As we neared the half term break, our pupils gave one last push in their fixtures. There were mixed results in Wednesday's matches against Reading School, Reddam House and Dragon School; Saturday's block fixtures against City of London Freemen's saw the senior squads have some tough games and the junior teams achieve some impressive scores.
U16 XV Rugby v Reading School
Shiplake took a strong team to Reading School for what was anticipated to be a tough match. Despite having had limited training time as a team, the boys fronted up and after a slow start, took the game to Reading. Big carries by E Tayler and S Looney, ably supported by H Down and M Connolly, got the team over the gain line but the team struggled to move the ball into space. Reading proved devastating on the counter, even with strong Shiplake tackling. Despite a try for E Tayler, Reading lead the first half 14 -7 from a well-taken length of the field try.
At half time, the boys evaluated the Reading weaknesses and worked out that repeated forwards ball and support would be too much for Reading to handle. Line speed and togetherness was also spotted as an area of improvement and both areas were addressed from the off. Suffocating defense lead to a try from H Suter and excellent use of space and support put T Carpenter over the line. Perhaps fortunately, Reading' best attacking player limped off after 10 mins and the boys took advantage. More tries from E Tayler and S Looney plus excellent kicking from H Poustie (5/5) made the full time score 35-14.
Overall a strong team performance and an encouraging end to the term. This Reading team was missing key players however and in order to see them again in the League finals, Shiplake will need to bring its best game against Forest School on the first Wednesday after half term to qualify.
Report by Mr J Reynolds
U15B Rugby v City of London Freemen's
This was always going to be a tough fixture against an A team, and Freemen's set the tone early - using a rush defence to put pressure on Shiplake's backs. This pressure led to two early tries for the opposition. Shiplake then responded well, with some strong carries from M Patterson, F Fox and D Henson, giving them prolonged periods of possession inside Freemen's 22. Just as Shiplake were looking like scoring, the opposition fly-half intercepted a long pass - giving him an easy run in under the posts for Freemen's third.
Despite a tough first half, Shiplake came back well and actually won the second half. This was thanks to some good tactical kicking from A Smith, and some excellent work in the loose by A Heath-Davey and L Byca. J Dyason and H Doyle scored late tries to make the scoreline a bit closer, but Shiplake had left themselves just too much to do.
Full time: 32-16 to City of London Freemen's - U15A
Report by Mr D Miller
U14A Rugby v City of London Freemen's
Desperately trying to please the crowds, both sides tried to throw the ball around despite the damp underfoot conditions. Needless to say, neither side managed any sort of ascendancy in the opening encounters with many a ball finding the floor. Freeman's opened the scoring exposing a weakness in the wide channels in Shiplake's defence. The U14s responded well by being much more direct and instantly reaped the rewards. Half time score - 7-5. More of the same in the second half ensured Shiplake finished the game on top, picking up three further scores in the process.
Full time: 24-10 to Shiplake College
Report by Mr R Curtis
U14B Rugby v City of London Freemen's
The players efforts this half term were spectacularly rewarded with a formidable performance on Saturday away at City of London Freemen's. From the kick off to the final whistle, the boys put their heart and soul into the match. Quick flowing passing and strong rucks allowed the boys to dominate the game with some tremendous early tries from N Scotchbrook who powered his way through their defensive lines.
So far, the season has shown our defensive capabilities during some matches, and our attacking prowess in others. This game saw the culmination of both. Supporting lines from Man of the Match J Biggin really stretched the Freemen's defence. D Coles, M Gardiner got braces and were equally instrumental in our team's play. B Watkins kept up his trying scoring brilliance and O Smaje capped off another excellent performance on the wing. All 17 players really put in such hard work and the ever dependable M Wallace and O Renwick, time and time again showed the consistency and heart of the team.
Well done to all the men that played, including those of the opposition who did not stop even though they were behind. A fantastic match to finish before half term. Let's keep up the moment until Christmas.
Report by Mr R D'Rozario
U13A Rugby v Dragon School Boys - U13B
On a wet and sticky pitch the U13A team put in a top shift against a tough and wellorganised Dragon School. The first half was dominated by Shiplake running in 7 tries with new signing for this term S Mealing scoring two tries. L Spence, W Mason and S Massie also scored. In the second half Dragon came back into it but Shiplake responded and special mention should go to L Wilson with some crunching tackles being put in. There is still plenty to work on with organisation and width to improve our overall performance.
Report by Mr P Jones
U13B Rugby v Dragon School
Once again the Under 13Bs worked really hard to earn a fourth victory of the season and build on the momentum that we are achieving. C Davey started the game in spectacular form running a quick couple of tries so much so that he was immediately transferred to the opposition team. This balanced out the fixture although C Davey now started running in tries for Dragon School! The half time score was 4-5 but a well fought second half with all the boys engaging in the match saw Shiplake over the line with a final score of 5-7. The team really is having a fantastic season and their approach to training has been magnificent and it is a joy to watch them to play in these competitive fixtures.
Report by Mr T Crisford
U12A Rugby v Dragon School
The team worked really hard on what has been the focus in training with defensive lines and organisation being the key coaching points. This was crucial for this match with some hard running from Dragon School but Shiplake stood up to the challenge and should be proud of their efforts. W Blance scored two tries but it was very much a team effort with H Arnold leading the defence superbly. The whole team should take credit and although this will go down as a loss, there are many positives to take from this performance.
Report by Mr N Brown
U12B Rugby v Dragon School
A tough afternoon for the Under 12B rugby team saw them play a very strong Dragon School. Although the score reflected that Dragon were the better team, what cannot be faulted was the enthusiasm and effort from the Shiplake team. Much was learnt from this fixture and the team looks forward to getting back on the training pitch and will focus on the confidence of tackling and rucking. With rugby being a new game for many of the team this is to be expected and I am sure with such a positive mindset this will continue to improve. Special mention to T Stalder who scored our only try and this was a magnificent effort as he ran the length of the pitch.
Report by Mr J Ralph
Other score
1st XV Rugby lost 8-34 v City of London Freemen's
2nd XV Rugby lost 50-10 v City of London Freemen's
3rd XV Rugby lost 45-25 v Reddam House School
U15C Rugby won 35-19 v City of London Freemen's
