries.

All seven matches were closely fought encounters with Shelford winning 3, Bishop’s Stortford winning 3 and a single draw.  For Shelford it was good to see eleven different scorers, with special mention to Harry Punshon and Charlie Hurd who each scored 5 tries in a single match, Joshua Speechley for a hat-trick and Joe Davies who scored two tries in each of the three matches he played.

The player-of-the-day awards went to Ollie French and Toby Morrison.  Both demonstrated some elusive running and determined tagging.  Everyone who played today should be proud of how they played and how they represented Shelford Rugby Club.

Shelford Sharks 25 Bishop’s Stortford 30

Shelford Lions 5 Bishop's Stortford 40

Shelford Sharks 25 Bishop’s Stortford 20

Shelford Lions 30 Bishop’s Stortford 35

After dusting off the cobwebs last week, Shelford Sharks showed today that they had remembered how to tag and looked like a different team on the pitch. Bishop’s Stortford eventually broke through the defence and scored 2 tries in the first half before the Sharks reached their line with a try from Toby Owers. In the second half the Sharks continued to both defend and attack well. A try from George Shannon and a hat-trick from Toby Owers to add to his first half try matched the second half tries from the opposition to finish the game 25-30 to Bishop’s Stortford.

 The Lions took some time to get going in their first game and Bishop’s Stortford made the most of the opportunity to score some tries. There were a number of heroic attempts by the Lions less-experienced players to break through the opposition’s defences and they were finally rewarded when Henry Sperring touched down over the try line. The score at the final whistle was 5-40 to Bishop’s Stortford.

In their second game, the Sharks continued to tag and defend well. Bishop’s Stortford continually put pressure on the Sharks defence but when the Sharks gained possession of the ball they attacked the available space and supported the man with the ball to ensure the most was made of the attack. The match was close at all stages but the Sharks persistence paid off and with 2 tries from George Shannon and a try each from Toby Owers, Joshua Barrett and Harvey Taylor, the final score was 25-20 to Shelford.

In their final game the Lions were recharged and showed they had learned from the mistakes in their first game.  The defensive tagging was hugely improved and gave the Lions the opportunity to run for the try line much more than in the first game. When the Lions attacked, the support the team gave the attacker meant that whenever he was tagged near the try line someone was there to take the ball over the line and score a try. The Lions scored 6 tries with a hat-trick from Jo Huntly and a try each from Ruaidhri Carey, Brian O’Shea and Henry Sperring to leave the final score 30-35 to Bishop’s Stortford.

Player of the Day was Jo Huntly.