Clinical Droitwich Too Strong For Shipston

Shipston lost to front runners Droitwich in their final home game of the season at mayo Road on Saturday, but put in a performance that they can be proud of against the runaway league winners. Droitwich are far and away the best team in the league this season and have had an excellent year, undefeated in both league and cup competitions, so it was always going to be a difficult game for the Rams' who themselves had enjoyed somewhat of a resurgence this season after a few difficult years.

It was a glorious day and the home side were determined to give it a shot and put in a performance that they themselves and the partisan home crowd could be proud of. They started the game very brightly, matching the much bigger Droitwich pack up front and putting together some excellent phases of running rugby and the hard dry track. They were to get the first score of the game after a period of sustained pressure, when a solid scrum in the Droitwich twenty-two unleashed the backline, putting Sam Cooper over in the corner after a well worked move. The conversion was unfortunately missed from out wide.

The rest of the half saw a hotly contested affair with both sides matching each other blow for blow and neither side able to stretch a meaningful lead. A try and a penalty from Droitwich was followed by a further try from Shipston, to leave the rams trailing 12-10. Rob James was the man to go over in the corner for the Rams after some more good hands and quick recycling set him away. The half would end with another score for the league leaders, but all in all Shipston were well in the hunt at half time, trailing by just seven points, 17-10.

The second half was more frustrating for the Rams as they were unable to really stamp their mark on the fixture. Droitwich kept the ball extremely well and played for field position down the slope. They racked up 3 more tries to add to their brace in the first half and stretched their lead out to 36-10 with 15 minutes of the game remaining. To Shipston's great credit they really stuck to the task at hand and were rewarded with a further score of their own before the end. After a tough slog under the sun and with holes in both defences beginning to appear, Rob James was able to make a break and go over for his second score of the game. Again the conversion was missed from out wide.

The match ended with the score at 15-36 to Droitwich who were very clinical and well drilled, proving their status as the number one side in the division. There are many positives for the young Shipston side to take from the game, as they have shown an increasing maturity throughout the season and played some brilliant rugby along the way. There were some very good individual performances for the Rams. Rob James was impressive with his brace of tries, as were Charlie Hollies-Everett, Tom Corby and Tobi Faulkner who all carried the ball well all afternoon and gave the Rams an excellent platform to attack from. George Minogue was imperious in defence, as was Ollie Morris out on the wing. MOM this week however goes to Ben Haines, who scrummaged brilliantly all game and carried the ball with real intent all afternoon.

Shipston finish their season away at Evesham on 22nd April, kick off at 3pm. As always, we look forward to your support as we draw the curtain on this years campaign.