Under 17’s

Shelford Under 17's Battle to reach EC Cup Final

North Walsham 7 Shelford 11

Shelford had to work mightily hard to gain a well earned victory against an extremely tough and well-drilled North Walsham team. Having lost to Walsham in the pool fixture between the sides a few weeks ago, Shelford knew they had to work extremely hard against Walsham's powerful pack, and they ultimately gained the edge in most facets of the game throughout the contest, excluding the lineout which in blustery conditions was a lottery for both sides on the day.

Shelford's scrum was completely solid all day, and had the Walsham pack going backwards on a number of occasions. Early Walsham pressure gave them the edge territorially, but good Shelford defence kept them at bay. A couple of silly penalties by Shelford early on kept the pressure on, but they finally managed to use the strong breeze to gain good field position and finally impose some superiority on the game. An offside decision against Walsham in front of the posts saw Lewis Cracknell slot the kick to give Shelford a deserved lead at 3-0 after a dour first 20 minutes.

A breakout by the Shelford backs saw the ball shipped wide, and from quick ruck ball we saw the rampaging Connor Denton charge on the burst for a well constructed score at 8-0. Cracknell's conversion attempt drifted agonisingly wide. Shelford then continued to dominate possession and territory towards the break, but a solid Walsham defence were difficult to breach as well as being really sharp at turning over anyone remotely isolated at the tackle area. Walsham did find themselves down a man after some persistent infringing at the breakdown. Shelford didn't really capitalise on the man advantage, but were rewarded with another penalty on the stroke of half-time, which again Cracknell slotted well for an 11-0 half-time lead, but with the elements to face.

The second half started with Walsham looking to up their game, but a fantastic defensive effort by the whole Shelford team (especially the pack) kept knocking the Walsham ball carriers back time and again, with Louis Rawlings and Sam Porter particularly prominent in the tackle area as well as gaining a number of crucial turnovers. Walsham's catch & drive at the lineout was also dealt with efficiently, but out wide Shelford's tendency to tackle too high instead of legs meant that Walsham were getting some forward momentum going in their play. With the strong wind at Walsham's backs it was difficult for Shelford to get out of their half, but some occasional wrong options taken by Shelford when in possession meant that they were a little guilty of not being able to relieve the pressure on themselves.

Some superb tackling by the Shelford back three kept their line in tact as Walsham opened up their play a little more, but as the clock started to run down Shelford needed to hold their defensive nerve. This was not helped by the sin-binning of Connor Denton for killing the ball in the tackle area, followed by captain Sam Porter for hands in the ruck late in the game. Shelford's 6 man pack finally conceded a try mauled over the line by Walsham, which was converted on the stroke of full time for an 11-7 victory.

This was a pretty ugly win by Shelford, but shows that they are capable of mixing up their game plan to suit against different opposition and indifferent weather conditions. This was certainly nothing like the full flowing rugby they played in the previous game against Norwich, but was certainly good enough and effective enough to book a place in the Final against Colchester next weekend. Well done to the whole squad!!

Squad: Sam Porter (Captain), Sam Perry (Vice Captain), Nathan Taylor, Dan Smith, Calum Miller, Lachlan Finlayson, Michael Schumann-Pratt, Alasdair Kerslake, Jack McDaid, Iowan Thomas-Mathieson, Louis Rawlings, Connor Denton, George Teeboon, Alex Long, Lewis Cracknell, Alex Flynn, Calum Shaw, James Clare, Ross Ferguson, Toby Poirier, Dan Burling, Lewis Green.

Under 16’s

Braintree 48 Shelford 5

I could just do a report which says we came, we saw, we got thumped, we went away again but I'll spin it out a bit for the benefit of those who read this. To sum up a 48-5 defeat for Shelford as a bad day at the office would be a bit unfair on an excellent Braintree side who were hungrier for the ball, faster and better organised than a Shelford side who only woke up when they were 22-0 down after 25 minutes with Braintree running in four tries with one conversion albeit with a strong wind behind them. Shelford finished the half well and in the last play of the half Matt Bauld picked the ball up at the base of the scrum 10 yards out and blasted his way through the Braintree defence to score. The conversion attempt was missed which left the score at half time 22-5 to Braintree.

With the wind at their backs Shelford spent a bit more time on the offensive in the second half but couldn't penetrate a resolute Braintree defence and the hosts were menacing every time they attacked. They added four more tries in the half with a mixture of great running and handling and with three conversions being added this made the final score 48-5 to Braintree. Braintree were the best side Shelford have come up against this season and even at their best they would have struggled to come away with anything from this game. Shelford do need to get themselves more fired up before games and had they done this today they may have put up a bit more resistance in the first twenty minutes than they managed to muster even with the disadvantage of a strong wind in their faces. All in all one to put in the lets forget about it category but we don't come up against teams of Braintree's calibre every week. Ken Ross

Under 14’s

Chingford 21 Shelford 31

Let's hang on to what we got…

Hang on, hang on, hang on

To what we got [doo-doo doo-doo doo-doo]  

(Franki Valli and the Four Seasons)

This looked like a hard-fought but decisive victory for the under-14s until the last quarter of the game – but more of that later.This was a tough encounter from the outset, against a large and determined Chingford team, who began the game pressing hard at the Shelford defence, which responded well. After soaking up the pressure, Shelford was awarded a penalty and David Pugh crashed over the line towards the left touchline for the first points. Conor Sullivan did very well to convert the try, kicking at an awkward angle, and having to cope with a strong, blustery wind, which was a feature of the whole game.

The second quarter started well for Shelford, with a fast chase from the kick-off resulting in the ball being turned over and passed to Dom Talbot on the wing. Dom put his foot on the accelerator and touched down before the Chingford team could respond. Shelford continued to have the ascendancy in this period of the game. A Chingford lineout was well stolen by Sam Barrett and passed out to the backs. A strong move, with some excellent passing, got the ball to the other wing, with Conor running through to add to the points, the first half finishing with Shelford ahead 17-0.Chingford continued to press as the game went on but the Shelford defence held out. A defensive kick from the Shelford line was well chased, with David collecting the ball at the half-way line and charging though the Chingford defence to touch down under the posts, Conor converting. Strong scrummaging from the Shelford pack was a notable feature of the day against much larger Chingford players. This led directly to the team’s final score of the day, winning a Chingford scrum against the head to pass to David, who secured his hat-trick, placing the ball between the posts for Conor to add the extras.

As we moved into the final quarter, Shelford were ahead by 31-0 and a comfortable, if hard-fought victory looked assured. Chingford, however, to their considerable credit, had not given up and ended the game very strongly. After their first try, there was a feeling that this was deserved, and that they should not leave empty-handed. As they scored a second, and then a third try, all converted, things began to feel a lot less comfortable and there was some relief when the final whistle went, leaving the score at 21-31 in Shelford’s favour.This was a great morning of rugby, with many positives for the Shelford players, especially the tackling.

The forwards worked effectively as a unit, and the backs performed well, moving onto the ball at pace, with good and inventive passing down the line. The game was played in good spirit, and the welcome at the club house afterwards was warm. Many thanks to our hosts for providing pasties and beans not only to the players, but also to the coaches and hangers-on, a very welcome surprise. Fine pints of Guinness, accompanied by bar snacks and a very friendly atmosphere, added the finishing touches to an excellent morning out.

Under 13's

Shelford 24 - 12 Chingford
 
Shelford tries by Benjamin Shannon 1, Troy Peace 1, Ollie Barnes 2

Conversions: Ben Johnson 1, Michael Pepper 1

Under 12’s

Shelford 30 – 5 Biggleswade

Try Scorers: Louis Neal x 2, Miles Brown, Tom Whitehead, Finn Karsten & Eric BellA windy morning saw Shelford win both games against Biggleswade. In the first game we ran in 6 tries. Our first try came from Louis Neal who broke through the Biggleswade defence shaking off a couple of tackles and getting his first of the morning. This was quickly followed up when Miles Brown dashed down the wing to score in the opposite corner. Louis got his second soon afterwards and Biggleswade pulled one back just before half time. The second half started well when Tom Whitehead powered down the wing with a side step to go over in the corner. A clever piece of play moments later when Finn Karsten kicked the ball over the Biggleswade defence to chase it down catch the ball on the bounce to score. Our last try in the first game came from Eric Bell who darted down the wing leaving defenders in his wake.

Shelford 35 – 10 Biggleswade

Aggregate score: Shelford 155 Biggleswade 105

Game 1: Shelford 45 Biggleswade 20 Tries: Ethan Karpuk (2), Seb Clatworthy (2), Charlie Hurd (2), Charlie Boyle (2)

Game 2: Shelford 40 Biggleswade 35 Tries: Joshua Speechley (3), William Barnett (2), Joe Davies (3)

Game 3: Shelford 25 Biggleswade 30 Tries: Harvey Skellern (2), Hurd (2), Clatworthy

Game 4: Shelford 45 Biggleswade 20 Tries: Edgar Watson, Ollie French (2), Barnett (2), Speechley (3),  Davies

Report:

This week Shelford U8s welcomed Biggleswade to the Davey Field.  Shelford won three of the four encounters with an aggregate score of 155 – 105.

In the first game Shelford stretched the Biggleswade defence from the first whistle and repeatedly demonstrated excellent support play to create space and produce some outstanding tries in a 45 – 20 win.  On his debut for Shelford Harvey Skellern demonstrated his pace and scored the first of his three tries for the day.  The other Shelford tries came from Ethan Karpuk (2), Seb Clatworthy (2), Charlie Hurd (2) and Charlie Boyle (2).

The second game was a much closer encounter.  Shelford scored in the last play of the match to edge ahead and win 40 – 35.  Another Shelford new boy, Fox Pollock, also showed some pace and was unfortunate not to score.  This game was also notable for Shelford hat-tricks from Joshua Speechley and Joe Davies, with the remaining tries coming from William Barnett.

In the third match Shelford went behind from the start and Biggleswade were always able to stay at least one try ahead.  This time it was Biggleswade’s turn to demonstrate the benefits of good support play as they beat Shelford 25 – 30.  The Shelford tries came from Harvey Skellern (2), Charlie Hurd (2) and Seb Clatworthy.

In the final match Shelford repeatedly took advantage of Biggleswade’s handling errors to take possession of the ball and to race away and score.  In a 45 – 20 victory Joshua Speechley scored his second hat-trick of the day and the other tries came from Edgar Watson, Ollie French (2), William Barnett (2) and Joe Davies.

It was again difficult to choose the players of the day, but for their direct running, strong support play and determined tagging, the players of the day were Joe Davies and Charlie Hurd.

Under 7’s

Shelford A’s 15 Biggleswade A’s 15

Shelford B’s  5  Biggleswade B’s 40

Shelford Sharks 15 Biggleswade A’s 30

Shelford Lions 30 Biggleswade B’s 30

The rain and cold wind held off today, to provide a much more enjoyable morning to play some rugby between two well matched squads.

Shelford A started the proceedings to produce a well deserved 15 all draw against Biggleswade A’s. Both sides showed a strong defence with some excellent repeat tagging shown by the Shelford players. Vinnie Allan scored Shelford’s first try followed by two tries from Joshua Barrett.

Shelford B had a tough first match against a strong Biggleswade B team. The boys and girls didn’t let their spirits drop throughout the match and their determination paid off when Joe Grant made a break for the try line and touched down the only Shelford try of the game.

Shelford Sharks were unlucky not to achieve a more even score during their match. The players tagged well and continuously supported the player with the ball. This support resulted in a hatrick of tries from Joshua Barrett, however Biggleswade continued to wear down the Shelford defence and won the match with 6 tries.

In the last match, Shelford Lions continually applied pressure to the Biggleswade defence and matched any breakthrough by Biggleswade to the Shelford try line, with a try of their own. Brian O’Shea started the scoring for Shelford with a pair of tries followed by four tries from George Shannon to end the match in a 30-30 draw.

Player’s of the Day were Monty Lovell and Joe Grant.