A hard fought game at Ely on a sunny sunday morning ended up with a narrow 15-10 victory for Shelford.

Ely started the game with a greater tempo than Shelford and deservedly took the lead in the 7th minute when a clever cross filed kick from the Ely fly half was caught by their left winger who touched down in the corner.A difficult conversion was scored to make the score 7-0 to Ely.Ely still looked more up for things than Shelford but after 15 minutes following their first real foray in to the Ely 22 fly half James Gibson spotted a gap in the Ely defence  and outran the cover to score.The conversion was missed to make the score 7-5 to Ely.Straight from the kick off however an infringement by Shelford gave Ely a penalty which they duly scored to make the score 10-5 to Ely.From then up until half time the game ebbed and flowed with both sides having their periods of pressure but Ely went in to the interval with a deserved lead.

Ely started the second half in the ascendancy but gradually Shelford began to gain the upper hand and following a good break by Dan Pedler and Michael Dunnett ruck ball was won close to the line and Jack Owen ploughed over from close range.The conversion was missed to make the score 10 all 10 minutes in to the second half.Ely rallied briefly after this but Shelford regained the ascendancy and after one or two near things scored the winning try after 25 minutes.There was an element of extreme good fortune about it because there seemd to be a clear knock on in the build up but the referee didn't blow and Michael Dunnett crashed over from close range.The conversion was missed to give Shelford a 15-10 lead.From then on Shelford kept up the pressure but didn't add to their lead and with the advantage of plenty of fresh legs to bring on and off, comfortably finished the game on top over a tiring but gallant Ely side.

Under 14's

Saffron Walden 20 Shelford 14

“Silence is Golden” (The Four Seasons, as covered by The Tremeloes)

Well, it is tempting. There are, we have reliably been  told, rugby clubs that post only their wins on their website. But, as our mission is to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, here’s what happened against local rivals, Saffron Walden.

This was a fairly even game, but with the home side having a sufficient edge to run out winners. There were elements of good play from the Shelford side but the quality of the play and level of commitment were mixed. There was some good tackling and some strong runs. But there was also some weak tackling, some poor handling and some poor support play. Saffron Walden wanted the win more and overall put up the better show.

The game began with pressure from the home side and staunch defending by Shelford,. The pressure eventually told, with the home side taking the first points and converting to go 7-0 ahead. Shelford responded strongly with concerted attacks on the Walden try line, eventually resulting in a penalty from which David Pugh barged his way over the whitewash, with a conversion kicked by Conor Sullivan. However, Saffron Walden hit back just before the half time mark with an unconverted try to leave the mid-point score at 12-7 in their favour.

Despite Saffron Walden adding an unconverted try, Shelford had the better of it for much of the second half. The scrums were evenly balanced throughout and a rare turnover scrum to Shelford led to a strong backs move, with Connor Hein-Jones getting a try close to the touchline on the left hand side. Conor Sullivan excelled himself with a first-rate kick from a difficult angle in windy conditions to add the extras. Saffron Walden responded well and were threatening for the remainder of the game. In the closing moments, Shelford conceded a penalty under the posts and the home side sensibly put matters to rest with a straightforward penalty kick, leaving the score at 20-14 to Saffron Walden. 

The pasta meal in the club house afterwards was highly commended by at least one player: “The best I have ever had after a rugby match.” Thank you to our hosts.

Under 11's

Shelford 89 Huntingdon 21

Quarter 1:- Shelford 4 tries + 3 conversions (26) : Huntingdon 1 try + 1 conversion (7)
 
Tries :-  Archie Davison 2; Tom French 1; Sam Hurd 1
 
This quarter was characterised by excellent forward driving  and support play. With Josh Butler in particular tackling and driving forward with great enthusiasm. It was from two excellent sequences of  forward driving that Archie broke free both early and late in the quarter to dive through for two excellent tries. The backs worked well together even with positional swaps part through the quarter. It was great to see ball passing down the line with strong support play from both backs and forwards. It was from such a phase of play that Tom French broke through the opposition to run the last twenty metres to dive over for an excellent try. Tackling duties were well executed especially by Joe Thompson and Sam Hurd who seemed to be on the end of  many big hits. Sam on one of his many runs worked a gap to cut through a  flat footed Huntingdon defence, to score an excellent try. Luke Burnham had the tough job of marshaling the ball at the back but did well to gather some high balls and make some darting runs.
 
 
Quarter 2:- Shelford 2 tries + 2 conversions (14) : Huntingdon 0 try

Tries :-  Angus Thomson 1; Nicholas Budenberg 1;
 
I summarised this quarter as being one of solid rucking and excellent back play with all boys participating in both tackling and ball distribution. With Harry, Julian and Hayden linking well to work their opposite numbers on a number of occasions, Creating space for Josh Whitmore ; Carrick and Jamie Coates to make a number of solid runs. It was from one of the breaks created by Harry that Angus broke free to work his way up the pitch to dive over for an excellent try. Positional play was solid with restarts being well gathered by both backs and forwards. Equally we held onto the ball rather than kicking it away. Harvey; Josh and Daniel worked tirelessly in this quarter to help hold back some solid forward play from Huntingdon. It was from such a phase of driving play that Nicholas drove through a ruck to score an excellent try.
 
 
Quarter 3 Shelford 4 tries + 4 conversions (28) : Huntingdon 1 try + 1 conversion (7) 

Tries :-  Harvey Redfern 1; Max Murphy 1; Daniel Hoole 1; Josh Whitmore 1;
 
What a great effort by so many boys. The forwards were on the rampage with Daniel making a solo run down the length of the pitch to score an excellent and deserved solo try.  This was followed by a similar effort from Harvey using his considerable strength to carry a number of boys over the line to score. It was interesting to see both forwards and backs piling into rucks to clear usable ball. A number of back positions were shared as boys came off injured or swapped, with Aiden, Angus and Hayden playing outside their normal postions with relative ease.  Julian Renwick had some excellent runs in this quarter supported by Sam; Tom and Luke. The unselfish play by both backs and forwards was exemplified by both Max Murphy and Josh Whitmore receiving balls down the line for both boys to squeeze through on either wing to score. Ben continues to learn his positional craft and got involved in a number of rucks.
 
 
Quarter 4 Shelford 3 tries + 3 conversions (28) : Huntingdon 1 try + 1 conversion (7)

Tries :-  Angus Thomson 1; Aiden Thomas 1; Harry Simpson 1; 
 
Despite 48 minutes of play, the boys were up for playing more rugby ........... even the forwards. The final quarter was characterised by superb tacking by both Joe Thompson and Harry Simpson, saving our try line on a number of occasions. Archie and Daniel continued with their solid forward support of Nicholas and Harvey. Aiden's sprightly running continued as he wove his way from the half way line up the pitch and through all their backs to score a great try int he corner. This was followed soon afterwards by Angus breaking free near the line to drive through to score. Harry Simpson work tirelessly throughout the game and single handed chipped through and charged down a returning kick to go through and score.
 
 
A great effort by all the boys.

Under 10's

Shelford 25 Huntingdon 45

Under 9's

Shelford 50 Huntingdon 50
 
Well done to all those who played on Sunday. The three matches against Huntingdon were the best we have played this season. We saw some outstanding tries against a team who defended really well and it was great to see our newer players step up and show what they can do.  Special mentions to Aiden Manley for some excellent passing out of the tackle, to Sam Judges and Daniel for brave tackling and to James Farrington and Tait Remnant for  heroic forward play.
 
Our handling was excellent and Huntingdon pointed out that the we passed the ball better than any team they had played so far.  The kids are taking the skills they learn in training onto the pitch which is good news. Our defence has moved on and now everyone is making tackles. We will still work on technique to help them continue to improve.  We also saw  signs that the kids are beginning to organising things on the pitch, the more we encourage them to talk to each other and sort thing out for themselves the better they will be.

Under 8's

Shelford 135 Huntingdon 130

Match 1:- Sharks v Stags W 40-20 Tries: Joe Davies (4), Joshua Speechley (2), Conor Caughtry (2)

Match 2:- Saints v Stags L 35-50 Tries:- Harvey Skellern (5), Fox Pollock, Arthur Waddington

Match 3:- A Team v Stags W 35-30 Tries:- Ethan Karpuk, Harry Punshon (2), Davies (2), Skellern (2)

Match 4:- B Team v Stags L 25-30 Tries:- Pollock, Ben Hancock (3), William Gelling 

With two wins each and an aggregate score of 135-130, Shelford and Huntingdon were clearly two well matched sides.  Both teams played some good flowing rugby and showed the value of always supporting the ball carrier.

 In the first game a mixed Shelford side started well, always pressuring Huntingdon when they were attacking and breaking quickly when their chance came.  Joe Davies put in a strong performance with four tries, always seeming to be on the tagged player’s shoulder ready for the final pass.  The remaining Shelford tries came from Joshua Speechley (2) and Conor Caughtry (2).

In the second game another mixed Shelford side didn’t fare so well.  A couple of handling errors and turnovers resulted in early breakaway tries and Shelford were 20 – 0 down after only a couple of minutes.  But then Shelford tried hard to get back into the game and at one point were within two tries.  Ultimately Huntingdon were always able to stay ahead and Shelford lost 35 – 50.  Harvey Skellern scored an outstanding five tries with the remaining Shelford tries came from Fox Pollock and Arthur Waddington.

In the third game the two ‘A’ teams met and played out an exciting game of end-to-end rugby.  There was never more than two scores between the two sides but Shelford finished with one more try and a 35-30 victory.  The try scorers were Ethan Karpuk, Harry Punshon (2), Joe Davies (2) and Harvey Skellern scored his sixth and seventh tries of the day.

The final game matched the two ‘B’ teams and again it was a very close encounter.  This time Huntingdon went ahead early and it was their turn to win by a single score, with a 30 – 25 victory.  Ben Hancock scored a hat-trick, with the remaining Shelford tries coming from Fox Pollock and William Gelling.

With seven tries in two games, today’s player-of-the-day award went to Harvey Skellern.

Under 7's

Shelford 90 Huntingdon 95 

Match 1:- Shelford Sharks 25 Huntingon Stags 30

Tries:- George Shannon (2) Toby Owers, Thaddeus Glass & Harvey Taylor

Match 2:- Shelford Sharks 30 Huntingdon Stags 25

Tries:- Brian O'Shea, Glass (2), Taylor, Owers (2)

Match 3:- Shelford Sharks10 Huntingon Stags 30

Tries:- Glass (2)

Match 4:-Shelford Sharks 25 Huntingdon Stags10

Tries:-Shannon (3), Vinnie Allan, Henry Sperring

Players of the Day were Hilary Hawthorn and Fraser Christie