Early last week, our Under 14 B team beat the boys from Leighton Park with an incredible 50-0 scorecard, and this Saturday, six of our Rugby teams traveled to Cranleigh School in Surrey, where they were hosted by teams of varying skill-levels and sizes. All the while five Shiplake teams held the fort and showed the Cranleigh teams what we're made of! With some monumental wins and a few unfortunate losses, it's been another great week for Rugby!
More good news from our 1st and 2nd Hockey teams. Our girls remained home, at the Reading Hockey Club, and defended the School's honour admirably!
Rugby
1st XV vs Cranleigh School
After a short warm up the 1st XV jumped straight into it and received kick off. They managed to keep possession well under the tough Cranleigh defence and soon cleared the ball out of our 22. Soon after we let in a soft try, giving Cranleigh the upper hand. Shiplake began to match Cranleigh in the physical battle and our boys found themselves playing some excellent rugby. Despite the 1st XV’s efforts in defence, Cranleigh managed to put together some well worked tries. Despite the score, we all kept our heads high and the positivity going throughout the squad. We were yet to score a try going into half time but we were starting to get on the outside of their defence with the likes of Booth, Fitzgerald and Smyth linking well.
Shiplake went into the second half still feeling positive as they were playing the best rugby they’ve played all season. As the game went on our boys managed to put several phases together, finding themselves with a lineout on the Cranleigh 5-meter line. The forwards’ work rate remained high in attack and defence through the likes of Tucker and Coates preventing Cranleigh from running in too many tries. The final score was 48-5 to Cranleigh, however Shiplake put in a momentous shift and learned plenty from the strong Cranleigh side.
Report provided by Captain Harvey Hendry
Under 16a vs Cranleigh School
This game was by far the best game the Shiplake U16As have played this season. They defended their territory well, they attacked with great composure and made very few mistakes. Considering Shiplake had five of their A team players missing, making a rearrangement of the team necessary, the players from the B team filled these positions very well.
Right from the start our boys set a high standard with the forwards working hard in every ruck, scrum and breakdown; and while the backs had the ball, they made considerable ground.
Cranleigh’s attack was strong but our defence was stronger. In every breakdown, Shiplake were already set for defence, making things harder for Cranleigh to gain ground, leading them to frustration and making mistakes which Shiplake capitalised on. We made countless turnovers and countless counter attacks. This was a great game and the Under 16s thrive to continue on this path. At the final whistle, the score was 19-10 to Shiplake.
Report provided by Mr Yona Diez-Urkidi
Under 15a vs Cranleigh School
Shiplake had focused on 3 things throughout the week’s training: creativity, transitions and communication. As a result of this Shiplake improved in all 3 sections and were clearly displayed as Shiplake came out with 36-24 victory.
The first half was a very end-to-end game with tries coming evenly from each side. After the half-time break Shiplake had an excellent start with Josh Hazell working hard to retain the ball. Shiplake exploited the pitch and Theo Fewtrell scored in the corner. Shortly after, Shiplake scored a few more tries giving Cranleigh a bit of breathing space after a great first 10 minutes to the second half. A great performance from everyone and well done to Shiplake’s try scorers who were Harry Allan, Theo Fewtrell, Josh Hazell, Kai O’Hare and Ben Ferguson. The boys now go into a half term for a well-deserved break.
Report provided by Captain James Burgess
Under 15b vs Cranleigh School
The Under 15s started off reasonably well, but were caught half asleep from their long coach journey. Within the first five minutes Cranleigh secured a turnover and scored a try. However, Shiplake rallied and used what they had learnt throughout the week’s training and pushed back. Harvey Groves-Raines ran through their line but their full back put a high tackle on him, putting Harvey out for the game. Before half-time the Under 15s conceded one more try, but after a long period of possession they came back, and in the last minutes of the half Billy Bryan scored a try.
To start the second half, Shiplake lost Matt Healy – a big loss for them as he is a seriously impactful player. Their backs were well organised and they rarely made any handling errors. As momentum appeared to be on the decline, Ryosuke Kinoshita scored a bold try on his debut for the Bs. However, the injuries sustained made it hard for Shiplake to compete for the full 60 minutes. They had to work very hard to make up for our injuries and as a result we occasionally became stretched. Cranleigh took advantage of this and scored a few late tries making the final score 29-12.
Report provided by Captain Casper Hjortland-Marks
Under 15c vs Cranleigh School
As soon as the whistle blew our boys kicked off into their half, Cranleigh pushed forward but were held off with hard hits. The half went on and they remained in the Shiplake half but were able to break through our defence and score a try on the wing but missed the conversion to make it 5-0. Again the Under 15Cs kicked off into their half while Cranleigh pushed into our defence and with a few missed tackles they scored another try.
Now in the second half, the Shiplake boys made the kick and put up a good fight to get a try which came only a few minutes later. Max Bromell scored with a hard angle from Joe Durcan who, unfortunately, missed the kick but made it 10-5. Cranleigh put up a good fight this time but still we moved forwards through their defence, shifting down to the wing with Will Sharp sprinting down the wing until scoring another try on the wing. Luke Taylor tried the kick from a difficult angle but narrowly missed the kick and made it 10-10. With loads of great runs from Shiplake we weren’t able to get another try and the match ended on a tie. Thanks to the coaches for taking us to Cranleigh for a great game.
Report provided by Mr Aled Elmore
Under 14a vs Cranleigh School
The first half saw a good, well balanced game, with the score at 15-14 to Cranleigh by the half-time whistle. The second half, however, saw a very one-sided game from Cranleigh as they went on to score an unrivalled 33 points. Some fantastic continuity and inter passing saw Ed Tayler go over to score both tries for the home side. This spirited second half from Shiplake made the final score 48-14 to Cranleigh.
Report provided by Mr Duncan Traynor
Under 14c vs Cranleigh School
Cranleigh started the match with strong runs and crunching tackles, putting Shiplake on the back foot. Within a few minutes Cranleigh had scored a great try with some skilful passing. Shiplake did not let their heads drop, in fact they stepped up the intensity. With some brilliant rucking and phases, a lovely pass saw Hal Maclaren cross the line in the corner. Some hard tackles led to a few injuries from Shiplake but Elliot Newington, Toby Sale and Will Taylor, who all played exceptionally well in the first half, had to to leave the field. Zach Devine produced the tackle of the match with a Cranleigh boy destined to score in the corner before Zach made a cover tackle of high calibre. Tom Petrie scored a try with a scintillating run that beat four defenders.
A tense start to the second half saw Shiplake change up a gear. Alex Long soon crash-balled and beat defender upon defender while Zach Devine scored under the posts to give Shiplake a 15-14 win
Report provided by Dr Rob D’Rozario
Hockey
1st XI vs Licensed Victuallers’ Ascot
The 1st XI started the match confidently; working the ball well up the pitch and keeping it in their half for the majority of the first half, with efforts from Liv Bartlett and Georgie Stebbings narrowly missing the target. Our girls dug deep and maintained constant pressure, whilst the defensive line of Stuart, Smith, Edwards, and Nolson remained alive to the counter attack. Captain Lauren McNally was for once on the receiving end of a substantial challenge, being slammed to the floor and from the resulting short corner, Emma Renwick managed to score a well-deserved goal. LVS came out stronger in the second half, but with some outstanding team work from Izzie Smith and Rhian Edwards, we managed to keep the ball from getting too close to Mary Keswick in goal. In midfield, Hannah Burnett, Georgie Stebbings and Hannah Stevens worked tirelessly, constantly pressurising the LVS players who found it increasingly hard to get the ball past our 25m line. We played a great match and managed to get ourselves a win even with all of their pushing and barging. We came out with a win of 1-0 and everyone played extremely well. Player of the Match went to Lauren McNally.
Report provided by Captain Lauren McNally
2nd XI vs Lord Wandsworth College
The match started off and both teams looked robust, but the ball was kept in the Shiplake half. With strong passes from Tory Wyatt and Jessie Burrough Haq , Shiplake managed to get the ball down the pitch, nearly missing the goal many times. Excellent defence was seen from Issy Smith and Weazy Harman and we kept their chances of scoring minimal.
It was very close and equal but with a slight lack of concentration, Lord Wandsworths’ girls made it through and scored a quick goal, however our girls were prepared to regain control. With a few errors from Lord Wandsworth, resulting in two short corners, the Shiplake girls managed to score a last minute goal from Sophia Hahn before the whistle was blown for half time, the score was 1-1.
With confidence, the Shiplake girls went into the second half with their heads up and focused on spacing and moving down the pitch. With focus in this half, they were once again able to keep the ball at their end of the field with many opportunities to score. With tough play from Georgia-Mae Frye, Ella Roullier and Darcy Timms, our girls kept their heads up and kept positive throughout the second half. The final score was 1-1 draw.
A big thank you to Mary Keswick for stepping in as the goal keeper, you did a great job. Player of the match went to Hannah Simmonds-Gooding.
Report provided by Captain Hannah Simonds-Gooding
Other Scores:
- U14b vs Leighton Park - won 50-0
- 3rd XV vs Holyport College - draw 12-12
- 2nd XV vs Cranleigh School - won 20-10
- 3rd XV vs Cranleigh School - lost 35 - 0
- U16b vs Cranleigh School - lost 48-0
- U14b vs Cranleigh School - lost 24-19