Following the hammering Cambridge Under 17s gave Shelford Under 17s a month ago it was with some trepidation both spectators and possibly the players approached this match but despite the 32-0 scoreline in favour of the visitors this was a match that Shelford can take a lot of pride from as the scoreline did not reflect the even nature of the contest.

The first half was a tale of Shelford dominance in the set scrums but Cambridge looking as usual very dangerous whenever their backs had the ball but being kept at bay by some superb Shelford defence by both the backs and forwaards.Ironically given Shelfords overall ascendancy up front Cambridge's only try came from a driving maul close to the Shelford line 5 minutes in.The try was converted and a penalty after 28 minutes made the half time score 10-0 to Cambridge.

Shelford pressed early in the second half and indeed missed a reasonably kickable penalty and this was punished by a brilliant individual try by their outstanding right winger.Again Shelford pressed hard without pentrating the Cambridge rereguard but again Cambridge broke out and some slick handling by their backs led to another try.2 tries in the last 5 minutes by Cambridge one of which was converted led to a final scoreline of 32-0 but this was not indicative of the game itself and with several new players in the team all who performed admirably Shelford can go in to next weeks game against Wymondham with a fair degree of confidence as they will rarely meet backs with the slickness of Cambridge's.

All in all a fine display.

Under 16's

Brentwood 10 Shelford 38

Try scorers: James Knoop (3), Ed Low (2), Rew George

Conversions: Harry Hitchcock (2), Ivan Karsten (2)

In chilly windy conditions that finally seemed to signal the end of the balmy Indian summer, the under 16s made their first ever visit to Brentwood.

The performance was fitful, the setpiece was never comfortable and once again the boys seemed to get on the wrong side of the referee. However the finishing was electric and as a result the outcome was never in doubt.

The game started in lacklustre fashion, with chilly fingers leading to frequent knock-ons. The resulting scrums were frequently reset for technical offences. Brentwood frequently got an early shove on, not penalised by a tolerant referee, which led to scruffy ball for the Shelford backs. This all took the pace out of the game.

Shelford always looked dangerous when they could spin the ball wide and exploit the finishing skills of full back James Knoop, a deadly rapier, and outside centre Ed Low, a mighty bludgeon through the middle of the pitch.

James scored the first try after appearing on the left wing, skilfully kicking ahead and collecting the ball to go over. Ed scored the next two as simple handling moves left Brentwood short of defensive numbers out wide. The final try of the half resulted from a Brentwood knock on in the Shelford 22. Second row Sam Jones picked up the loose ball, calmly drew the winger and put Knoop through in space. No-one will outsprint the Shelford full back in a footrace and he ran in under the posts.

Scrum half Harry Hitchcock converted the last two tries of the half and Brentwood who had more than achieved parity upfront found themselves 24-0 down at the break.

The second half was a bizarre affair. The Shelford line out continued to misfire and the boys were slaughtered at the scrum by a referee who punished the Shelford front row for all manner of technical offences but ignored the Brentwood early shove. Shelford also conceded a succession of penalties at the breakdown which meant no platform could be built.

As a result Brentwood enjoyed a period of sustained pressure which Shelford did well to resist. A breakout from his own line by consistently excellent skipper Stephen Douglas led to the fifth try - he was overhauled by the opposition 22 but the ball was recycled to allow winger Rew George to score. An excellent touchline conversion by fly half Ivan Karsten made the score 31-0.

Shelford understandably relaxed and Brentwood piled on the pressure. They eventually scored the tries their attitude and commitment deserved. However the last word belonged to James Knoop as he appeared on the end of a fluid passing move to score the final try. The try was again expertly converted by fly half Karsten from the right touchline and the match ended 38-10 to Shelford.

Under 15's

Shelford 41 Biggleswade 0

Shelford u-15s had a solid victory against Biggleswade to record their ninth successive win this season. Biggleswade showed a lot of commitment to the game and had some good players. But Shelford got off to a strong start, with three tries from Connor Hein-Jones in the opening period, and Connor securing his hat-trick at the seventeenth minute mark, with a conversion apiece to Conor Sullivan and Peter Gordon. A further try from Calllum Lees followed to make the half-time score 26-0. Dom Talbot added a try in the second half, with Chris Pepper touching down for a try towards the end of the game, which was changed to a penalty try by the referee, following an attempted trip by an opposition player. A second conversion by Conor Sullivan left the final score at 41-0 in Shelford's favour.

This was a good performance, with all players working hard to secure the victory and tackling well. Areas for work include decision-making, with the team not taking advantage of overlaps or running into traffic when better options were available, and the need for more precision in passing and handling.

Thanks to Peter Gordon and Ben Thomas for donning Biggleswade shirts to cover for a lack of replacement players on the opposition side.

Under 13's

Shelford 24 Royston 7
 
Tries - Tom Cropper (2), Henry Hackett, Lui Neal, Conv- Ryan Deamer (2)
 
Shelford were determined to mark their debut on the first team pitch with a win and started well in front of a packed grandstand. The forward pack combined well with the backs to move the ball through several phases of play, probing for potential weaknesses in the Royston defence.
The first breakthrough came from a strong Shelford scrum, Laurence breaking the Royston defensive line to put an on form Tom Cropper clear for a try under the posts. Ryan Deamer stretched the early lead with a well struck conversion for Shelford to go seven points up on the 6 minute mark.
Royston pushed into Shelford territory at the restart but a resilient Shelford defence produced a turnover to put our lads back on the attack. Royston were determined to level the score and did so on 15 minutes. Not to be outdone, Shelford struck back immediately from the restart, the forwards pouncing on a loose ball to gather it up and pop out a pass to Ryan Deamer at fly half , who cleverly drew his man to open the gap for Tom Cropper to cut through the Royston defence to score his second try of the game. Deamer once again converted confidently to put Shelford ahead again by seven points.
As Royston kicked for territory in the closing minutes of the first half to push themselves up into Shelford territory, Shelford wrestled for the ball, Henry Hackett putting in some crunching tackles allowing Henry Glydon to scoop up a loose ball. With Hackett back on his feet quickly and in position he ran at pace onto a perfectly weighted Glydon pass and sliced through the Royston back line to scrore Shelfords third try of the match. Half time score 19-7.
 
Following some tactical changes at half time Shelford started the second half looking hungry for more tries, Ryan Deamer taking the ball into contact to set up an early ruck in Roystons 22. With Shelford picking and driving patiently heading towards the Royston try line, they won a penalty from a phase of disciplined play. With Lui Neal involved in the set piece, Shelfords forwards powered towards the line and Neal was able to spin off the driving maul to score under the posts. Ryan Deamer was unlucky to be denied his third conversion by the woodwork.
Second half possession was 50/50, though Shelford looked the more likely to add to their points tally with some skillful ball handling and straight running at pace from Ben Middleton and John Harnwell , taking Shelford out of their half without kicking possession away.
As the backs grew in confidence as the game progressed, Miles Brown received the ball on the wing and with blistering pace headed towards the Royston try line, only to be denied by a try saving tackle by Royston.
The final play saw the sensational Tom Cropper benefit from Shelfords dominance at the breakdown with what looked a certain try to wrap things up, but Royston had other ideas and stopped Cropper 5 metres out. From a scrum 5 Royston kicked for touch to end the match.
A great performance from all the lads involved today, a well deserved victory.

Under 12's

Shelford 7 Welwyn 33

A very good effort today, the boys never gave up! This attitude was typified by Sam Hurd’s drop-kick conversion to get the game underway quickly after Shelford’s only score. Losing two backs before the game never helps (nothing broken), but Carrick Maley stepped up more than adequately fill in at scrum half. Jamie Coates tried to keep the team moving forward with quick tap penalties. Sam Hurd, Tom French, and Julian Renwick tackled  hard all game. Often skilful cover at the back was provided by Jamie Pilkington, Josh Whitmore, Will Stepney and Ben Aho. After the first couple of scrums frontrowers Henry Breeze, Josh Butler, Archie Davison, Nick Budenberg and Ben Williams exerted constant pressure on the opposition. Henry and Archie were also ready to run hard at Welwyn, Henry setting up the position for Archie to charge, twist, and side-step the final 3 inches over the line. Backrowers Joe Thompson, Oscar Jones, and Jamie Johnson also pushed themselves to the end, but ultimately the whole team was outdone by a side slightly more efficient at the breakdown.

Under 11's

Aggregate score: Shelford 38 Welwyn 28

Shelford U11 selected two evenly matched teams from a somewhat depleted squad (a school tournament kept some boys away).  This did not stop the team from putting in a really committed and high quality performance against a very good Welwyn team.

Game 1: Shelford 0 Welwyn 21

Shelford made a slow start in the first half of this match (yes again!) and we went 21 down in the opening half against an impressively organised Welwyn team. However, in the second half the Shelford team woke up, started to play some strong flowing rugby and managed to prevent any more tries – great tackling all around well done boys. Shelford came close to scoring twice but ultimately failed to get the ball over the line.

Game 2: Shelford 38 Welwyn 0

In this match Shelford came out fighting, with the team showing real determination and playing text book rugby. Your correspondent did not scribe adequately to get the names of all the try scorers (there were too many!!) BUT Tyus Pfaender played like a Lion and scored at least a hat trick. Everything came together in this match, the tackling was great, the boys were passing and the team work was exceptional. As a result Shelford overran the opposition in a very convincing performance.

Game 3: Shelford 0 Welwyn 7

In this last mini match of just 5 minutes each way, Welwyn put up a good fight and scored despite heroic defence from Shelford. Shelford then made it to the Welwyn try line 3 times !! before the whistle blew up with no try scored. What an exciting 10 minutes.

In summary, the team should be really proud of their great performance today with real effort from everyone on the pitch. Tyus Pfaender had a particularly good day, stepping up and running right through the opposition, remembering to pass too and really listening to the coaches to improve his game. Alex Bedford did some outstanding passes that were really spot on (some good kicking too) and he led the team in drills in the break showing great leadership. Harry, Franklin and Cameron O’Brien were unstoppable, putting in some really strong forward play. A number of boys also had to play in different positions because of a shortage of players and they did so with enthusiasm and skill.

The day ended with chocolates for all provided by a lovely Welwyn side, well deserved boys!

Under 10's

Match 1 :- Shelford 10 Welwyn 0

Match 2 :- Shelford 15 Welwyn 25

Match 3 :- Shelford 15 Welwyn 5

Another great weekend for Shelford under 10’s. Having mixed the teams up again and apart from one poor half (although we did bounce back quite brilliantly to win the 2nd half 15 - 10) we played very well against a strong and physical Welwyn squad.  Solid scums helped  and with lots of effort from everyone plus some great tries, the boys have plenty to be proud  of but still some work to do

As always our aim is to master the basic skills of tackling, passing, catching, lines of running, rucking, mauling and set piece. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication from the players to perfect these skills so we will all keep battling away until we achieve our own El Dorado

Tacklers of the day: Taylor and Leon

Players of the Day: Joe and Tommy Simms

Under 9's

Aggregate Score: Shelford 135 Welwyn 15

Shelford Vikings 20 Welwyn 0 Tries: Harry Punshon, Seb Clatworthy, Charlie Hurd (2)

Shelford Dragons 40 Welwyn 5 Tries:Joshua Speechley, Ollie French, Joe Davies (3), Fox Pollock, Ben Colman, Charlie Boyle

Shelford ‘B’ 65 Welwyn ‘B’ 0 Tries: Harry Punshon, Arthur Waddington (2), Freddie Stevenson (3), William Gelling (4), William Barnett, Ben Colman, George McLaren

Shelford ‘A’ 10 Welwyn ‘A’ 10 Tries: Charlie Hurd, Joe Davies

In the first game a Shelford Vikings team started well scoring 4 tries without reply in a 20-0 victory.  The recent emphasis placed on practising the ruck was evident as Shelford gave Welwyn little opportunity to get their hands on the ball.  The Shelford try scorers were Harry Punshon, Seb Clatworthy and Charlie Hurd (2).

In the second game the Shelford Dragons continued to show the benefits of strong rucking as they again dominated possession in scoring 8 tries in a 40-5 victory.  Joe Davies showed his usual elusive running in scoring a hat-trick, with the remaining Shelford tries coming from Joshua Speechley, Ollie French, Fox Pollock, Ben Colman and Charlie Boyle.

In the third game the Shelford and Welwyn ‘B’ teams met.  Shelford demonstrated absolute dominance in all aspects of the game as they completely overwhelmed Welwyn.  Again Shelford were strong in the defensive and attacking rucks and only allowed Welwyn to handle the ball as they were restarting after a another Shelford score.  Shelford scored 13 tries without reply in a 65-0 victory.  William Gelling scored 4 tries, Freddie Stevenson scored 3 and George McLaren scored on his debut for the club.  The remaining Shelford tries came from Harry Punshon, Arthur Waddington (2), William Barnett and Ben Colman.

The final game brought together the ‘A’ teams and after 3 convincing victories Shelford were expecting another easy win.  Welwyn, however, started the game full of commitment and were clearly determined not to suffer a white wash.  For the first time on the day Shelford met their match at the break down and had to fight to get their hands on the ball.  Going into the final play of the match, Welwyn were winning 10-5 and it took an individual effort from Joe Davies to make the final score 10-10, with the other Shelford score coming from Charlie Hurd.

With 3 wins and a draw from 4 games, it was a good day for the Shelford U9s with a 135-15 aggregate victory.  For their efforts on the day the Shelford players of the day were Freddie Stevenson and Henry Clarke.

Under 8's

Shelford Sharks 25 Welwyn A 15        

Shelford All Blacks 15 Welwyn B 10        

Shelford Sharks 15 Welwyn B 25

Shelford All Blacks 30 Welwyn A 10

Shelford 25 Welwyn 25

Aggregate Score: Shelford 110 Welwyn 85

The All-Blacks fought a strong Welwyn B side in their first game and trys from Tom McFarlane, Josh Barrett and Brian O’Shea and 2 from Welwyn ended the game 15-10 to Shelford.

The Sharks then played Welwyn B who came back determined. Shelford lost focus for a while and this showed in the result. Welwyn scored 5 trys and trys from Ben Smith, Harvey Taylor and Thaddeus Glass left Shelford 15-25 down.

The All-Blacks remembered their positioning in their second game and ensure a support player was always ready to receive the ball when the carrier was tagged. In the first half trys from George Shannon and Brian O’Shea and 2 from Josh Barrett were answered by a single try from Welwyn. In the second half further trys from Josh Barrett and Brian O’Shea and a try from the opposition left the final result 30-10 to Shelford.

The final match was played 9 a side and both sides tagged well and attacked the space on the pitch. Trys from Thaddeus Glass, Tom McFarlane, Rory Morgan, Josh Barrett and Toby Owers and five trys in response from Welwyn resulted in a well deserved 25-25 draw for both sides.

Shelford player of the day, for supporting the ball carrier, was Josh Barrett.

Under 7’s

Aggregate Score: Shelford 120 Welwyn 115

Shelford Blues 10 – 25 Welwyn

Shelford Red 30 – 25 Welwyn

Shelford Blues 20 – 25 Welwyn

Shelford Reds 20 – 20 Welwyn

Shelford Blues 40 – 20 Welwyn

Shelford played some closely fought matches against Welwyn this week, winning two, drawing one and narrowly losing two.

In their first game Shelford started slowly and could never get back into a game where they quickly went behind and lost by five tries to two. Alex Cross and Bryce Holland were Shelford’s try scorers.

In the second match Shelford just edged it six tries to five with Ben Ward-Hunt, Monty Lovell and Billy White running in four tries to complete the scoring.

In the third match Shelford just lost out by one try going down 20 – 25. Shelford’s tries came from Hilary Hawthorne, two from Alex Cross and a debut Shelford try for Harry Calcott.  Well done Harry.

In their fourth game Shelford played in a thrilling draw, four tries a piece.  Shelford’s tries came from Ben Ward-Hunt, Joel Butler-Burd and two from Henry Sperring.

Shelford saved a fine performance for the fifth and final game running in eight tries to Welwyn’s four, a great team performance. Shelfords try scorers were three from Alex Cross, a first Shelford try for Tom Birkby, one from Matthew Campbell and then two tries from Marcus Moscuzza and one from Alex Illingworth, those last two players scoring on their debuts for Shelford.

Well done to all the players. This week’s players of the day were Joel Butler-Burd and Harvey Clark.