| Youth Reports - 9/10/11 |
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| Written by Andrew Baron | |
| Sunday, 09 October 2011 | |
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Colts Shelford 34 Newmarket 10 (written by Sam Perry with his assistants James Murdoch and Sam Porter) On a blustery, autumnal day at the Davey Field, Shelford and Newmarket got ready for a titanic battle of a game. With Shelford making the most of the transfer window, there were many debutants on show for the hosts.The game started with an extremely cagey 15 minutes, with the weather conditions forcing many mistakes from both teams. However the deadlock was broken when a snaking run from Ben Doughty allowed him to finish in the corner. Jack Topham added the two points with a tight angled kick. Newmarket then offered a valiant effort to break the Shelford defence but some good tackling and turnovers by Louis Rawlings stopped them in their tracks. Shelford managed to grab the next score though with some expeditious hands from the backs to allow Alex 'The Assassin' Poirier to touch down in the corner. Topham missed the conversion this time around. Due to the bacon not being ready in the kitchen I unfortunately missed the start of the second half. However semi reliable sources have told me that Alex Poirier touched down for his second, converted by Lewis Cracknell and then James Clare made a rampaging run from 12 metres out to score in the corner. Cracknell missed the conversion. Shelford managed to get more continuity in the second half with Guns Foster, the raging rhinoceros, powering through the Newmarket line. Some sloppy play from Shelford then offered Newmarket the chance to add 3 points with the penalty to make the score 24-3 Shelford. Lewis Green then scythed his way through the Newmarket defence to cross the whitewash and put the game beyond Newmarket. I think Cracknell missed the conversion but don't hold me to that. Newmarket then ended the game with a quite breathtaking bit of rugby. After a turnover in the Shelford half, the Newmarket number 1 sped down the wing like a gazelle and threw a beautifully floated pass into the breadbasket of Connor Burns to go over for the try. CORKER!!! Jack Wade slotted home the conversion. Stuart Graveston, who had a fine game as referee, said ' It was a well fought match, with Shelford being the stronger team, but Newmarket stuck at it and were no pushovers'. Angus Hughes, who had a great debut, mused 'the game was alright and we played well'. Mike Rawlings also chipped in by saying' I couldn't fault the referee today, he had a fine game'. Unfortunately I have missed a converted try out of the report. If someone could be kind and tell me who scored it I will include it in the report. Squad: Lewis Green (Captain), Lachlan Finlayson (Vice Captain and Birthday Boy), Nathan Taylor, Angus Hughes, Milka, James Murphy, Jonny Humby, Guns Foster, Big Al, Dan' Mahul' Smith ( in the voice of Phil Mitchell), Connor Denton, James Clare, Ollie Watts, Louis Rawlings, Alex Long, Jack Topham, Algae Flynn, Ben' Goose Step' Doughty, Josh Till, Harri Beasley, Bob, Chris Teebon, Jack Mcdaid, Lewis Cracknell, The Poiriers Coaching Staff: Steve 'Mole' Dennington (Head Coach), Steve Cracknell (Assistant to the Head Coach), Carlos Taylor (Team Motivator and Unlicensed Masseuse) Linesman: Dave Teebon Under 15's Haverhill 22 - Shelford 40" Don't you wonder sometimes 'Bout sound and vision?" David Bowie The Shelford U15 squad turned up to play at Haverhill and from the start were up for the game - 'sound and vision' was what was needed!. We started with a squad of 14 players; the opposition kindly loaned us a flanker (well done - RYAN). Callum Lees led and captained the team by example; he was mentioned in "dispatches" by both the Referee and the H/hill coaches. The match was a game of highs and lows for both sides.Shelford took a 25- 0 lead, and in fairness looked the stronger side; however, in credit to the opposition they threw everything at the Shelford side, and came back to make the game 25 - 22. The Shelford guys realised that they needed to raise their game, and did so accordingly. When the final whist;e went, Shelford U15's came away with a 40 - 22 victory. Special mention has to go to Callum Lees (Captain) for his leadership on the pitch; Jonny Durham for his ferocious try saving tackling and Laurence Oxley for scoring the "TRY" of the day. All the guys can be truly proud of how they played and that they were more disciplined. Well done!!! Under 13's Shelford 14 Cambridge 22 Despite a moderate wind across the pitch , playing conditons were near perfect for Shelford U13's, up against Cambridge's strongest squad of 22 players. The early pressure came from Cambridge, pushing forward into Shelford territory, however the pressure proved too much for Shelford's defence as they conceded the first try with three minutes on the clock. At the re-start, Shelford gained in confidence and pushed Cambridge back into their own 22, however the Cambridge defence was solid and Shelford found no way through. As the match progressed, both teams conceded penalties as they fought for territorial advantage, however Cambridge broke from their own half on eleven minutes to score their second try of the match. The try was successfully converted. As the clock ticked towards half time, Shelford soaked up more pressure from Cambridge and defended well in their own 22 to ensure no further points were conceded going into half time. The second half began with Shelford once again pinned back in their own 22, however a try saving tackle by Tom Whitehead denied Cambridge their third try. Tom Cropper led a strong Shelford defence to deny Cambridge any easy tries, however Shelford were shortly to concede again to a relentless Cambridge attack. At the restart, Shelford pushed forward with some strong attacking play, Stan Clark making some good ground breaking through the Cambridge defence, Lui Neal tracking well to collect the ball at the half way line and burst through the Cambridge back line for a Chris Ashton style breakaway try. Finn Karsten converted to close the deficit. The glory however was shortlived as Cambridge re-applied the pressure to peg Shelford back into their own 22 once again. Ben Middleton made it difficult for Cambridge with an exceptional try saving tackle. Shelford were pushed further back, onto their own try line, however the team defended well once again to deny Cambridge further points, with Shelford counter attacking from deep inside their own half well into Cambridge territory. Good Shelford pressure late on saw Tom Whitehead break away for his first try of the season. Finn Karsten's trusty boot converted to add two further points just before the full time whistle. Under 12's - Peterborough Festival Runners Up Wow, what a fantastic effort with a very small squad. Although they just came up short at the end the boys should be very proud of themselves. Thanks to Bart Lowden and Michael Griffiths from the U11s who played to a really high standard and fitted seamlessly into the side. Our inexperienced forward Ben Williams played in at least three different positions and played almost every minute of the day, a tremendous effort. Joe Thompson as always working hard at the breakdown, and was rewarded with a game winning try in the semi final. As always good yardage made by Jamie Johnson. Nick Budenburg, Josh Butler, and Henry Breeze worked hard across the pitch. Henry scoring against Oundle from a lineout. Good distribution from Angus Thomson, with some hard yards gained- two early tries in the pool games. Julian Renwick and particularly Tom French tackled hard all day. Some lovely interlinking between Will Stepney and Josh Whitmore kept the team moving in the right direction. Finally solid play at the back from Aidan Thomas, with a beautiful catch, solo run and score against Rushden and Higham. Well done all. Pool Results: - Shelford 10 Oundle 0; Shelford 5 Ampthill 5; Rushden & Higham 5 Shelford 5 Semi-Final:- Shelford 5 Spalding 0 AET Final:- Peterborough 10 Shelford 0 Under 11's - Peterborough Festival - 4th place The mild temperature at the Peterborough Festival didn't quite match the glorious sunshine of the previous weekend although the early morning rain softened up the playing surface nicely. Shelford got off to a slow start in the Under-11s section and at half time in their first group match it was Shelford 0 - Ampthill 15. With Shelford second best at the breakdown a well-organised Ampthill took full advantage, passing the ball into space well and scoring three well-worked tries. The pressure didn't relent in the second half, Ampthill scoring twice more by moving the ball around with Shelford tackles conspicuous by their absence. FT Shelford 0 – Ampthill 25. Shelford found themselves two tries down early in the next match against Oundle before Will pulled one back after some neat running. Poor defensive handling let Oundle in for a third and at half time it was Shelford 5 - Oundle 15. However, Shelford began to show examples of what they can do during the second half and Ed reduced the arrears, wriggling through the Oundle defence after a 5-metre scrum. Alas despite looking the stronger side in the half Shelford were unable to gain further territory and the match finished Shelford 10 - Oundle 15. After a promising early flourish, Shelford fell behind to a breakaway try despite stealing lineout ball just moments before. Sustained possession and a great kick to touch was let down by repeated handling errors and Shelford were lucky to survive to half time, a superb Spalding kick bouncing tantalisingly away from the chasing pack before dribbling into touch and safety. Half time Shelford 0 – Spalding 5. Ed scored for Shelford early in the second half, powerful driving bringing about the equalising score. A huge kick from Alex, almost on his own try line, was superbly chased down and Shelford deservedly took the lead as Ed pounced on and ran in the loose ball. Three scrums deep in Shelford territory were defended resolutely and Shelford got the deserved victory from their continued improvement. Final score Shelford 10 – Spalding 5. Peterborough sadly then defaulted from the final match due to a depleted, injured squad thus ensuring that Shelford would appear in the 3rd / 4th place play-off and back-to-back fixtures against Spalding. An early attack from Spalding, keen to avenge the previous defeat, was desperately defended by Shelford, being brilliantly held up by Ed. Spalding took the lead against the run of play from a huge punt upfield that bounced unkindly for Shelford, the lead being doubled by a similar long ball punt that caught Shelford napping. At half time the score was Shelford 0 – Spalding 10. The second half was evenly fought; Shelford had some good possession and territory but the task was just beyond them thanks to some unfortunate handling errors when in good positions (obviously been watching England in the World Cup). In summary, some good experience for the Shelford boys against teams we don’t normally play against but let down once again by a very slow start! Things to keep working on - we need even better team spirit and commitment from the start, eye contact when making passes and to keep working on those tackles. Under 10's - Peterborough Winners  Shelford Sharks – Cup Winners Group matches Vs. Spalding B won 25-0 Vs. Ampthill won 30-0 Vs. Deeping won 20-0 Semi Final Vs. Spalding A draw 5-5 (won on count back of tries scored after 5 mins of sudden death extra time –phew!) Final Vs. Peterborough won 10-0 What an absolutely outstanding effort to win at Peterborough. We have always known that this is one of the hardest tournaments to win and the boys were up for the challenge. The first three matches saw our fast and elusive backs score plenty of tries, with some excellent scrumaging and rucking from the forwards. These tries made all the difference as we would never have had progressed without them. Our defence in all of the games was ‘top drawer’ and gave us the possession and space to touch down some of the best tries we have ever scored The semi-final and final were both very tight physical matches. At this point our hard running and tackling forwards came into their own and although we began to flag our efforts in defence proved the crucial difference in both matches. The way we held Peterborough up over the line on a number occasions will live long in the memory. Every single member of the team played their equal part and can be very, very proud of what they have achieved. 18 tries scored and only 1 conceded which speaks for itself Congratulations from all the coachesUnder 9's - Peterborough Festival Plate Winners Pool games Shelford v Rushdon & Higham L 0 – 10 Shelford v Spalding W 10 – 5 [Tries: Harry Punshon, Joshua Speechley] Shelford v Ampthill L 5 – 15 [Try: Edgar Watson] Plate Semi-final Shelford v Peterborough W 15 – 5 [Tries: Ollie French, Charlie Hurd, Joe Davies] Plate Final Shelford v Spalding W 20 – 0 [Tries: Davies, Hurd, Punshon, Speechley] REPORT Another week so another festival. This time Shelford U9s made the journey up the A1(M) to play at the annual Peterborough Festival. Shelford started the pool stages with a two-try defeat to Rushdon and Higham but came back strongly in their second game with a 10-5 victory over Spalding, with tries from Harry Punshon and Joshua Speechley. In their third pool game Shelford again experienced defeat, this time 5-15 at the hands of Ampthill, with a consolation try from Edgar Watson. Despite two defeats in three games Shelford had done just enough to progress to the Plate Semi-final, where they pulled off a 15-5 victory over the festival hosts, with tries from Ollie French, Charlie Hurd and Joe Davies. In the Plate final Shelford again met a Spalding side they had already beaten in the pool stages. This time Shelford put in an even more convincing display to win 20-0 and were able to get their hands on the Festival Plate. The tries in the final were scored by Joe Davies, Charlie Hurd, Harry Punshon and Joshua Speechley. For his direct running and strong tackling the player of the day was Edgar Watson. Under 8's - Peterborough Festival Plate Winners
Shelford 15 Spalding A 20 Shelford 5 Rushden & Higham 15 Shelford 25 Ampthill Tigers 25 Plate Semi final:- Shelford 15 Peterborough 10 Plate Final:- Shelford 5 Spalding A 0 Shelford started their first game strongly with trys from Thaddeus Glass and Harvey Taylor to match Spadling’s 2 trys at half-time. In the second half another Shelford try was scored by Freddie Sales but Spalding fought back and managed another 2 tries to win the game. In their second game Shelford fought against a very strong Rushden & Higham team and a try from new squad member Alex Guyler was not enough to prevent a 15-5 defeat In their final pool game the Shelford squad had really started to tag defensively and this led to a 20-10 lead at half time against Ampthill with 3 trys from Vinnie Allan and a try from Thaddeus Glass. Ampthill fought back, scoring 3 further tries in the second half and a try from Ben Smith resulted in a 25-25 draw. In the play-off for 3rd and 4th places in the age group, Shelford met Peterborough in the semi-finals. When the squad realised there was a chance of winning the plate, they dug in their heels and were determined not to let Peterborough get ahead. At the end of full time the score was 10-10 with 2 Shelford tries from Toby Owers. This meant the match was to be decided on sudden death. After a fraught minute of some very fast rugby and several hand-overs, Toby Owers ran the ball over the line for a Shelford win and his third try of the game. The whole squad stepped up in their final game against Spalding when the plate was at stake. The game was very fast paced and both sides tagged superbly to defend their try line. When Josh Barrett was tagged just before the try line he turned and passed to Harvey Taylor who had positioned himself superbly and ran the ball over the line for the only try of the game and a Shelford Win. Player of the Day was Vinnie Allan. Under 7's - Peterborough Festival Plate Runners Up The players gave a spirited performance today against some strong teams at the Peterborough Festival. It was great to give debuts to Barnaby Elliot, Ben Ward-Hunt and Max Smale. In our first match Shelford went down 35-20 to Spalding with our tries coming from Matthew Campbell, Joel Butler-Bird, Alex Cross and a debut try for Ben Ward-Hunt. In our second match Shelford played well against a strong Huntingdon team going down 20-10 with both tries coming from Alex Cross. In our final pool game, Shelford contributed to a thrilling 20-20 draw against Oundle with a hat-trick this time from Alex Cross. His final try was a great run the length of the pitch! Our other try scorer was Bryce Holland. Our fourth and final match came in the play-off plate game against the hosts Peterborough and Shelford played some great rugby and were unlucky to lose 20-15. The scorers were another brace from Alex Cross and the third try from Billy White. |
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 11 October 2011 ) |
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