Cambridge 10 Shelford 15
Shelford emerged the victors from a hard fought and close County Cup semi-final against Cambridge.
The fog was beginning to clear when we assembled at Cambridge’s ground and had lifted entirely when the game kicked off, with the under 15s afforded the privilege of playing on the first team pitch.
The game was tense from the outset with Shelford resisting pressure from the Cambridge attack. Gradually Shelford began to turn the pressure and had opportunities to go ahead, thwarted by missed passes and wrong options. Whilst Shelford spurned opportunities to go ahead, Cambridge took theirs when, against the run of play, they worked the ball wide to the wing and took the first points twenty minutes into the game. However, the Shelford boys responded well, fighting back to gain territory and enabling Chris Oram to barge across the tryline to even the score four minutes later. Half time arrived, with the score at 5-5.
Shelford maintained an edge for much of the second half, having the majority of possession, but with Cambridge looking dangerous in possession. Hard work and passionate play from the Shelford team led to a second try for the visitors, Connor Hein-Jones getting the points with some skilful kicking and chasing up-field to evade the Cambridge defence. Peter Gordon added to the visitors’ tally shortly after touching down after another kick from Connor Hein-Jones. With the score at 5-15 and the game drawing to a conclusion, the win looked fairly safe. How wrong we were!
With less than two minute to go, Cambridge mounted a concerted attack on the Shelford tryline and worked their way across to narrow the score to 10-15. The Shelford contingent on the touchline were not unduly worried, expecting the referee to blow for full time after the attempted conversion. The referee, however, decided there was time for a restart and Cambridge took the opportunity, working the ball down the wing and across the field to attack under the Shelford posts. The ensuing period of play was, in hindsight, some of the most exciting rugby we have seen and it seemed entirely plausible that Cambridge would steal the game in the final moments. Those of a nervous disposition were advised to look away. Fortunately a strong defensive effort ended with the ball being turned over and kicked into touch, provoking the final whistle. Exciting it might have been but something probably best not repeated too often in the closing moments of a cup semi-final!
This was a fine and committed performance by the Shelford team against equally committed and strong Cambridge opponents. The game would have made a good final to the County Cup but Shelford go on to meet either Huntingdon or St Neots for the final stage.
All players can be proud of their performance and the effort they put in. There were some great displays of tackling and some very effective rucking and challenges in the scrum, as well as some fine individual displays, notably Connor’s kicks that led to two of the Shelford tries. Man of the match was Callum Lees, making a welcome return at flanker.
Shelford conceded 2 minutes into the game as Diss applied early pressure with the downhill advantage. Shelfords' forward pack started to put a few phases of play together but it was not enough to stop a rampant Diss side scoring again, with Diss consistently winning ball in the ruck being the main difference between the two sides.
Kieran Hatter worked tirelessly at full back under a constant bombardment of high balls and kept Shelford in the game with some neat clearances.
Henry Glydon kept the forwards going despite the uphill disadvantage and the heavy going under foot, himself managing to counter ruck on behalf of his forwards at one breakdown in the Diss half. This led to a good phase of attacking play from Shelford but was not enough to put points on the board before half time. Diss went into the interval 19-0 ahead.
Shelford looked to capitalise on the downhill advantage in the 2nd half, Bradley Goss combining well with Harry Pearson with a more direct approach, to move Shelford into the Diss 22. It's fair to say Shelford spent most of the 2nd half deep into Diss's half the the pitch, however Diss defended well to deny Shelford any meaningful scoring opportunities.
Shelford's first points came on 50 minutes following a spell of applied pressure within 10 metres of the Diss try line, Guy Lewis making a darting run to score, Ryan Deamer adding a vital 2 points with the conversion.
Throughout the match Shelford never gave up and the full time score ultimately did not reflect the amount of effort our lads put in for the full 60 minutes, and on another day they would have left worthy winners in this equally matched contest. Well done everyone.
Pool A
Shelford ‘A’ 5 Maldon ‘A’ 10 [Joshua Speechley]
Shelford ‘A’ 20 Saffron Walden 5 [Harry Grenville, Joshua Speechley, Ollie French, William Gelling]
Saffron Walden 0 Maldon ‘A’ 35
Pool B
Shelford ‘B’ 10 Maldon ‘B’ 5 [Joe Davies, William Barnett]
Maldon 'B’ 5 Shelford ‘C’ 25 [Seb Clatworthy (2), Charlie Hurd (2), Freddie Stevenson]
Shelford ‘C’ 10 Shelford ‘B’ 0 [Charlie Hurd, Nicholas Quinton]
3rd / 4th Place Play-off
Shelford ‘A’ 10 Shelford ‘B’ 5 [Joshua Speechley (2)][Tom Hogarth]
Final
Shelford ‘C’ 15 Maldon ‘A’ 0 [Seb Clatworthy (2), Charlie Hurd]
Aggregate scores:
Shelford 65 Maldon 20
Shelford 20 Saffron Walden 5
This week Shelford U9s entertained Saffron Walden and Maldon at a cold and misty Davey Field. With six teams, the clubs played a mini-tournament of two Pools. Maldon ‘A’, Shelford ‘A’ and Saffron Walden were in Pool A and Shelford ‘B’, Shelford ‘C’ and Maldon ‘B’ were in Pool B.
Pool A opened with a closely fought encounter between Maldon ‘A’ and Shelford ‘A’. Shelford scored the opening try, through Joshua Speechley, but Maldon came out fighting in the second half scoring 2 unopposed tries and winning the game 10-5. In the second Pool game Shelford ‘A’ proved too strong for Saffron Walden scoring 4 tries to Saffron Walden’s one touch down. The Shelford scorers were Harry Grenville, Joshua Speechley, Ollie French and William Gelling. In the final Pool A game Saffron Walden again struggled, this time losing 35-0 to Maldon ‘A’. Maldon ‘A’ topped the pool and progressed to the final while Shelford ‘A’ came second and would play a 3rd/4th place play-off game against the runner-up in Pool B.
Shelford ‘B’ opened the Pool B games with a close encounter against Maldon ‘B’ but Shelford came out on top winning 10-5, with tried from Joe Davies and William Barnett. Shelford ‘C’ also started strongly in their first Pool game beating Maldon ‘B’ 25-5. This time the Shelford scorers were Seb Clatworthy (2), Charlie Hurd (2) and Freddie Stevenson. The final Pool B game was an all-Shelford encounter with Shelford ‘C’ beating Shelford ‘B’ 10-0, with tries from Charlie Hurd and Nicholas Quinton. After winning their two pool games, Shelford ‘C’ progressed to meet Maldon ‘A’ in the Final and with one win and one defeat Shelford ‘B’ progressed to the 3rd/4th place play-off game against Shelford ‘A’.
The 3rd/4th place play-off game was a close encounter which could have gone either way. Approaching the end of the game both teams had scored a single try but Joshua Speechley broke through to score in the final play of the game, giving Shelford ‘A’ a 10-5 victory. Joshua Speechley scored both tries for Shelford ‘A’ and Tom Hogarth scored for Shelford ‘B’.
The Final brought together the two strongest teams on the day, both unbeaten going into the Final. This time, however, Shelford ‘C’ proved too strong for Maldon ‘A’ with Shelford scoring 3 unopposed tries in a 15-0 victory. The try scorers were Seb Clatworthy (2) and Charlie Hurd.
Shelford play some excellent rugby in today’s tournament only losing one game to another club and taking three of the top four places in the tournament. Most notably, the difference between the teams was that Shelford players repeatedly put in strong tackles and stopped other teams getting attacks started. Everyone could be proud of their performances today and a special ‘well done’ to the all-conquering ‘C’ team.
Under 8’s
Shelford Sharks 20 Saffron Walden A 15
Shelford Lions 35 Saffron Walden B 50
Shelford Sharks 30 Maldon 35
Shelford Lions 40 Maldon 50
Shelford Sharks 25 Saffron Walden B 25
Shelford Lions 30 Saffron Walden A 35
Overall score Shelford 110 – 125 Saffron Walden
Shelford 70 – 85 Maldon
Shelford U8s played against two tough opposition teams on the pitches today.
The Sharks won their first match 20-15 against Saffron Walden with a try each from Tom McFarlane, Toby Owers, Brian O’Shea and George Shannon. They then met a disciplined Maldon side who passed before being tagged and created space to attack, which results in a 30-35 defeat to Shelford. Tries were scored by Toby Owers, Brain I’Shea, Joshua Barrett, Tom McFarlane and two from George Shannon. In their final game the Sharkes held their own against Saffron Walden and in a fast paced match the ending score was a 25-25 draw which was well deserved by both teams. Shelford tries came from George Shannon, Freddie Sales, Joshua Barrett and two from Toby Owers.
The Lions matches were all high scoring. The first against Saffron Walden ended 35-50 to the opposition with Shelford tries from Vinnie Allan, Ben Smith, Poppy Elliot and two each from Harvey Taylor and Joe Huntly. Their second against Maldon ended 40-50 with tries from Ben Smith, Lukas Craig (on his first day of playing tag rugby!) and two each from Harvey Taylor, Vinnie Allan and Poppy Elliot. The final match against Saffron Walden was extremely close and both sides played a superb game with the opposition coming out just ahead at the final whistle. Shelford tries came from Harevy Taylor, Ben Smith and two each from Joe Huntly and Vinnie Allan.
Player of the day was Joe Huntley for some creative side stepping and fast paced runs to touch down on the try line.
Under 7's
Aggregate Scores: Shelford 95 Maldon 55; Shelford 120 Walden 100
Shelford Tigers 20 – 15 Maldon
Shelford Tigers 20 – 10 Saffron Walden B
Shelford Tigers 30 – 15 Saffron Walden A
Shelford Sharks 20 – 15 Saffron Walden A
Shelford Sharks 25 – 20 Maldon
Shelford Sharks 20 – 20 Saffron Walden B
Shelford Cougars 30 – 40 Saffron Walden C
Shelford Cougars 50 – 20 Maldon
Squad played 8, won 6, drew 1, lost 1; points for 215, against 155
A chilly Sunday morning saw the pitches covered in thick mud and shrouded by thick fog. Unperturbed, the Tigers, Sharks and Cougars all took to the field with confidence and enthusiasm, determined to continue their strong performance record for the season. So too the coaching staff, bolstered by their strategy session on Friday evening which apparently also included Coach Campbell shaping some exciting new moves on the clubhouse dance-floor.
The Tigers first opponent of the day was Maldon. Matthew Ranasinghe opened the scoring for Tigers but Maldon replied and the game went into half time tied at one try each. Maldon took an early lead in the second half but tries from Lewys Hines and Bryce Holland (2) sealed victory for Tigers.
Against both Saffron Walden teams, the Tigers played confidently and were rewarded with two good wins. Against Saffron Walden B’s, Monty Lovell and Marcus Moscuzza both scored a brace of tries each to just two scores in response. Against Saffron Walden A’s, the Tigers pulled out all the stops and recorded a convincing six tries to three. Scorers this time were two apiece from Matthew Campbell and Hines, and a try each for Lovell and Harvey Clark.
The Sharks went immediately ahead in their first game with a try from Alex Cross. Saffron Walden’s A team came right back at the Sharks and despite some dogged tagging, levelled the score. Strong running and good handling by both sides saw a further two tries each, Shelford’s coming from Hilary Hawthorne and Ben Carey. A final, second score for Cross won the match for the Sharks.
The Sharks best performance of the day came best in their second match, against Maldon. Most notable was some terrific teamwork and interplay, testified by a final tally of five tries from five different players (Hawthorne, Alex Dawe, Cross, Joseph Taylor and Joel Butler-Burd.) In defence, the Sharks conceded a couple of soft tries through brief lapses in concentration, but managed to hold Maldon to just four scores and so won the game.
In their final game the Sharks took on Saffron Walden’s B team. In a close fought encounter, the sides traded tries and ended up with four apiece, Shelford’s coming from Butler-Burd, Taylor, Cross and Carey.
In their first game, the Cougars came up against a strong Saffron Walden outfit with several capable runners and taggers. However, the boys (and Gisele) gave spirited resistance, eventually going down 40 – 30. The Cougars’ 6 tries came courtesy of Harry Calcott, Keane Runham-Wyman and Tom Birkby (4).
In their second fixture, the Cougars improved in both attack and defence, winning convincingly against their visitors from Maldon, 50 - 20. Tries from Charlie Walters, Theo Sales, Steffan Modla-Thomas, Runham-Wyman and six more from Birkby saw the Cougars home safely.
Player of the day for the Tigers was Matthew Ranasinghe and for the Sharks, Euan Percival. Cougars player of the day was Theo Sales who has shown consistent improvement in recent weeks, capped by a fine solo effort today against Maldon.
Youth Rugby