The final Sports Report of the Autumn Term is here! In basketball, our U18s were looking to finish on a high; football saw our girls' U12s in action, while in rugby, we had our final round of block fixtures.
Basketball
U18 vs The Oratory School
The Shiplake U18s faced The Oratory School at home last week in what was a thoroughly entertaining game from start to finish. The team showed both their technical skill and tactical awareness, both of which they have worked hard to develop over the last term and came away with a convincing victory over the away side.
The team played with intensity at both ends of the court throughout, scoring close to the hoop even through fouls from the Oratory side. Shiplake shone particularly in transition, both getting up the court quickly after a good defensive play and getting back quickly to stop the transition score from their opponents. W Diver and A Mullens were particularly outstanding defensively in this game, forcing many turnovers and getting a few steals between them.
Shiplake closed out the game confidently in front of a thronging home crowd, winning 52-22. The team have worked very hard and were pleased to finish on a high for what has been a very successful term of basketball. The U18s finish the term seeded 1st in the Berkshire schools league and are looking forward to getting back on the court to play and compete after Christmas.
Notable individual performances: M Redding with 9 points, A Mullens with 11 points, and J Greig-Bartram with 12 points.
Coach: Mr Cartwright
Football
Girls’ U12 vs St Joseph’s School
As soon as we got down to the astroturf, we started training and practising our skills. Mrs Neill blew the whistle, and we were off in our match against St Joseph’s. Not long after the match started, we were losing 2-0. Although we had a rocky start, Mrs Neill made a substitution to bring on Player of the Match, A English. As soon as she stepped onto the pitch, the coach knew she had made a good decision. A English soon scored two equalising goals, but the match ended with a score of 3-2 to the opposition. A well-deserved Coach’s Player went to goalkeeper M Green. Overall, we all had a wonderful time even with the loss.
Report: A English & E Bryan
Coach: Mrs Neill
Rugby
1st XV vs Pangbourne College
The 1st XV changing room had an emotional but focused feel to it before kick-off and the boys knew they were about to put in an incredible performance together.
It was clear from the start that attacking the 12-13 channel with our forwards was going to lead to success, but after two wobbly moments that saw them go 12-0 down, the boys found their rhythm just before the half. 12-7 down at the break and it was simple instructions - keep the ball and flood the centre channels. The lads responded with the most powerful display of running rugby off W Diver at 10 that we’ve seen all season.
Two unanswered tries and then controlling the game by pinning Pangbourne on their own 5-metre line led to a finish to be proud of. A second half performance for the ages and a 17-12 win that caps off an incredible season.
Coach: Mr Edwards
2nd XV vs Pangbourne College
Final score: Shiplake College 0-26 Pangbourne College
Coach: Mr Wheeler
U16B vs Pangbourne College
Our final game of the season was bound to be tough especially as we started the game attacking uphill with strong winds and rain but as always, our U16s dug in, were aggressive, and well drilled. Losing S Pickering to injury early on was difficult but the boys did not let their heads drop and tried to play some quality rugby. Unfortunately, Pangbourne became more and more dominant as the half went on and with one or two great ball carriers, they were able to punch holes in our defensive line and finish the half strong.
The Shiplake boys at half time were reflective, positive and identified our strengths and Pangbourne weaknesses and put on a show for spectators. E Iu scored some brilliant tries in the second half and was most definitely Player of the Match. I think if the game had been five minutes longer, we'd have gone on to win, but given such a strong first half from Pangbourne, it was always going to be difficult. A 29-20 loss is nothing to be ashamed of and the boys bow out of the season with their heads held high. Mr Heaney, Mr Lawson and Mr Beckett appreciate the hard work and commitment the 17 or so boys have shown throughout a difficult season, and we are immensely proud of their efforts throughout and we wish them well as they move to senior rugby next year.
Final score: Shiplake College 20-29 Pangbourne College
Coaches: Mr Heaney & Mr Lawson
U15A vs Pangbourne College
Shiplake scored straight from the kick off after a strong kick and chase, gathered bravely by J Morgan, and finished by K O’Connor down the blindside. A second try soon followed from a quick tap by S Gibson to J Henshall, who put J Morgan over in the corner. The whole squad had equal game time and second half tries were scored from a fine run by K O’Connor, a burst through the middle under the posts from stalwart T Ridout, and a try for J Henshall after fine work by D Litchfield. S Baker was awesome in defence and attack throughout.
Final score: Shiplake College 29-5 Pangbourne College
Coaches: Mr Dix & Mr Cooper
U15B vs Pangbourne College
Shiplake’s U15Bs proved to be too organised and too strong from the outset. With both teams reduced to 10 players from the start (due to match Pangbourne’s numbers), there was a lot of space to exploit. Shiplake made the most of this space with some direct carrying. At times, Shiplake could have looked to move the ball into space more often but in the end, our excellent support play and offloading saw the tries coming and the score starting to build. Well done to the eight Shiplake players who represented Pangbourne throughout the match, and well done to the try scorers: J Terry, O Clarke (2), M Ball, R O’Boyle, W Houldsworth, A Crane (2), L Hilton (conversion)
Final score: Shiplake College 42-0 Pangbourne College
Coach: Mr Jones
U14A vs Pangbourne College
It was a tight start against Pangbourne College with some keen tackling and neither side prepared to give ground. The breakthrough came from a line-out on their 5-yard line. D Siddiqui powered through their defence and Shiplake were off the mark. Despite the relentless drizzle, ball handling was clean and Shiplake put together solid strings of phases and got the ball wide. O Woodward slipped through to make it 10-0 and minutes later, B Maskell took the ball from a ruck on the try line and dived the ball over. 1st half - 3 tries, no conversions.
Shiplake were in full swing in the 2nd half. After keeping possession and making ground, E Tavinor took advantage of a penalty and ran the ball over to score. Up stepped O Thomas, who had been covering the hooker position well, to strike the ball beautifully to score the first conversion. O Woodward scored his 2nd try between the posts and it looked like one way traffic, before Pangbourne came at Shiplake hard scoring two tries quickly. But their comeback was halted when B Oliver triumphantly wrestled the ball down to score the last try of the season.
Final score: Shiplake: 37-23 Pangbourne College
Coaches: Mr Bradley & Mr Gower
U14B vs Pangbourne College
The match was played on half a pitch due to numbers and conditions so we knew it would be a high scoring contest. Shiplake started strongly and were a formidable force on what was a very tricky pitch to play on. With so many tries scored, it is hard to mention all, but one try that stood out was a fantastic passing move finished off in the corner from J Andrews with a swallow dive!
Players of the Match went to T Sharp and S Currie for fantastic carries and running hard, straight lines which constantly pierced the Pangbourne defence.
Final score: Shiplake 66-12 Pangbourne
Coaches: Mr Jones & Mr Gingell
