The final Sports Report of the Spring Term brings with it a roundup of the latest fixtures in football, netball, and rugby 7s. In football, the boys played their final round of fixtures against Reading Blue Coat - unfortunately, due to a waterlogged pitch, the highly anticipated Football Night Lights for the 1st XI was postponed. In netball, our girls took part in an inter-league tournament and in rugby 7s, the College entered three teams to compete at the Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s tournament.
Football
Boys’ 2nd XI vs Reading Blue Coat
For the final fixture of the season, the 2nd XI put in an energetic and determined display at home against local rivals Reading Blue Coat. In the pre-match talk, lead coach Mr Heaney emphasised the importance of making a strong, quick start as this had been a weakness from the previous two fixtures. The boys responded really positively and from the first whistle, every player worked hard to prevent Reading Blue Coat settling into their rhythm. Shiplake created plenty of chances and O Prosser calmly took the ball round the defender and keeper to slot in the opener. H Doyle added a nicely-worked second to make it 2-0 at half time. Reading Blue Coat came out more determined in the second half, but it was Shiplake, through H Doyle again, that made the score 3-0. Reading Blue Coat managed to score in the last few minutes but Shiplake withheld a spirited effort by Reading Blue Coat to win 3-1. Player of the Match was awarded to M Patterson who was a rock in defence. In his last match at Shiplake, Mr Olhausen (assistant 2nd XI coach) praised the performance of the boys and thanked them for giving him a splendid and memorable victory.
Coaches: Mr K Heaney and Mr E Olhausen
Boys’ 3rd XI vs Reading Blue Coat
Final score: Shiplake College 0-16 Reading Blue Coat
Coach: Mr J Wheeler
Boys’ U16A vs Reading Blue Coat
Final score: Shiplake College 0-2 Reading Blue Coat
Coaches: Mr J Player and Mr J Cooper
Boys’ U14A vs Reading Blue Coat
Final score: Shiplake College 1-3 Reading Blue Coat
Coach: Mr D Bradley
Netball
Girls’ U18 Netball Tournament
The A, B and C Netball teams participated in a brilliant tournament on Wednesday 22 March where all 23 netball teams from the local league played against each other.
The Netball A team were worried as they had learned throughout the season that it can take them some time to get into a good rhythm, but they entered their first game with enthusiasm and energy knowing that this was the last time that our Year 13 netballers would be playing together as a Shiplake squad. The A Team quickly gained wins against their rivals Reading Blue Coat, as well as wins against Leighton Park and Salesian. T Firth and S Di Cuffa were Players of the Tournament for the A Team. T Firth's amazing play with working the ball up the defensive side of the court allowed A Botterill, R Allen and S Di Cuffa to have as many shots as possible on target. Shiplake A Team overall came third in the tournament, which is a fantastic achievement having placed fifth place in the netball league.
The Netball B Team also shone in the Tournament, coming joint third overall with Reading Blue Coat. There was amazing play from P Sanderson, S Goggins and I Wood in the centre court and amazing defending from E Dickson and L Stokes. This led to the team drawing with many teams that have beaten us throughout the season. The overall Player of the Tournament was R Pendlebury for her excellent performance as GA. The Shiplake B team placed seventh in the B League and have made brilliant progress throughout this season to then come third overall in the tournament.
The Netball C Team were in a very tough league this year, with most schools playing their B team in the league. The girls put in a fantastic effort throughout the whole season, with brilliant energy, enthusiasm and team spirit to place them eighth in the league. Player of the Tournament went to S Hodges and Coach's Player went to D Knight. Well done to all the girls for a brilliant season with great energy and enthusiasm.
Overall, it was a brilliant afternoon and a great way to end the netball season, and netball as a whole for the Year 13 pupils.
Report: S Di Cuffa (A Team Captain), I Wood (B Team Captain), and A Baiden (C Team Captain)
Coaches: Mrs C Lovelock, Miss A James, and Mrs K Neill
Rugby 7s, Rosslyn Park National Schools 7s
Boys’ 1st VII
- Shiplake College 5-31 Rugby School
- Shiplake College 14-17 Wellingborough
- Shiplake College 10-7 King Edward VI School, Stratford
After a disrupted season due to frozen or waterlogged pitches, the 1st VII went into Rosslyn Park 7s with very little competitive minutes under their belts. The task ahead of them was large, with Rugby School (who were eventual Vase winners) the first opponents. Rugby School were dominant from the off and scored a number of well-worked tries within the first half. The second half was a different story, with Shiplake finding their feet and C Burnett scoring with a lovely chip and collect under the posts. Final score was 5-31.
After a short break, Wellingborough were the next opponents and Shiplake looked in control from the off. Pressure in the opposition’s half led to tries from H Edwards and C Burnett, putting the game out of reach. A late consolation try gave Wellingborough a glimmer of hope, but with 60s left on the clock the final score was 14-7.
Shiplake had a few hours to rest, refuel and wander around the exhibition RE1 pitches watching some top-level action by some excellent rugby 7s sides.
The final game was all Shiplake from the off. Controlling possession well and stretching the defence led to an excellent first try by H Edwards, 5-0. KES Stratford scored at the start of the second half after a hole opened in the defence, 5-7. The match ebbed and flowed for the final six minutes with both teams eager for the win. J Macleod kept his width in attack and had a gap to work with so pinned his ears back and headed for the line. KES chased hard but J Macleod scored under the posts with the final score 10-7 to Shiplake.
Winning two of the three matches left the Shiplake Year 12 pupils confident of a successful 7s season next year. It was a fitting final set of matches for J Rogers, D Henson, J Harvey, B Macleod, J Macleod and A Coleman, all proving to be excellent servants of Shiplake rugby.
Coaches: Mr S Beckett and Mr T Armstrong
Boys’ U16 VII
- Shiplake College 5-19 St Paul’s
- Shiplake College 10-33 Haberdashers' Elstree Schools
- Shiplake College 12-26 King's Ely
The U16 side went into Rosslyn Park with high hopes of a successful outing. An air of expectation filled the minibus as we departed, but the boys were well aware of the difficult task that getting out of the group-stage presented.
A nail-biting first game against St Paul’s saw Shiplake control possession despite the entire game being written off by the commentators before a ball had even been kicked. 12-5 down going into the last minute and the U16s looked like they were going in to score. Stopped 1m short by a strong St Pauls tackle, followed by a quick tap, turnover penalty, and a length of the field try put an end to the contest. A heart-breaking result to start the tournament.
Game two against Haberdashers was a tough ask with heads down, a long break between the games, and the prospect of being out of the tournament after game two. Haberdashers were a well organised side with a clear game plan that led them to wining the group. They played in half of the pitch and got the ball to one player. The only way to describe their winger and his athleticism was that you could put him in a phone box with four other people, and he would still find a way to out manoeuvre them and answer the phone. An electric 7s player with pace and agility that is hard to come by.
The U16s at this point went into a 2-hour break with their final game coming against King’s Ely. Both sides without a win, the objective was to end on a high. A fast paced 7-7 start with both teams scoring tries. Shiplake were once again in complete control of the contest only for a pass to be intercepted and a try scored under the posts. To say that the crowd, coaches, and commentators were all left standing in stunned silence, still expecting play to be called back, was an understatement - you could hear a pin drop at that moment. A valiant, but unsuccessful fight back saw the U16s lose their third game.
A day that summed up tournament rugby. There will always be plenty of ‘what ifs’ and snapshot moments that could have changed the outcome of games, but to have gone to a national tournament and control two out of three games against big schools with good rugby programmes was no mean feat. An overall impressive outing, but work to be done to find that clinical edge that sees those results reversed when the boys make their transition to senior rugby.
Coaches: Mr R Edwards and Mr J Burgess
Boys’ U14 VII
- Shiplake College 0-19 Tonyrefail
- Shiplake College 19-17 Monmouth
- Shiplake College 20-17 St Edwards, Oxford
Without the benefit of a warm-up competition, the U14s went into Rosslyn cold and on a steep learning curve. A lack of defensive cohesion was very much evident in the first half of the first game, in which Shiplake conceded three quick tries. After a much-needed half time chat, the second half produced a much stronger performance with everyone in the squad playing their part. The 0-0 second half scoreline outlining a massive improvement in performance levels across the board.
With very little chance of going past the group stages, the squad was rotated at regular intervals over the course of the next two matches. In match two, Shiplake dominated proceedings and looked in control throughout the game. Monmouth scored with the last touch of the game to make the scoreline look a lot closer than it was at the time.
The U14s kept up their intensity in the last game of the day against St Edward’s with some of Shiplake’s stronger players getting a little less game time than in previous games. After conceding a try, Shiplake romped into a two-try lead and maintained that gap right up until the last minute of the game; before conceding a couple of kick-through scores.
A lot was learned on the day and omens look good for future success of this outfit in years to come.
Players of the day were S Baker and S Gibson.
Coaches: Mr R Curtis and Mr A Gingell
