Shipston Make It 3 Wins On The Bounce

Shipston entertained Old Leamingtonians at Mayo Road, with an expectant VP Day crowd in fine voice all afternoon. With the formalities of the afternoon well underway, Shipston began the match playing up the slope and into the wind, desperate to get into the game early and give the crowd something positive to get their teeth into. They started brightly enough and were soon into their patterns of play, dictating the break down and controlling the pace of the game. That said, the final pass just seemed to elude them in the opening passages and they were left without the points that their territory and possession perhaps deserved. After a missed attempt at goal from a penalty by Sam Cooper, the Rams began to get sloppy and gifted Old Leams field position with a number of poor errors and penalties.

It would be Old Leams who would open the scoring for the afternoon, capitalizing on a lack of concentration from Shipston. With a defensive scrum on their own 5-metre line, the Rams completely switched off, knocking the ball on in their own try area while attempting to kick to touch, only for the covering OL's back row to swoop on the loose ball and touch down. The conversion was missed, 5-0 to the visitors. It could've been much worst for the Rams as again, a lack of concentration almost cost them dearly. After Old Leams called a mark from a kick in their own twenty-two, the Rams defense turned their backs and allowed the opposition to make a break. OL's managed to work their way down the field, off-loading brilliantly away from the defense, only to be thwarted in the far corner by a desperate covering tackle into touch. That seemed to be the huge kick up the backside that Shipston needed and from then on they began to get back into the match.

They were soon on the scoreboard themselves after they executed a brilliant move from a lineout in the OL's half. The ball was won cleanly in the line by Harry Barnard and Sam Cooper fed the backs at pace, with Robbie Faulkner finding a gap in the defense to mark his return to the club with a try under the posts. Conversion made, Shipston led 7-5. That was how it remained until half time, with the OL's captain missing a penalty kick at goal that would've taken them 8-7 in front.

Now playing down the slope and with a good breeze behind them, Shipston really upped the pace and intensity in the second half, trying to run their youthful opposition around the park. It paid dividends for them as they were able to score 3 more tries in the second half, securing the bonus point win in the process. Further scores from Tom Corby (2) and Tobi Faulkner, coupled with a conversion out wide from Robbie Faulkner, pushed the Rams out of sight of the visitors. Tobi Faulkner's try came from an excellent passage of play, as the hosts ran through a number of quick phases up the middle of the park. Substitute Jack Coupland made a brilliant run, breaking through a number of tackles before being held up just short of the line. The ball was then shipped out wide through the hands, for Faulkner to go waltzing over in the corner. Shipston's 4th try - and Corby's second of the afternoon - came about from a quick turnover deep in the OL's half. Chasing the game, OL's attempted to run a quick penalty just 10 metres out from their own line, spinning the ball wide to try and catch the Rams off guard. Corby managed to strip the OL's centre in the tackle and sprint to the line to beat the covering defense. Despite a yellow card for Sam Cooper and a red card for the OL's number 6 for an altercation late in the game, it was a match generally played in good spirits between two good young sides. OL's played for the entire 80 minutes and forced Shipston into playing some of their best rugby of the season.

There were some notable performances from many players throughout the match. Robbie Faulkner was brilliant on his return to the side, the front row scrummaged excellently throughout the game and Tom Corby, Harry Barnard and George Waywell made some good yards all match, getting the Rams onto the front foot. The MOM was awarded to Tobi Faulkner this week, who picked up a second try of the season out in the unfamiliar position of wing.