With just a couple of days to go until the big Friday Night Lights event, our boys have been training hard and learning more and more about their own strengths and weaknesses. A mixed bag of results against Mill Hill, but largely good! Our girls didn't do so well against LVS, but certainly came away from the match with their heads held high and plenty to practice and build on.
1st XV v Mill Hill School
A few big weeks coming up for the 1st XV boys, with two floodlit matches in two weeks; firstly, Friday Night Lights against St Benedict’s Ealing at Henley Hawks and the following Wednesday evening against Pangbourne at Reading Abbey RFC.
The boys went into the Mill Hill fixture with confidence after a strong week of training, with Friday Night Lights being just 6 days later in the back of their minds. The game started well with Shiplake securing the ball from kick off, leading to quick ball to put James Burgess in for the first try of the game. 5-0 to Shiplake. The boys then continued to put the pressure on Mill Hill but a slip-up in defence soon lead to Mill Hill scoring, leaving the scores all square at 5-5. Shiplake then dominated for the rest of the half but they were not able to do anything special with the ball, ending the half with a Mill Hill penalty leaving the half-time score at 5-8 to Mill Hill.
With some stern words from Mr Armstrong, Shiplake hit back through Tom Mythen and Josh Walne securing the ball off kick off once again, followed by James Burgess running a hard line and chipping it over the last Mill Hill defender, putting the opposition on their try line for Josh Walne to pounce over the line and score. This then gave the boys the confidence to push for another try, with Jack Rees carving through Mill Hill defence. Mill Hill turned this over and kicked to Matt Dalrymple who popped it on to Josh Howard who gave a perfect pass to the Shiplake man on the wing, running in a try in the corner. Leaving the score at 19-8. Shiplake continued to dominate for the rest of the game. A penalty from Matty Fitzgerald left the final score at 22-8 a win to Shiplake.
The next game is FNL this Friday against St Benedict’s at Henley Hawks for a 7pm kick off, which the 1st XV would love your support for.
Report provided by 1st XV Captain Robbie Cartwright
2nd XV v Mill Hill School
After a hard week of training, the 2nd XV travelled to Mill Hill, expecting a hard fixture. The boys went in to the game, confident in their ability to continue their winning streak and perform well. After a good intense warmup, they started the match. Callum Creighton scored the first points of the game slotting in a penalty in the first 5 minutes. This gave Shiplake confidence, as they now had some points and could grow into the game. With solid defence from Shiplake, the boys kept pushing the Mill Hill side back and turning over the ball. The next highlight came from a quick tap and go penalty drawing in the defence, ending with Archie Buchannan sliding in under the posts.
The first half ended with Shiplake 13-0 up, having a good foothold in the match. The boys continued the second half the same way they played the first, with good defensive work from the forwards, and slick hands in the backs. Despite keeping a solid defence all game, Shiplake let slip when a high tackle ended with a penalty try being awarded to Mill Hill, followed by a yellow card. However, our boys did not let this phase them as tries then proceeded from Luke Tremayne and a well worked forwards effort. The game ended at 23-10 to Shiplake with one of the 2nd XV’s best performances all season against a tough side. The boys now look forward to this week of training and their next match on Saturday. Well done to all the boys involved, a man of the match goes to Luke Tremayne.
U16A v Mill Hill School
The game started with Mill Hill quickly dominating possession and taking advantage of a slow Shiplake defence. This led to an early try for the visitors and put Shiplake on the back foot. After the restart, Mill Hill gathered the ball and it wasn’t long before Shiplake were back on their own try line defending against the Mill Hill attack. Strong tackling around the fringes of the ruck by the forwards held the attack off but eventually, Mill Hill found a gap and scored for the second time. After a few handling errors, Mill Hill managed to score two more tries leaving the score 0-22 after just 19 minutes. Shiplake finally found their feet and great passing out wide by Ben Ferguson and Archie McArthur allowed Josh Hazell to find a gap and run past several defenders to give Shiplake their first points of the match. The half ended at 7-22 with Shiplake starting to gain some momentum.
The second half began with Shiplake piling the pressure on the Mill Hill attack. Strong tackling by Jasper Beardmore, Ollie Rouse-Roberts and Sam Redding held off Mill Hill and help turn the ball over. Possession changed several times before Mill Hill found a gap in the Shiplake defence and managed to score and extend their lead. Shiplake came back with a great pick and goes from Josh Newton and Johnny Yulhanson-Hutchins helping to gain ground. Before long, Shiplake were on the Mill Hill try line and a great line by Sam Redding was enough to get them over for their second score of the match. It was a long time before any more points were scored by either team but eventually, fatigue kicked in and a kick behind from Mill Hill lead to their winger scoring in the corner for their sixth try of the match.The game ended 14-34.
We now look to improve on our mistakes before our next match in a week and a half against Pangbourne.
Report provided by Kai O’Hare
U16B v University College School
Following the UCS game, where the U16Bs just narrowly missed out, Shiplake were determined to hit hard against Mill hill, going into this game with a strong mind set to play well. The match began and as Shiplake kicked off to the opposition, they immediately began to press forward into the centre of the pitch, but the U16Bs managed to hold them back, with some great tackles from Jack Murray, Kesha and Adam Hunt that stopped the opposition from pressing further. Eventually, both teams played a very tight game as it went on, continuing to go back and forth on the pitch. Shiplake managed to gain some possession through the forwards, jackling and counter rucking so that the backs could get a feel for the ball. Shiplake immediately went forward, passing the ball out to the backs and then to the forwards, hitting harder and harder plays on the left flank, leading to a great try by Ryosuke. The game restarted, our boys continued to play hard and the team suffered a few injuries but that did not give up because of it. Ralph Burrows scored another try before the half ended 14-0.
After a strong first half performance, Shiplake wanted to extend their lead. Mill Hill kicked off and the game was underway. Shiplake immediately put Mill Hill on the back foot with good rucking and forward moves from the front eight. Shiplake managed to pass the ball through the backs and score a good team try early in the second half. The U16Bs were able to carry on pressing into Mill Hill’s 22 again and putting the opposition under pressure. Mill Hill were penalised, which resulted in another good team try by shipping the ball through the backs and forwards to score in the corner by Luke Theodore. Shiplake maintained the performance resulting the final score to be 45-7 to Shiplake.
Overall, the U16Bs put in a very strong performance throughout out the match. With credit to several players in all different roles, playing a crucial role to the team.
Man of the match: Jack Murray & Luke Theodore
U15B v Mill Hill School
After a long bus journey, Shiplake’s U15B had their heads up for a good game against Mill Hill. The game started and with our boys’ cold hands, they often dropped the ball, giving Mill Hill the advantage. On their own 22, Shiplake were put under pressure by Mill hill’s ability in the scrum. The U15Bs didn’t allow that to put them off, as they won the scrummage, securing the ball and passing along the wing for Ben Allan to score the first try of the game. Then came a good kick from Harry Batchelor, which set us at 7-0.
From amazing set moves from Bertie Wallace, Oliver Stalder and Jenson Perry, Oliver Stalder ran the whole pitch to score Shiplake’s second try. Yet another amazing kick from Henry Poustie set us 14-0. Mill Hill hit back hard, Harry Stokes, Henry Poustie, and Charlie Stewart put some good tackles in but sadly they slipped through the Shiplake line to score a try. Mill Hill hit back again, scoring two more tries and another conversion to make it 14-19
Henry Poustie belted the ball towards the try line as Haaris Hanif ran the line, though he was held back, causing the ref to call a penalty try making the score 21-19. Mill Hill went on to score a penalty conversion and one more try to make the game 21-27 to Mill Hill.
U15C v Mill Hill School
The U15Cs travelled to Mill Hill, hoping for their first win. With only ten of the team in attendance, they thought it would prove difficult. However, both teams would prove to be equal in ability and skill. In the first half, Shiplake struggled to score with many missed opportunities and not much support from the runners. A great run from Finn Cherry allowed the boys to score their first try.
In the second half, the U15Cs supported the runners and a brilliant run from Josh Knight broke through their lines and he scored our boys’ second try. Mill Hill were relentless and scored many tries in the first half. But Shiplake persevered and kept pushing them and pushing them until the U15Cs were in last play. A brilliant pass out of the scrum to Artem Sokolov allowed him to break through their lines and score our third and final try. Final score was 15-45 to Mill Hill
Report provided by Hal Booth
U14A v Mill Hill School
It was a sunny but wet day for rugby. As a team, the U14As have been playing really well, so they needed to keep on doing this. The game started well for Shiplake, with a well-worked try by Ollie Lewis after good passing. Mill Hill were a determined team and kept on fighting but Brody Burnett and Ollie Rouiller impressed with excellent rucking at the breakdown. Then with a great move in the backs; Reuben Logan broke through to score the first of three tries. Mill Hill pressurized Shiplake scoring a well-deserved try just on the brink of half time. The boys took this into consideration and fought back with two more tries in the second half. The game was a little bit frustrating for the team, as the ball was very greasy and was hard to take it through the phases the whole game. Nevertheless, the U14As came through to win by 27-5. Come on Shiplake!
U14B v Mill Hill School
On Saturday 10 November, Shiplake U14B team played Mill Hill School. Shiplake started the match with possession and kept to the opposition’s half, which led to Charlie Keena breaking through the Mill Hill defence and scoring. Mill Hill came back strong with good handling skills and strength in the breakdowns, a few missed tackles by the team led to the levelling try being scored. Shiplake now knew that it was all to play for, good attacking and passing consequently led to Henry Doyle scoring in the corner. After converting his own try, the whistle blew for half time. The second half led to continued good defensive and attacking skills with several over tries being scored. The final score was 36-5, try scorers consisted of Charlie Keena, Henry Doyle, James Durkan, Zac Bailey-Williams, Mohamed Mohamed and Oliver Dee.
U14C v Mill Hill School
Playing against Mill Hill & Belmont Schools, the U14Cs started the game owning the pitch; Roma was able to crash through their defence, leading to an early try with Manuell scoring the conversion. Shiplake swiftly went on to score another try with Richard plucking the ball out the air and stepping several of the oppositions players, Manuell went on to score a conversion. As the game went on, it was clear that Shiplake were to dominate as our boys were owning the rucks and lineouts and then owning the infrequent scrums. Manuell was to score the next two tries and conversions with great support from the whole team. That was to conclude the first half. After having a chat with the team, Shiplake started it off kicking to the opposition. They went on to score a quick try failing to get the conversion putting the score at 28-5.
Roma, who had previously been subbed off, was brought back on but the opposition started playing much better, which led to multiple rucks. Roma scored twice with Ben scoring a conversion. Then, as the match was about to end, Shiplake got a bit stuck by their 5-meter line and ruck after ruck led the ball being passed out to Gordon Fitzgerald and he was able to score the last try, with Manuell scoring a conversion that concluded the match at 47-5.
U13A v Abingdon
The U13As had a long journey to Abingdon and didn’t have time to warm up. They jumped straight into the match and kicked off, before chasing the ball down to their main man who passed it out to the wing. The opposition then ran through the Shiplake defence to score their first try. Soon Shiplake were stuck in lots of scrums and rucks, but with some good tackles from the whole team. There was a gap in the U13As’ defence, which one of the Abingdon players ran through to score their second try.
The Shiplake boys fought back hard with a pass from Chris to Josh GB, who then popped it on to Josh Hamer who scored Shiplake’s first try. Just as they thought they were back into it, Abingdon passed it down to their winger to score another five tries. The U13s had to keep their heads up and kept on fighting but unfortunately, they broke through the Shiplake lines to score another two tries before the final whistle blew. The final score was 9-1. The boys learned a lot from this match and hope they can improve in training.
Report provided by Sam Chambers
U13B v Abingdon
Shiplake U13Bs got to Abingdon ready to play a good game of rugby. Shiplake started strong, with good passing and tackling from Ben Hutt and Monty, but Abingdon broke through the boys’ defence and scored two early tries. Shiplake knew they had to play better and Joe and Harry both made amazing runs and scored a try each. Just before half time, Abingdon scored another two tries.
In the second half, Abingdon started passing the ball well and scored another three tries. Shiplake didn’t let it get to them and Joe, Harry and Hugo all scored another try each. At the end of the game, the score was 7-5
Report provided by Joe Biggin
U12A v Abingdon
On Friday 2 November, Shiplake College travelled to Abingdon to play Abingdon Prep School. As soon as the boys arrived, they knew that it was going to be a tough game. In the first half, Abingdon started strong but so did Shiplake. As they thought, Abingdon were a good team and they started to put pressure on our boys in the rucks and won most of them. Late in the first half, Abingdon broke through the Shiplake line to score their first try and went on to score one more.
In the second half, tiredness took its toll as Shiplake started to miss tackles and drop kicks and passes. Abingdon came back again to score another four tries. In the end, all of the U12s had a load of fun and thanks to Mr Crisford and Mr Jones for taking them.
Report provided by Louis Wilson
U12B v Abingdon
On Friday 2 November, Shiplake U12Bs were invited to play rugby against Abingdon. Shiplake started putting in some good tackles but Abingdon soon scored their first try. Shortly after, Shiplake gained one back. Alec scored four amazing tries; Henry Johnston scored one, Noah Rodgers scored one and Henry Steel scored one. At full time, the final score was 8-7 to Abingdon.
Report provided by Ciaran Davey
Under 12 B v St Benedict’s
The match against St. Benedict’s U12s was a big test as they scored a few tries and held their line well. Shiplake didn’t give up though, and Noah Rodgers ran through the defence to score a try in the last minute. At the end of the match, Mr Crisford talked to the team and encouraged them to do better. Our next match was St. Benedict’s C team. The Shiplake side started positively with James Hyman and Wilf Jennings putting in some great tackles and holding St. Benedict’s back. St. Benedict’s then scored their first try. When Shiplake kicked off, the whole team ran after the ball and made the tackle. They then scored a try with some great passing and movement to let Noah Rodgers get yet another try. The score was 2-2 after some great tries by Alec Steel and St. Benedict's school. Our boys tried to hold St. Benedict’s back but they broke through and scored the winning try. In their next match, the Shiplake boys played the C team again starting at 0-0. After some great tackling on both sides, the final score was 2-2.
Report provided by Alec Steel
U12A v Bohunt
On Tuesday 6 November, Shiplake College’s U12Bs travelled to Bohunt School to play rugby. As soon as they arrived, they were wowed by the enormity of the place and how the sports hall looked like a football stadium! It turned out that the boys had arrived early so they had plenty of time to warm up and practice ball throwing. The time finally arrived to start playing. Shiplake started well, protecting their line; but after about five minutes they were pushed back and Bohunt found a gap in the defence and scored their first try. Bohunt continued to put pressure on the team, and managed to score a few more tries. The final score was 8-0 to Bohunt.
Girls Hockey
2nd XI v Licensed Victuallers Ascot
On Wednesday, Shiplake’s 2nd XI played a home match against LVS Ascot. With LVS having the first pushback, they managed to get the ball into the Shiplake half quickly and scored within the first few minutes. However, strong defence from Katy and Ruby meant that Shiplake were able to get the ball into the attacking half. Due to LVS’s strong defence, they were able to run the ball back down into the defending half which took numerous shots. Fortunately, Sasha stopped the majority from going in. After half time, Shiplake started with the ball. Amelia and Georgia kept the ball in the attacking half, allowing a fantastic goal from Izzie. Unfortunately, this did not lead our girls to a win. Everyone was in high spirits and have a positive attitude for the next game. Player of the match went to Sasha.
Report Provided by Jessie Burrough-Haq
