Under 17’s

Shelford 22 Welwyn 12

Shelford came away with a hard fought victory (and numerous injuries) against a feisty and street-wise Welwyn outfit bolstered by an influx of players from Cheshunt and Old Albanians as both of these sides have lost their under 17's sides this season.

The game was played in 3-25 minute segments to allow both sides to rotate their squads accordingly, but a procession of injuries to our 'half-term holiday' reduced squad of 20 meant that in the end we were down to the bare bones and 14 fit players at the end of the game.

Shelford started the stronger and were always a threat out wide, but were under pressure at the scrums from a strong Welwyn eight. There were numerous handling errors and knock-ons early in the game from both sides, and Shelford were counter-rucked off a number of their own possession as they failed to 'clear-out' with conviction. The ball went through Shelford hands from a turnover ball in midfield, and this saw Ross Ferguson sprint through under the posts for the first score, which he converted, 7-0. A groin injury to Ferguson saw him depart soon after, which was disappointing after a fine start to the game.

Shelford then kicked to the corner for an attacking 5 metre lineout, and with a good catch & drive saw Connor Denton drop over the line for a well worked set-piece score, 12-0 and the end of the first third. The second third saw Shelford in the ascendancy still, and a fine break from midfield by Lewis Cracknell saw him draw the last defender as great support play by James Clare saw him burst away for a well executed Shelford score, 17-0.

Good forward play by Shelford put us in another threatening position on the Welwyn 5 metre line, and after a series of pick & drives by the forwards, Alex Long's fine dummy at scrum half saw him fool all of the Welwyn defence to score yet another of his 'trademark' scores, 22-0. Welwyn responded well through their strong 8 and went upfield. From an attacking lineout, they executed a fine catch & drive to bring the scores to 22-5 at the end of the second third.

There were a number of injuries and 'off-the-ball' incidents in the final third which detracted from the game as a spectacle, but Welwyn's pack did cross again with a converted score, 22-12. From there on in, the game degenerated somewhat with only a few fleeting moments of good rugby being played, but Shelford ran out deserved winners 22-12, but will find out in the coming days to what cost on the injury front.

Squad: Louis Rawlings (Captain), Michael Schumann-Pratt, Cormac Starling, Alasdair Kerslake, Lachlan Finlayson, Ben Pirzad, Nathan Taylor, Calum Miller, Connor Denton, Alex Long, George Teeboon, Ross Ferguson, Lewis Cracknell, James Clare, Calum Shaw, Alex Flynn, Nick Webb, Harri Beasley, Toby Poirier, Dan Burling.

Under 14’s

Shelford 29 Ipswich 7 

“I made all my generals out of mud.” (Napoleon Bonaparte)

Mud figured large in our home fixture against our old foes and friends, resulting in a game in which strength and resilience counted for at least as much as skill. This was not a pretty game but one which tested the home side’s ability to stand up to an aggressive and physical opposition, a test in which the Shelford team acquitted itself well.

Ipswich started the stronger team, pressing forward and spending the majority of the opening period in the Shelford half. The Shelford defence held strong and gradually the home side began to make progress up the field. A good attacking move led to a penalty in Shelford’s favour close to the Ipswich line. A tap and go from Max Burgess-Clerke got the ball to Kieran Moore who crashed over in characteristic style to put the home side ahead, with Conor Sullivan converting to make the score 7-0. The remainder of the half was closely contested between the teams, with good work in the scrum from the Shelford players, and effective challenge at the lineout, particularly from Callum Brown. The half ended without either side gaining further points.

The second half began well for Shelford with pressure on the Ipswich tryline resulting in a scrum in the home team’s favour. A well-worked move led to Max shipping the ball to Connor Hein-Jones on the weakly defended blind side, with Connor running through to add the the Shelford score. At this point Ipswich came to life and Shelford dipped, with Ipswich getting the ball to the backs, creating space and running strongly. This resulted in a touch-down under the posts and a conversion to make the score 12-7. 

It looked like the Ipswich team would build on its success with a second breakaway run down the right wing, which was stopped by a determined challenge by Alistair Russell and Peter Gordon, bundling the attacker into touch very close to the Shelford line. However, the Shelford team then started to regain its hold on the game and had the upper hand for the remainder, with the home team doing well to keep its discipline as the frustration of the visitors began to show. An advance by Shelford up the pitch led to Chris Oram powering over the Ipswich tryline to touch down. This was followed by one of the few flowing backs moves of the game, with Shelford passing the ball across the field to allow Peter Gordon to score under the posts, Conor converting. Further pressure led to the Shelford team securing the ball from a lineout close to the Ipswich line, and working the ball through phases with Callum Brown doing well to force his way through for an additional five points. 

The game ended at 29-7 in Shelford’s favour, with all players covered in mud presenting further challenges for Suffolk and Cambridgeshire washing machines. This was a performance of which all Shelford players can be proud, played in challenging conditions against strong opposition, with the home side showing great discipline and tenacity to secure the win. Particular mention also needs to be made of Chris Oram’s leadership as captain, for which he was commended by the referee. 

Under 13's

Shelford 5 Ipswich 36

Try scorer: Ollie Barnes

Under 10’s

Aggregate Score: Shelford 75 – Luton 30

With many players away on half-term duty – presumably in warmer climes – everybody got a good run out, with wholesale changes at each half time break. The first match began with an early score from Jack in the corner. Shelford then failed to capitalise on twice stealing Luton line-out ball deep in opposition territory and were made to pay when the visitors went over for an equaliser before half time. The visitors then took the lead early in the second half, winning their own scrum and aided by Shelford resisting the temptation to tackle the larger opposition players. However, this was the only occasion on which Luton were to lead and Michael quickly levelled things up at two tries each. A storming run from Ed took Shelford away from trouble on their own try line and he finished off the move scoring Shelford’s third try. The Chris Ashton award for swallow dive of the day then went to Ed, diving over much to the amusement / chagrin of the crowd (delete as applicable) and putting Shelford further ahead. This was followed by the wooden spoon version of the Chris Ashton award, Bart scoring with a rather less graceful attempt at a swallow dive, probably so-called for the mouth full of mud he received as he bounced over the line. This proved to be the final try of the match – final score Shelford 25 – Luton 10.

 Match two saw Shelford go ahead after some much improved rucking, the practice before the match clearly paying off, with Ben scoring in the corner. Luton then gifted a try to Big Jack by dropping the ball on their own try line but immediately made amends by scoring at the right end. Big Jack’s presence in the line-out led to little Jack embarking on a mazy run and putting Shelford in complete control. Another run and a fine pass from Jack set up Nathan who put Shelford out of reach at half-time. More squad rotation at half-time but no let up from the home side, Michael scoring after sustained territorial advantage. Luton hit back immediately – but so did Bart – and then again from Luton, the match ending with Bart scoring in the corner. Final score Shelford 35 – Luton 15.

Match three pitched a Luton squad described as their ‘C’ team but in reality they put up a good fist, playing good rugby  and without the high tackles that we had seen a few too many of in the earlier games. Ed popped up to score first after some good rucking and good old-fashioned maul that went in both directions. This was to be the only score of the half, though Alex scored a fabulous try in this match but due to an injury it was sadly disallowed. After half term, Bart doubled the advantage immediately from the kick-off. Luton deservedly pulled one back before Michael wrapped up the day’s play with a try at the final whistle to make the final score Shelford 15 – Luton 5.

The excellent bacon rolls made a very pleasant change from the usual but equally good hot dogs and with Shelford Under-10’s putting in a solid performance today we can look forward to the warmer weather and the spring festivals.

Under 8’s

Game 1: Shelford 20 Cambridge 25 Tries: Charlie Hurd, Joshua Speechley (2), Joe Davies

Game 2: Shelford 30 Cambridge 40 Tries: Conor Caughtry (2), William Gelling, Harry Punshon (2), William Barnett

On Saturday Shelford travelled to Grantchester Road to play Cambridge in the curtain-raiser to Cambridge’s national league fixture against Launceston, although only those in the clubhouse with binoculars were able to see the play after the games were unnecessarily moved off the main pitch.

Like last weekend’s encounters between these two sides, the games were very close but this time Cambridge came out on top.  In the first game Shelford went behind to an early try and were then chasing Cambridge’s lead for the rest of the match.  In the end the victory went to the side that made the least mistakes with Cambridge winning 25 – 20.  The Shelford tries came from Charlie Hurd, Joshua Speechley (2) and Joe Davies.

In the second game Cambridge again scored an early try and by half-time had built up a 25 – 10 lead.  In the second half Shelford came back strongly scoring more tires than Cambridge but weren’t able to get their heads in front and the hosts finally won 40 – 30.  This time the Shelford tries came from Conor Caughtry (2), William Gelling, Harry Punshon (2) and William Barnett.

Under 7’s

Shelford Sharks 25 Luton 10

Shelford Lions 25 Luton 25

Shelford 35 Luton 40

Shelford 35 Luton 20

Luton and Shelford both fielded reduced squads due to the half-term holiday today but both sides still showed great enthusiasm throughout the morning’s games.

 In their first game Shelford Sharks got off to an early start with a try from Thaddeus Glass. Luton responded with two tries but Sharks tries from Ruaidhri Carey, Joe Huntly and a pair from Toby Owers resulted in a 25-10 win to the Sharks.

 The Lions fought a well matched Luton side in their first game. Both sides tagged well and made the most use of space to attack towards the opposition’s try line. The Lions tries came from Harvey Taylor, 2 from Brian O’Shea, Bryce Holland and Toby Owers. Luton matched each Shelford try with a try of their own to result in a 25-25 draw.

 In their third game a mixed Shelford squad played Luton in a fast paced match. Both sides had some excellent runs down the entire pitch that resulted in tries – it was great to see the players side-stepping the defenders and, more importantly, running to stay out of touch. Several instances of offside from Shelford after tagging, resulted in the ball being turned over to Luton and Luton made the most of this to score the winning try just before the final whistle to result in a 40-35 win to Luton.

 In the fourth match, Shelford kept up the pressure and started the scoring with a try from Thaddeus Glass directly from the starting pass. Two tries from Joe Huntly were then followed by a try from George Shannon, who intercepted a bad pass from Luton while running forward and then ran the remainder of the pitch to score. Luton fought back valiantly and scored four tries but 2 more tries from Thaddeus Glass and a try from Joshua Barrett resulted in a 35-20 win to Shelford.

 Player of the Day was Bryce Holland.