Last week saw block rugby fixtures against Cokethorpe on Wednesday 28 September, and against St George's Weybridge and Merchant Taylors' School on Saturday 1 October. Featuring some close games, our boys put in a fantastic shift and can hold their heads high for their efforts!
U13As v Cokethorpe
In this match, we played Cokethorpe School away, which we knew was going to be a tough match. We started well and were pushing up in their half. But as they kept pressuring us, we quickly lost it. Our rucking was not good enough – an area we need to improve on which led to them scoring and going one try up. This was demoralising for the team and as the game went on, we kept missing crucial tackles leading them to score again. By half time it was three-nil.
The next half we started with better determination, and we gained back possession from the kick and scored straight away from a run from J Calow making the score 3-1. Sadly, after this they came back strongly and scored five more tries. We were not playing up to our usual standards with a lot of missed tackles and losing the ball in the rucks costing us dearly. The two players of the match from Shiplake went to J Calow and O Thomas, and thank you to the rest of the team. Final score: 8-1 to Cokethorpe.
Report by J Callow
Coach: Mr N Brown
U13Bs v Cokethorpe
Tenacious in the tackle, and inventive in attack, the U13Bs put Cokethorpe to the sword, racking up ten tries, and conceding just three. Z Sanders cut through the defence twice before being promoted to the A team, but he was ably supported by S Lee, who bagged four tries, with a score apiece for O Griffin, J Martin, R Elms and A Massie. More encouraging than the scoreline, however, were the improvements that were evident since the Epsom tournament. The boys were well organised and physical in the ruck, turning possession over frequently. They were also positionally far more disciplined, a point noted by the Cokethorpe coaches. A fantastic win. Final score: 50-15 to Shiplake.
Coach: Mr J Ralph
U12As v Cokethorpe
The U12As, in their first home games of the season, put in a fantastic performance against a very evenly matched Cokethorpe team. Cokethorpe initially started the better of the two teams running in an early try but Shiplake were very much showing plenty of promise. It did not take long for the team to show this with a great try from O Owens who was strong throughout the match. This was backed up by a further try from F Jenkins, who was at his destructive best tackling anything that moved and running some fantastic lines. The Cokethorpe players were in no mood to roll over and they scored another try, setting the final few minutes up to be absolute ‘belter’. In all honesty, no team deserved to lose this, and both had their chances to take the victory, but Cokethorpe against the run of played scored a winning try with almost the last play of the match. Despite this, there was much to be pleased about and I am very excited for the rest of the season. Final score 3-2 to Cokethorpe.
Coach: Mr T Crisford
U12Bs v Cokethorpe
The Shiplake U12Bs team that took the field against Cokethorpe School on Wednesday had a very different look to the squad that played in Epsom a couple of weeks ago. Many boys were experiencing their first, competitive rugby game for Shiplake. For others, their first game ever. Despite this, all the boys acquitted themselves admirably against a large Cokethorpe side. C Craig and H Lawrence made their presence felt with some strong tackles. The squad belied the lack of practice by working cohesively in defence and attack. Only the lack of decisive tackling allowed Cokethorpe to establish a 5-2 lead with 10 minutes left. Some strong individual runs from L Currie, T Siveter, H Cox and L Baux allowed Shiplake to stage an amazing comeback to level at 5-5 with seconds left. Unfortunately, more missed tackles allowed Cokethorpe to score to take the game 6-5. Despite some disappointment, all the boys will have lots of positive memories to take from the game and they are already looking forward to testing themselves against Dragon School next week.
Coach: Mr A Davis
1st XV v St George’s
After an excellent week of training the 1st XV had a short away trip to St George’s on a glorious October morning. The 1st XV started well with good forward interplay and the backs waiting to pounce. Just after the 7 minute mark, captain B Burnett crashed over the try line and the 1st XV were feeling buoyant. A Shiplake knock on (then turnover) relieved the pressure for the St George’s defensive line and while Shiplake looked the better side for around 15 minutes, the rest of the half was all St George’s. Knock ons, hands in ruck and 50:50 decisions not going the way of the Shiplake side, meant the 1st XV were on the back foot for much of the first half. Our defence held strong throughout though but eventually a three on one led to a St George’s try. The second half saw two yellow cards, a number of injuries (all four subs used) and losing the referee, which led to a number of St George’s tries. A consolation try left the final score at 38-10 to St George's. Much improved performance but a big week of training in the build up to the fixtures with UCS on Saturday. Debuts by O Smaje and C Burnett and notable performances by B Zacharias, B Burnett and A Langton.
Coaches: Mr S Beckett & Mr T Armstrong
2nd XV v St George’s
On Saturday 1 October, the 2nd XV played St George's Weybridge away. Even though the team had improved from their previous outing, lack of possession and handling errors were always going to count against us. With standout performances from T Barley and M Wallace, who defended bravely, we look forward to our next match and continuing this upward curve of improved self-belief, and building on confidence in defence. Final score: 53-3 to St George's.
Coaches: Mr W Nel & Mr J Wheeler
U15As v St George’s
A back-and-forth game for the U15A team which saw lots of ill-discipline at ruck time from both teams. Some great running rugby from St George’s saw them take an early lead after a couple of missed tackles out wide - the opposing 13 had feet as quick as a hiccup and lightning pace. Shiplake fought back with a couple of well-worked tries of their own and held a slender lead for a good chunk of the first half. Some scrappy turnovers and a quick counterattack saw the St George’s danger-man score again before the half.
A quick turnaround at half time and some great coaching adjustments from the St George’s side saw a far better flow to the second half with both sides playing some great rugby, with a few huge hits going in. Shiplake went into the final 10 minutes 2 points down and a nail-biting finish saw a knock-on end proceedings after a some good defensive pressure from the away team. A final score of 26-24 to St George’s reflected how evenly matched both teams were. Player of the week: W Tavinor.
Coach: Mr R Edwards
U15Bs v St George’s
The U15Bs took to the pitch with a tough looking opposition lined up against them. Man-for-man, the opposition was a couple of inches taller and a few kilograms heavier. The result was a lot of tough defence and the determination required was significant and the Shiplake pupils stood up to this test time and time again. The result of the continued effort was, however, that individual mistakes began to creep in, and St George's crossed the line after three Shiplake errors. The second half saw another huge effort and we crossed the line for a try of our own. Final score 46-7 after being down 28-0 at half time. The team's attitude was great, so plenty to work with.
Coach: Mr D Bradley
U14As v St George’s
A strong start from Shiplake, excellent rucking, strong running and good hands led to three early tries. Continued pressure and good tackling meant Shiplake continued to dominate play and led to another try. However St George’s showed good spirit and made a strong comeback with a well worked try just before half-time. The second half was a much closer affair, ill discipline from Shiplake let St George's back into the game with two unanswered tries. However, Shiplake rallied and scored a well-deserved try to round off a convincing 31–19 win. Tries: K O’Connor (3), H Terrington, F Holgate, J Henshall. Conversions F Holgate (2), H Terrington.
Mr G Lawson
U14Bs v St George’s
This was one of the closest games of rugby there can be. Shiplake started strongly, creating a lot of chances going forward in the first 10 minutes but were put under lots of pressure after this spell which was defended so well. The team set themselves the goal of being fast into breakdowns and trying to move the ball quickly which they completed to the highest order. Unfortunately, we fell behind to a try just before half time which was also converted.
The second half saw us push on even harder with the ball barely leaving the opposing half with Shiplake applying all the pressure throughout the half. We got a try back through Z Wood, who was a leader on the pitch and fully deserved to get our first try of the season. M Ball made a huge impact in the second half with his extremely powerful running gaining large amounts of distance with each attempt. The game finished 7-5 to the opposition, which does not do the team justice as Shiplake were arguably the stronger team. A brilliant game played in the right spirit by two good sides.
Coach: Mr B Gingell
U14C v v Merchant Taylors' School
Shiplake U14Cs drew a tough squad of lads from Merchant Taylors. With eight on the bench, they had fresh legs to recycle and that showed as the game progressed. We started poorly, conceding a good number of tries in the first half. We held our heads up high and came out fighting in the second half, only conceding a further two tries. The defence was better organised, the tackles were hitting harder and more effectively, and the communication greatly improved. Final score: 65-10 to Merchant Taylors' School. Performances of note came from E Miot for some heroic runs with the ball and M Shevlane for gutsy challenges.
Coach: Mr M Milburn
