Under 15’s

Shelford 51 Rochford Hundred 17

Shelford tries: James Knoop (4), Ed Low, Ollie Walker, Callum Pratt, George James, Rew George
Conversions: Rory Hutchinson (3)

Rochford brought a big squad so we played three periods of 20 minutes to give all the boys a decent run out. This philosophy matched our own although injuries had reduced the squad to 18 fit players on the day. Rochford's first string was based around a powerful well drilled pack and they soon had a Shelford unit missing half of the regular eight under pressure. Despite some brave defence from the pack eventually the stocky Rochford right winger burst through some poor tackling. He had plenty of time to gesture to his teammates before putting the ball down behind the posts. I doubt that his knowledge of Ancient Greek literature extended to the concept of hubris - however, he was just about to receive a comprehensive lesson in its meaning.

Nemesis arrived in the form of Shelford fullback James Knoop. Knoops was simply awesome. After Ed Lowe had run through the Rochford defence for the equalising score James took over. The fullback position gives James the space and time to fully express his talents. He enters the line at the most dangerous point with an instinctive feeling for the gaps in the opposing defence. Kicking to James is always a mistake as he will run back at you with pace, strength and agility.

His first try gave Shelford the lead at the end of the first period. In the second period he scored three further tries as Shelford played with pace and width. There were also tries in the second period for indefatigable flanker Ollie Walker and prop Callum Pratt, who ran 60 meters to touch down, to general touchline amazement.

Three Rory Hutchinson conversions gave Shelford a comfortable 41-7 lead at the end of the second period. The game remained open and in the third period Shelford worked further tries for winger George James and centre Rew George.

As the game wore on the Shelford 8, who had been on from the start, understandably began to tire, and Rochford poached a couple of close range tries. No matter, as the makeshift front five had done enough against powerful opponents. Win parity of ball and the backs will do the rest. Final score Shelford 51 Rochford Hundred 17.

Under 13’s

Shelford 7  -  37 Chelmsford

Scorer: Ollie Barnes

Conversion: Ben Johnson

Under 11’s

Aggregate score: Shelford 5 Peterborough 25

1^st  ¼ Shelford 0 – Peterborough 10

A typically sluggish start by Shelford with some good defensive tackling put Peterborough under pressure. Nevertheless Peterborough gathered the ball and spread it out wide to find a hole for their swift centre to charge through and score.  Good tackles by Tom, Fin & Will. Shelford started to warm up and put in some good defensive and attacking play, however,  quick turnover and passing resulted in the ball being fed wide to a super quick Peterborough player (same centre as before) who went over to score again. This ten minutes illustrates the need for solid cover defence with boys covering each others positions. It was their speed of physical play; movement from the scrum and quick thinking that put us under so much early match pressure. A good learn for next week.

2^nd ¼ Shelford 5 – Peterborough 10

Peterborough dominated the game from the beginning looking very strong against our rotating squad, yet our fresh legs did not halt their powerful close quarter drives and ball distribution. Again, Peterborough in possession of the ball passed it wide to their super speedy winger who ran straight through the back line to score. Many defensive tackles missed and there appeared a reticence to actually physically tackle the opposition, as opposed to just stroking their shirts.  A few bad knocks firstly to Jamie and then Josh spooked our boys a little.

The forwards started to gel and Josh, Archie, Joe and Nick set about the opposition with gusto. Both Dan and Henry used quick thinking to chip the ball up field to take pressure off the Shelford line but speedy work by the well oiled Peterborough backs led to another player running straight through much of our squad to score again. Eventually Shelford pressure won a penalty given 8 meters from the Peterborough line, taken by Henry Breeze who charged straight through the Peterborough back line to put Shelford on the score board.

3rd ¼ Shelford 0 Peterborough 0

The upfront confrontations were energy sapping. Peterborough deployed large forwards who used their bulk to ware down players who continued to tackle above the waist line or enter into wrestling matches. Nevertheless fronting up to these big boys worked well in the end with 'honours even' by the end of this stretch. Restart led to Shelford line out. Great driving by the forwards and Shelford were unlucky not to score. Great defensive tackles made by Joe, Theo & Luke. Much better phase of play by Shelford who started to look much stronger, but many missed tackles across the squad.

4^th ¼ Shelford 0 Peterborough 0

The rotating Shelford squad began to settle and start playing as a team and kept grinding away to tire Peterborough, who were kept at bay with strong play and smart kicks up field to take the pressure off the Shelford line again. Nicholas Budenburg pounded his way upfield often carrying much of the Peterborough squad on his back ! Hayden entered the fray with a useful tussle over the ball with most of the Peterborough forwards !  

Extra Time

1^st ½ Shelford 0 Peterborough 0

Strong restart by Shelford. Good movement of the ball by Angus from the scrum combined with solid linkage between backs and forwards. Following a penalty, a good chip by Henry moved play up field close to the Peterborough line. Shelford scrum, Aiden to Sam, swiftly back to Aiden who made great ground but was caught short of the try line.  

2nd ½ Shelford 0 Peterborough 5

 Great run by Theo.  The Peterborough backs again passed the ball out wide for their star centre  to cut out wide and cut through for a try in the corner. Cracking tackles made by Fin, Tom & Julian.  Overall, crunching tackles made by Fin who darted from side to side of the pitch to stop numerous try scoring runs. Great defensive kicks up field by Dan and Henry to take play to the Peterborough line. A mention must go to Tom, Joe and Sam who made great committed tackles through much of the game.

 The overwhelming feeling was that the Shelford side was spread too thin and failed to win enough ball; distribute and move with speed or tackle collectively. The better team won on the day.

Under 10's

Aggregate Score Shelford 50 – Peterborough 45

Shelford Under 10’s enjoyed a late rally this Sunday to overhaul a Peterborough side on aggregate that looked for the most like coming away with the spoils.  Despite the cold weather (perhaps we should play our fixtures in Abu Dhabi too – seemed to work for Harlequins today) the home side turn-out was sufficient to field two separate teams and the squads changed over at half-time in each match, whilst the visitors used substitutes to keep as fresh as possible.

Match 1: Shelford 10 – Peterborough 25

Shelford started this match like a train, with the morning’s raining session still fresh in the boys’ minds. Shelford protected the ball and moved into around brilliantly, but stout defending by the visitors kept Shelford at bay despite the territorial and possession advantage they were enjoying. However, it was Peterborough who scored first, breaking free when deep in the own half. Steyn replied immediately for Shelford, but the visitors added two further tries. The half-time score was harsh on Shelford who had passed, protected and tackled well. The second half was a very different affair; although fresh, the Shelford boys were under constant pressure, conceding two further tries before Jacko scored right at the end.

Match 2: Shelford 40 – Peterborough 20

The second match was a real try fest, with Boro opening the scoring only for Pim to equalise straight from the restart. Boro went ahead again before Alex levelled the scores following a Shelford breakaway, with Boro using the restart to catch Shelford still congratulating themselves on their previous score. The tries kept on coming; this time it was Pim once again diving into the corner following some excellent driving from the home team. Concentration levels were kept up, leading to the restart quickly breaking down in favour of the home side who managed to put their noses ahead for the first time in the match with a try from Ed just before half-time.

All change from Shelford for the second half once again and it was either tired legs from the small Peterborough squad or sheer determination from Shelford that saw the latter simply blow the visitors away. Making up for one or both of last week’s reporters missing a try by Conrad, he took the match by the scruff of the neck scoring firstly in the corner after relentless Shelford pressure and then scored again almost immediately. The hat-trick was duly completed with a carbon copy of the first try before Michael set off on a long run from his own half after Boro had knocked on a wayward pass when well set to reduce the arrears. There was just time for the visitors to power over in the corner but Shelford did enough to win on aggregate for the third week running – a great start to 2011, well done all!

Tackle of the day goes to Ed for putting life and limb on the line and bringing down a Boro player twice his size!!!