Sports Report 11 September 2019

11 September 2019

The weekend saw a great start to the term's rugby matches with a good set of results against The Windsor Boys' School. Unfortunately the 1st XV's match was cancelled but the remaining teams played with determination and flair.

U15B v The Windsor Boys' School

For our first game of the season the U15Bs played against The Windsor Boys' School. We started the match with aggression, and a few unforced errors from Windsor allowed us to score a try which soon became two, then three. Once we had established a comfortable lead, we decided to try and practice skills like grubber kicks and long passing. The second half brought a new approach to the game with better passing, tackling and perhaps even an excessive amount of kicking. The highlight of the game though was definitely H Inch’s drop goal. The final score was 48-12 to Shiplake. Overall, for our first game of the season, I think that we played well. we look forward to next week's game against Reading Blue Coat.

Report by L Byca - U15B Captain

U14A v The Windsor Boys' School

Despite a number of players playing out of position and also having had only a couple of training sessions under their belt, the U14As proved far too strong for Windsor. With a singular target of keeping possession of the ball for long periods of time, Shiplake were able to exert a great deal of pressure on the opposition creating significant gaps around the edges to exploit. With time and space on their side the U14As were able to canter in a number of tries before Windsor replied following a defensive mishap.

Rugby will never be this easy for this team and there is much to do in training this week to compete against a well organised and well disciplined Blue Coat team.

Final score 29-7 to Shiplake.

U14B v The Windsor Boys' School

On a beautiful September's morning the U14Bs took to the field against The Windsor Boys' School. As the opposition had a lack of players, a few of our boys stepped up to the plate and played for them. An excellent example of courage from the Shiplake boys. Windsor hit the ground running and scored two tries in quick succession. Heads held up high, the boys drove them back in the rucks and scored a well deserved try. Shiplake continued to press, but while doing that, exposed some gaps in the defence, which Windsor exploited. With four minutes to go before the end of the match and with Windsor ahead 5-3 in tries scored, Shiplake crossed the line with a brilliant passage of play and handling skills that the 1st XV would have been proud of! The Shiplake boys ran back for the kick off and managed to latch on to a mistake by the Windsor team, crossing the line again to end with a 5-5 draw. A thoroughly well deserved draw and a fantastic way to start the season.