| Youth Reports - 3/4/11 |
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| Written by Andrew Baron | |
| Sunday, 03 April 2011 | |
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Colts Eastern Counties Cup Semi-final - Colchester 12 Shelford 36 - Sunday 3rd April Shelford weathered the Colchester early pressure but then produced a powerfull forward display to eventually run out comfortable winners. Paddy 0'Reilly was first on the score sheet, sprinting over from 10 cm. Ed Rawe scored next following a neat interchange of passes with Ned Brown. Colchester were shell shocked at the Shelford power game and Sam Till and Ned Brown went over in quick succession, with Brown adding one conversion. Shelford delivered the killer blow just before half time, with Will Brown finishing off a flowing move, scoring under the posts for Ned Brown to convert. Colchester scored a try just before the break, making the score 29-5 at half time. Just after half time, Shelford started to ring the changes, although this upset the rhythm and allowed Colchester a converted score, Shelford made the game safe with Callum Miller powering over from short range with Elliott Mepham converting. Again, this was a performance born out of adversity, with all of the problems the Colts have had this season with player availability and committment. Once again, the Colts owe a big thanks to the support of the U17's without whom Saturday's and Sunday's games would not have been possible. Colts / U17's 34 Kidwelly 24 - (Saturday 2nd April) Under 16's Bury St Edmunds 32 Shelford 26 A very poor turnout of only 12 players,1 coach and no water bottles mean't that Shelford had to borrow 3 players from Bury(and be given some water supplies) but despite this a terrific game ensued with the final result of a 32-26 win for Bury. Bury scored immediately after the kick off with a good move down the back line to make the score 15-14 but 10 minutes later Frank Omandlewis went over in the corner following some good forward drives which took Shelford to within 15 yards of the line and the ball was spun wide to Frank who squeezed over the line despite not much room to work in.19-15 to Shelford.5 minutes later came the try of the game from Dan Pedler.Receiving the ball out wide on half way he raced past no fewer than four Bury players to score in the right hand corner from where James Gibson added an excellent conversion to make the score 26-15 to Shelford. But after this with the warm weather and Bury bringing on fresh players regularly Shelford ran out of steam and conceded 3 tries in the last 6 minutes with some pretty tired attempts at tackling to make the final score 32-26 to Bury. Under 15's Newmarket 10 Shelford 43 Shelford try scorers: James Knoop (3), Rew George (2), Harry Hitchcock, Liam Calvey Conversions: Knoop (3), Collicott A scintillating second half performance by 14 man Shelford overwhelmed feisty Newmarket on Sunday. The final Duke of Edinburgh award weekend plus a lengthy injury list had reduced the numbers dramatically but the boys were happy to play with 14. It is one of the beauties of rugby that it can encompass so many styles. Newmarket's asset is their big pack, and they kept it tight, mauling and using the pick and go. Shelford play a different game - quick rucking, commiting defenders around the fringes and then getting the ball wide. We were playing chess, they were playing dominoes. Both styles cancelled each other out in the first half. Shelford set the early pace and a trademark handling move put winger Rew George in at the corner. Newmarket hit back with two tries wide on the right, once from a break from their pacy winger and then again as they caught Shelford napping as the forwards broke around the front of the line out. Shelford kept at it and hit back through a try from centre James Knoop after good work by fly half Harry Hitchcock. At half time the score was level at ten apiece. The half time team talk focussed on putting width on the ball to exploit the space. Immediately Shelford exploited this to create a gap for centre James Knoop to run through. However James apparently did not put the ball down over the line and the try was overruled. He made amends 2 minutes later when a quick witted interception gave him a clear run under the posts. James converted his own try to run in under the posts. It was clear that Newmarket's mighty first half effort had taken its toll on their energy levels and they were struggling to maintain their defensive discipline. The Shelford centre pairing of Knoop, tricky as a box of frogs, and Douglas, powerful and direct, took full advantage of the resulting gaps and doglegs. The next try came from a burst through the middle from fly half Hitchcock after the Newmarket defence got distracted by a bout of off the ball handbags, their altercation philosophy of 'one in, all in' inevitably leaving them short of defenders. Knoop added the conversion. As the game became more spread there were further tries for the two quickest players on the pitch, Knoop and George. Knoop added another conversion and Shelford were cruising at 36-10. However the best was yet to come. With eight minutes to go, Shelford broke down the right. Hitchcock found himself isolated and put in a cross kick. Second row Liam Calvey, with a sort of mystical sixth sense, read the kick perfectly, and set off after it, like someone had left the handbrake off on a tank. Nothing could deny him as he out sprinted the struggling Knoop and George who seemed to be wading through treacle in their vain pursuit of the ball. Shrugging off the Newmarket full back like he was brushing off a fly, Calvey pounced on the ball to the loudest cheer of the season. When questioned later on the try, Liam attributed it to his much underappreciated sense of game management and not that he 'CBA to get onside from that ruck a couple of minutes ago' as he was alleged to have confided to prop Stalker while trudging back to the halfway line. Prop Sam Collicott, revealing a hitherto unheralded talent for place kicking added the extra points and Shelford had turned over Newmarket on their own patch 43-10. Under 14's Shelford 17 Newmarket 10 “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” (Joseph P Kennedy and Billy Ocean) A beautiful spring day. A great morning’s rugby. Newmarket are never to be underrated and gave Shelford a very close run. In fact, the away team was on top for the first half and looked the more likely victor. The early pressure was from Newmarket, who came very close to securing an early breakaway try, which was only stopped by a spirited run back by James Thomas, putting pressure on the ball carrier, who was across the line but who tried unsuccessfully to offload. Newmarket continued to look dangerous with the ball in hand and eventually broke through the Shelford defence to take the lead. Shelford began to fight back and forced a scrum in an attacking position. The backs did well to work the ball across to allow Laurence Oxley to touch down on the wing to level the score just before the half-time whistle. Newmarket reopened proceedings with a well-placed kick at the start of the second half and looked likely to score, crossing the line once more. But Shelford got bodies back and a great defensive effort held the ball up. Shelford began to get serious about the fightback and started to place good pressure on their opponents, gaining territory. A sublime backs move eventually gave Conor Sullivan the space to cross the line to put Shelford ahead. Conor took an excellent kick from a tricky position on the right wing to convert his own try. However the visitors continued to threaten and forced another touchline tussle and another try attempt held up. Newmarket regrouped and, showing good hands, crossed the line under the posts. 12-10 and a level score in prospect. Perhaps nerves were beginning to tell but, much to the home side’s relief, the ball went wide of the posts, leaving Shelford with the narrowest of leads. The game moved to a tense and exciting finale, with both sides looking like they might score. As the game neared its conclusion, Shelford pressure forced a clearance kick from behind the Newmarket tryline, which was charged down. With fantastic presence of mind, Ben Thomas flung himself on top of the ball for the third try, adding to Shelford’s still vulnerable margin, and rounding off a great morning for the twins. Newmarket were a long way from giving up and continued to play with considerable passion. It was with some relief in Shelford quarters when the final whistle blew, with a final score of 17-10. The players on both sides, came away with credit from the game. Both sides had small squads (16 apiece) and had to work hard. The game was ably refereed and was played in a good competitive spirit. Particularly gratifying from the Shelford perspective was the resilience shown by all players, who did not allow heads to drop when they went behind, and who were prepared to put in the hard graft that eventually allowed the home team to take the win. Under 12's Saffron Walden 15 Shelford 85 Its was a lovely sunny trip to Saffron Walden Rugby club which as we all know is not in Saffron Walden. Under 11's Saffron Walden 7 Shelford 33 (written by Jamie French) ... and so it is that I find myself in an increasingly familiar position. Having eaten a hearty Sunday roast and toasted several mothers, I realised that I needed to collect my thoughts and write a report of the morning’s events. As you have no doubt realised, my rugby playing days have taken their toll on my memory, so apologies if I have missed any detail. Under 10's Aggregate Score: Saffron Walden 15 – Shelford 20 Shelford went some way to avenging the previous week’s narrow loss to the same opposition in the final of the Wendens festival by securing an equally narrow aggregate victory against a depleted Saffron Walden squad. Despite the low number of tries this was an entertaining fixture with some good quality rugby played in very good spirits on display and both sides benefited from a non-partisan referee who took the time to explain decisions to both teams.
In the first match Shelford loaned a player to Saffron Walden to make up the requisite number and it was Shelford who drew first blood with a try from Michael mid-way through the first half. Unfortunately Shelford failed to line up properly at the restart and the hosts equalised immediately. Shelford once again went ahead during the second half when a ruck involving just about every player ended with the ball being grounded underneath Duncan, only for Saffron Walden to respond in almost identical fashion to their first try, with the Shelford loan player darting into the corner to level the scores (we won’t name him for fear of retribution). Full time score 10-10.
For the second match Shelford once again loaned a player to Saffron Walden and once again the loanee ended up on the score sheet, scoring a consolation try right at the death. Before that, Michael scored his second try of the day after ripping the ball from an opponent during the first half and scurrying across the line. Ed then put Shelford further ahead in the second half and the scoreline could have been greater had the support been in place for those players able to make a break – twice Shelford were in a marvellous position to score but were unable to capitalise with nobody available to secure the ball at the breakdown.
The fixture then concluded with a match made up of mixed teams, which again proved to be an entertaining spectacle (so much so that nobody has any idea of the final score)!
Shelford Sharks v Saffron Walden D 25-25 Tries:- Charlie Hurd (4), Ben Colman Shelford Saints v Saffron Walden W 30-25 Tries:- Harvey Skellern, Joshua Speechley, Harry Punshon, Joe Davies (2), William Barnett Shelford v Saffron Walden L 30-35 Tries:- William Gelling, Harvey Skellern, Joshua Speechley, Fox Pollock, Charlie Hurd, Charlie Smale Aggregate Score: D 85 - 85
Report: This week Shelford U8s made the journey down the M11 to the home of Saffron Walden, which was interestingly nearer to Bishop’s Stortford than Saffron Walden. It was pleasing to see so many of the Shelford squad make the journey but with 20 Shelford players and only 8 Saffron Walden players there was always going to be limited playing time for the Shelford players. In the first of three matches, Shelford Sharks played out a 25-25 draw. Charlie Hurd put in his usual strong performance, scoring 4 of the 5 Shelford tries, with Ben Colman scoring the remaining try.
In the second encounter the Shelford Saints put in a better team performance to win 30-25 with the tries shared between Harvey Skellern, Joshua Speechley, Harry Punshon, Joe Davies (2) and William Barnett.
In the final game all 20 Shelford players took their share of time against the 8 Saffron Walden players and it was probably the frequent changes and lack of continuity that resulted in a 30-25 defeat. The try scorers were William Gelling, Harvey Skellern, Joshua Speechley, Fox Pollock, Charlie Hurd and Charlie Smale. In the end the 85-85 aggregate score was a fair reflection of the three matches. For their efforts on the day the man-of-the-match awards deservedly went to Charlie Smale and Harry Chapman. Under 7's Shelford Sharks 25 Saffron Walden 20 Shelford Sharks 10 Saffron Walden 30 Shelford Sharks 15 Saffron Walden 30 Report: Shelford made the long and winding journey to Saffron Walden’s ground on a beautifully sunny Sunday morning. The first match got off to a fast start with tries from Joshua Barrett, Ruaidhri Carey and Vinnie Allan in the first half to match Saffron Waldens 3 tries. The second half started just as fast paced with an excellent sprint and side step from Ruaidhri to touch down on the try line. Saffron Walden broke through the defence once more but a second try from Vinnie Allan secured the match for Shelford. In the second match Shelford made some basic mistakes with two disallowed tries for diving and one for going into touch just before the try line. Saffron Walden had the same amount of opportunites but managed to stay on their feet and in touch, resulting in a 30-10 defeat to Shelford. Try scorers from Shelford were Brian O’Shea and Joshua Barrett. In the final match Saffron Walden got off to a good start and made the most of the gaps in Shelford’s defensive line to break through to score three tries in the first half. Shelford fought back in the second half and showed they’d learned from the mistakes in the previous game by stepping in to stay in touch. Three Shelford tries were scored by Brian O’Shea, Harvey Taylor and Freddie Sales. The U6’s had an enjoyable joint training session with Saffron Walden and played some great rugby this morning. There was some good defensive line work and some excellent tagging shown by the team. Player of the Day went to Matthew Campbell.
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