After last weekend's lacklustre performance, Shelford responded in the best way possible by putting in a stunning performance against a very capable Sudbury team who were always a danger on the counter-attack by 9 tries to 1, including a hat-trick for James Clare.

In the surroundings of Sudbury's superb facilities and a pitch that was of fantastic quality, Shelford started the brighter, and quickly found themselves 12-0 to the good through tries by Clare and Dan Burling, one of which was converted by Lewis Cracknell. A snipe by George Teeboon resulted in a score under the posts for him, converted by Cracknell, 19-0. Another James Clare try, again converted by Cracknell gave Shelford a healthy lead at 26-0, but they would be facing the stiff breeze in the second period. Sudbury then showed their danger by piercing our defence from deep in their own half after a couple of missed tackles, but the 'marking off' in the first instance left a little to be desired. A nasty ankle injury to hooker Cormac Starling saw him off to hospital, and we wish him well for a swift recovery. Calum Shaw also suffered a broken nose for his troubles at centre.

Shelford continued in the ascendancy in the second period and were quickly on the scoreboard again through Ben Doughty, and Clare completed his hat-trick soon after for a more comfortable 36-7 lead. A sublime backs move after hooker Alasdair Kerslake took one against the head in a constantly dominant scrum resulted in Dan Burling carving his way to the line, 41-7.
A great dummy by Ben Doughty before off-loading to James Murdoch to score, converted by Cracknell saw the lead extended to 48-7. The final score was made after a charging run by prop Nathan Taylor, resulted in quick ruck ball for Harri Beasley to score a fine team try, converted by Cracknell to complete the scoring at 55-7. A fantastic team performance.

The Squad of 22 was: Sam Porter (Captain), Sam Perry (Vice Captain), Nathan Taylor, Cormac Starling, Lachlan Finlayson, Bob Thomas-Mathieson, Jack McDaid, Louis Rawlings, Ben Foster, Alasdair Kerslake, Luke Whale, James Clare, George Teeboon, Lewis Cracknell, Alex Flynn, Calum Shaw, Ben Doughty, James Murdoch, Toby Poirier, Dan Burling, Harri Beasley, Lewis Green.

 

Shelford 45 Newmarket 5

Try scorers: Rory Hutchinson (2), Ed Lowe (2), Stephen Douglas (2), penalty try

Conversions: Rory Hutchinson (3), Harry Hitchcock (2)

For the second week running Shelford recorded a 45-5 victory over brave and spirited opponents. A beautiful warm September day with firm conditions underfoot suited the fast paced running style perfectly and the boys ran in 7 tries.

Shelford started well and had Newmarket under pressure from the kick off. Newmarket defended bravely and it was ten minutes before Shelford were able to cross for the first score. Lineout ball was secured by second row Sam Jones and the ball was quickly spun wide. Full back Rory Hutchinson entered the line and crossed for the try. Hutchinson himself converted and Shelford were ahead.

Shelford continued to press and as centre Stephen Douglas ran down the line he was taken out by an illegal head high tackle. The referee considered this sufficient to award a penalty try which was converted by Hutchinson

Douglas was not to be denied however and he ran in two further tries - the first a reward for his direct approach and innate ability to pick a great angle, the second as he got on the end of a sparkling handling movement. Another Hutchinson conversion made the halftime score 26-0 to Shelford.

Newmarket started the second half strongly as they got a powerful mauling game moving. However a lack of precision meant they couldn't get the score which would have given them a glimpse of hope. When the ball was turned over in the Shelford 22 centre Ed Low sprinted the length of the pitch to score. Harry Hitchcock converted.

Another excellent handling move gave Low his second try - the Hitchcock conversion taking Shelford to 40 points. Full credit to Newmarket though - they did not give up and a clever kick ahead by the fly half which he was able to collect put them on the scoreboard.

The final word however belonged to Shelford and another Hutchinson try from a quick tap penalty completed the scoring, Shelford running out winners by 45 points to 5.

 

Under 15's

Newmarket 5 Shelford 30

Shelford made hard work of their game against Newmarket in a game that did not flow well and was dominated by numerous scrums.

There was much that was good about the Shelford performance but poor hands and occasionally poor discipline and decision-making meant that the away side did not make the most of the opportunities they created. On the positive side, Shelford worked hard to to put themselves in attacking positions, they defended well and were strong in the scrum and lineout.

Overall, Shelford had the better of the game and, had the team taken their chances, the margin of victory could have been wider. This is not to disrespect the performance of the home side, who always provide challenging opposition. Newmarket worked tenaciously throughout the game and would have been only too ready to take advantage of any defensive shortcomings on Shelford’s part.

Callum Lees opened the scoring, with tries following from David Pugh and James Thomas, to take the half-time score to 0-15. Newmarket opened the second half brightly, taking a quick five points before Shelford had gathered their wits. Shelford responded with tries from Connor Hein Jones, Dom Talbot and David Pugh, to leave the final score at 5-30.

As always, it was a pleasure to visit Newmarket, who are always good hosts, and who laid on a particularly fine chilli.

 

Shelford 61 - 12 Newmarket