This week saw block rugby fixtures in which the U14-U18s faced local rivals, The Oratory, while the U12s and U13s took on Thorpe House and Licensed Victuallers' School respectively. Meanwhile, the girls' hockey team went toe to toe with Reddam House, and a group of Sixth Form boys attended a clay shooting competition at Barbury Shooting School.
Girls' Hockey v Reddam House
The Shiplake girls played Reddam House on Wednesday 12 October. The girls went into the game with a strategic mindset and a positive attitude. The game started off with a Shiplake push back, the first of the season. Shiplake played the ball quickly, allowing it to flow through the channels creating space, which let them drive into the attacking 'D'. The Shiplake girls created many more opportunities to take a strike at the goal and had two short corners during the game, which allowed them to put Reddam under pressure. However, Reddam put up a strong defensive unit, clearing the ball whenever they got hold of it. At half time, the score was 2-0 to Reddam, however the girls' enthusiasm was still strong. Going in to the second half, M Berry, C Watthey and H Boddy put up a fearsome defence, not allowing Reddam to push through. On the attacking end, G Weedon, I Wood and M Firth made some incredible drives, and showed great skill. R Allen made some great saves and diving for the ball in goal, which meant that Reddam scored only one more goal in the second half. The Shiplake girls played extremely well and left the pitch with their heads held high. The final score was 3-0 to Reddam. Well done to O Parkin who received player of the match and to M Firth who received players' player.
Report: Eve Browne, Hockey Captain
Coach: Mrs C Lovelock
U15A Boys' Football
A fantastic 5-1 win for the Shiplake U15As. A class performance from the fourteen boys that showed desire from the very start, which included goals from C Kirkwood (2), B Demery (2) and A Mullins.
Player of the Match: C Kirkwood
Coach: Mr B Claridge
Clay Shooting Competition
On Tuesday 11 October, Shiplake entered two teams of four into a Clay Shooting Competition at Barbury Shooting School. The two teams consisted of:
Team A - O Beaney, B Brooks, B Staddon, and T Barley
Team B - B Demery, M Walker, L Swinburn-Johnson, and H Inch
Rugby
U13A/B v Licensed Victuallers' Ascot
The U13A and B teams played a series of 20 minute, 15-a-side matches against LVS. An expanded A team struggled to cope with the speed of some of the LVS backs and, although organisation and discipline were as tight as ever, LVS exploited some gaps in our defence. In the second game, the B team (with a few ringers) put on a great display of skill and determination, winning comfortably. The third and final session allowed us to mix the two teams and, if nothing else, proved that B team players have the skill and ability to step up and play alongside the As. As ever, we appreciated the support and encouragement of our loyal supporters.
Coach: Mr N Brown
U12A v Thorpe House
It has taken a while, but things just 'clicked' for the team in this match and they were on it from the start. Powerful running, committed tackling, and dominant rucking are qualities this team has in abundance with all being showcased. Most pleasingly, there was a real response in terms of accuracy of skill set and handling down the lines of attack. This paid dividends with the score finishing 10-1 to Shiplake, with a large number of players getting onto the scoresheet.
Tries Scored: J Filipetto (2), O Owens (2), F Jenkins (3), E Morgan (2), L Currie (1), and B Keown (1)
Coach: Mr T Crisford
U12B v Thorpe House
The U12Bs hosted Thorpe House on Wednesday. Before the game, the focus was on tackling positioning for quick passing. Shiplake came out of the blocks flying with H Lawrence showing his strength in scoring a couple of tries. The boys then showed the focus on passing had paid off with a well worked team try finished off by T Lane. O Houldsworth and M Lane then scored gritty, individual tries to put Shiplake in a commanding position. Whether over-confidence crept in, or Thorpe House found some inner strength, but the opposition scored three unanswered tries to get back into the game. Shiplake responded with two well-worked tries from T Lane and T Siveter to finish off the first half.
The second half followed a similar pattern with Thorpe House scoring in batches. A great chase from our own kick-off led to O Houldsworth winning the ball and going over for a standout try. Further tries from T Lane and T Siveter kept Shiplake in front. The final act was captain O Houldsworth completing his hat-trick, ushering in a well-deserved 10-8 final score. Our first win of the season… good things come to those who wait.
Coach: Mr A Davis
1st XV v The Oratory
After a good training week, the 1st XV felt well prepared to take on The Oratory for the second time this season. The first encounter was 10-0 in the Schools' Vase R1 match, with Oratory coming out on top. This match started off well for both teams, with end to end action but the Shiplake defence held firm and Oratory struggling to make use of their outside backs. Shiplake’s forward pack kept it tight and D Henson crashed over in a well-worked try with J Rogers kicking the conversion putting Shiplake 7-0 up after only 12 minutes. Just before half time, after numerous attacks on the Shiplake try line, Oratory managed to dot down bringing the score to all square at half time 7-7. The second half was a slightly different affair, with Oratory using their physicality and some deft hands, scoring four tries in 13 minutes to put the game out of sight for the 1st XV. Final score: Shiplake 7-35 The Oratory
Coaches: Mr S Beckett & Mr T Armstrong
2nd XV v The Oratory
In what could only be described as a battle of the seconds, Shiplake beat Oratory 26-25. With the teams equally matched, ball retention was going to be the difference between winning and losing. Shiplake showed great composure and defended their try line for extended periods of time. Tries were scored by F Stewart (2), J Greig-Bartram and M Gardiner. Special mention to P White who defended well and L O'Donoghue whose kicks at goal kept us in the lead.
Coach: Mr W Nel
U16A v The Oratory
Shiplake took an early 3-0 lead, with a penalty, after a strong run from F Hawkes. Then, a superbly measured defensive kick into space from C Burnett bounced well for H Edwards who ran the remaining length of the pitch to score under the posts (to add to his five tries from last week). The dominance of the Oratory pack began to show though, and they took a 12-10 lead into half time. With Shiplake finding it more and more challenging to win clean balls at the line-out, scrum or breakdown, Oratory dominated the second half, winning 39-13. A real gutsy performance from the U16A squad though.
Coach: Mr A Dix
U15A v The Oratory
The U15A team can hold their heads up high after a brilliant first half display of rugby. Going toe to toe with the Number 1 ranked U15 team in the country at the moment, who hadn’t conceded a point in four games, was no mean feat. The team proved they can hang with the best of the best and even scored two great tries to go into the break at 24-12 down. The second half was a different story and the Oratory class shone through and the floodgates opened. A lesson about how good they could be, but how far they have to go for the U15s, but spirits and belief were high at the end of the game and they are looking forward to matching the first half performance for the entire game next year at U16 level. Four absences to the usual line-up played its part; fingers crossed for a full complement for next Wednesday's fixture.
Player of the Week: H Arnold
Coaches: Mr R Edwards & Mr D Bradley
U15B v The Oratory
After a productive week of training, facing The Oratory was a great opportunity to see the areas the boys have worked on during the week put into place. It’s fair to say to the boys didn’t disappoint, with two early scores from E Iu, one of which he picked up the ball from the back of the scrum, and ran the length of the pitch to put Shiplake 10-0 up early on. This was then followed by an intense period of defensive work, where the boys managed to hold up a couple of attempts of The Oratory scoring, before eventually The Oratory scored to make it 10-5. The reaction from Shiplake was incredible and the boys took their game to the next level. This led to another four tries throughout the game. These tries came from F Russell, F McCalley, M Jacobs and C Nash-Steer. The final score was 36-5, a really impressive display from Shiplake. Notable shoutouts for their efforts in this game go to all the try scorers and H Carlsson who put in a really impressive display.
Coach: Mr J Burgess
U14A v The Oratory
A frustrating day for all concerned. Shiplake started slowly and found it hard to get any rhythm to their game. Despite the lackadaisical start, the U14s went ahead, but the Oratory opposition was quickly on equal terms. Thereafter, infringement and ill discipline allowed the Oratory back in the match and they continued to dominate for long periods Final score was 19-10 to The Oratory.
Coaches: Mr R Curtis & Mr J Cooper
U14B v The Oratory
Another successful day in the office for the U14Bs with a 22-12 victory over local rivals, The Oratory School. With a few injured players out, we knew it was always going to be a difficult game, but this tight knit group of players never show any fear or doubt and attacked the game head on and managed to go into the break 5-0 up thanks to a try from D O’Brien. In the second half, we continued to apply pressure and tries from Z Wood, A Crane and H Taphouse along with a conversion from H Kyle helped secure the victory. Another great team performance has ensured back to back victories and we look forward to ending the half term well on Wednesday.
Coach: Mr B Gingell
