Under 12's get
Silver at Whitchurch Festival
A Season's End
The U12s travelled to Whitchurch
on Sunday 23rd April 2006, with mixed emotions. After our best festival
result to date at Telford, coming 3rd above one of our two greatest
rivals, Bridgnorth.( The other being Whitchurch) The joy we felt
about our performance at Telford was a distant memory, when on Sunday
morning we all arrived at Whitchurch knowing the calibre of the teams we
were to play. We were drawn against Whitchurch, Sandbach and Newport.
Fortunately for us though unfortunately for Sandbach, they could not
attend and Caldy stepped admirably into the breach.
And then the dreaded moment -
registration and the schedule of matches. We were to play Whitchurch
first, then Newport then Caldy. Might as well start with the hardest!
Match 1 - Whitchurch.
What a start! The lads come out
firing on all cylinders and kept Whitchuch in their own half for most of
the opening exchanges. The odd kick fielded skilfully by Tom Carey at
full back, supported by his wingers, Jake Tivey and Sam Rintoul, gave us
an air of confidence. A slight blip when they broke through on the right
wing, but awesome tackling from Olly Hughes and Tom Chard in the centres
managed to keep their undeniably talented stand-off quiet.
Second half and more of the same.
Hard tackling and committed running by both sides made for a nail-biting
7 minutes. Phil Oliver and Robert Hughes lead the pack well and there
was no forward motion from Whitchurch for most of the second half.
Rucking and mauling was the best we have shown all season and at the
final whistle, a fair no score draw was testament to the committed
defence of both sides.
So a moral victory in the first
match, especially when you consider that the first time we played them
18 months ago the match was suspended half way through the second half
after they had posted 55 unanswered points.
Match 2 - Caldy.
A unknown quantity to us, which
can work both ways. We either feared them as potential winners or played
our own game. I am glad to say we chose the latter and acquited
ourselves with aplomb in a fast paced match.
Robert Hughes our gazelle like
back rower went over for 3 tries of his own, all taken with skill and
speed and excellent support play from Lee Arrosmith, Owain Roberts and
Tom Phillips and most of the pack. George Clayton, (Capt) lead by
example with some earth shuddering tackles that no doubt fired up the
rest of the team.
In the end we ran out 4-1 winners
and spirits were high after an exhilarating match that saw Caldy
evidence their never say die attitude and cross the line shortly before
the final whistle.
Match 3 - Newport.
At this stage we were aware that
Whitchurch were on the same points as us and a draw or better would put
us into the mix for the medals.
We came out blazing with some
excellent runs from Henry Finnegan and Jake Tivey nearly crossing the
line, but for a late try saving tackle.
We had been watching their tactics
and Tom Chard, Olly Hughes and Tim Davies showed superb tactical
awareness by shutting down their midfield, which had up until then run
riot against the other teams.
In the end the pressure told and
they crossed for two trys, one in each half, leaving us 3 minutes from
which to salvage a result. Que the half back partnership of Kyle
McNamara and Owain Roberts. A quick openside run from Kyle inside their
22 from the base of a scrum and only half a metre to the line when a
last ditch tackle brought him down, only for the ever present Peter
Forbes in support to pick-up and drive and cross the line.
Unfortunately there was a price to
pay and Kyle received and injury in setting up the try that put him out
of the rest of the competition.
1 minute left and Owain Roberts
took the ball from Matty Price at Scrum Half and crossed the line, but
the superior pack size of Newport was sufficient to hold him up and
the ref blew for full time.
That was it - we had given our all
and played the best rugby as a team that we ever have and now it was out
of our hands.
Whitchurch were to play Caldy, a
win or a draw and they would beat us into second place, Newport having
already secured the cup.
Caldy had suffered a number of
injuries to their squad and asked that we supply two volunteers to help
their embattled team.
George Clayton and Tom Chard,
showed the true spirit of the game and stepped forward without
hesitation.
This was it - we could barely
watch as the two teams took to the field.
And then it happened, Caldy full
filled the promise they had shown earlier and staunched every attack
thrown at them. What is more they fought back and with some superb
handling skills and support play put George over twice, for a 2 - 0 lead
with 3 minutes left. Whitchurch showed their obvious strength of
character by stepping up their game and crossed the line to take it to
2-1. One minute left and the tension was unbearable.
Whitchurch maintained the pressure
but could not formulate an attack in the face of some telling tackles.
The whistle blew and it was time to add up the scores.
Newport were the victors and took
the cup and Gold Medals, leaving Whitchurch and us tied for second place
on the same points. A hurried visit to the scorer's tent showed we had
one more try than them and had clinched the silver spot. The importance
of Peter Forbes' try being all to evident to everyone in the team.
Then the presentation of the
medals and a team photograph, with which to remember our achievement.
A great day was had by all and the
organisation of the festival was beyond reproach. Our thanks to
Whichurch for hosting yet another successful day.
One more match to go against
Stafford on Sunday 30th May and the end of our best season yet.
There is more to come from
Shrewsbury U12 as we move up to U13 level next season and a more
expansive game that will suite our style.
Rod McNamara
Coach
Under 11s win at
Telford Festival 2nd April
The Under 11s walked away
with a notable first for themselves at the Telford Festival earlier
today.
Victories over Oswestry
(20-0), Willenhall (5-0), Whitchurch (15-0), Ludlow (30-0) and Newport
(15-0) not only ensured their first silverware of the season but it
was made even more impressive by the fact that they did not concede a
try in any of the games totalling 70 minutes of rugby.
All of the players put in
excellent performances, with their strong tackling, great support play
and tries came from all phases of play. It really was a great team
effort that was rounded off by the whole squad receiving the trophy to
a huge cheer.
Shrewsbury
vs Bridgnorth NM Cup ¼ Final - Under 15’s Sunday 5th Feb
2006
We started this match full of energy & enthusiasm although a number
of players were not fully fit due to the recent “flu-bug”, we were very
optimistic about our chances of defeating Bridgnorth, to progress to the
semi-finals at our first attempt.
Our scrum again proved to be very effective & the strong pack drove
B’north backwards on several occasions. Some excellent rucking & mauling
by the forwards enabled us to secure possession, but we were never given
the time or space to use it. B’north closed us down very quickly, and as
a result we were hurried into making errors. Two quick tries from
B’north, (one converted) which both came from our own mistakes, really
put us on the back foot. Although we continued to compete for the ball
and were very tenacious in every area of the pitch, we couldn’t gain any
momentum and spent most of the time defending in our own half.
Half time 0 – 12
We really believed that we were still in with a chance of victory,
we just needed to bring a bit of composure into our game. Unfortunately,
injuries to a number of key players meant that I had to make several
changes, and as a consequence, we lost our shape and cohesion. We were
duly punished by a couple of converted tries, with one more unconverted
try securing the win for B’north.
I am very pleased to say that we never gave up and with a couple of
minutes left, we finally managed to put a superb passing move together,
resulting in an excellent try for Charlie Marshall (centre). The final
score line would suggest that this was a very one-sided game, but with a
bit more composure and accurate passing, it could have been very much
closer.
Despite the loss, I was very encouraged by the teams overall
attitude and effort.
Final Score 5 - 31
S’bury MOM – Tom McDaniel (prop)
Notes
Sunday 12th Feb – at home to Oswestry
Thursday 16th Feb – Training 6.30pm – 8.00pm
Sunday 19th Feb – away at Bridgnorth (meet at Sundorne -
9.45am)
Our first game of 2006 saw us travelling to Oswestry, who we hadn’t
played against for over 12 months.
With 25 players available, which was very pleasing, I was able to make a
number of positional changes with a view to the NM Cup ¼ final against
Bridgnorth on 5th February.
We got off to a terrific start, playing the first 20 minutes in
Oswestry’s half, the strength of our pack really paying dividends. With
the ball being secured ay every breakdown & set piece, the backs were
able to slice open Oswestry’s defence. It wasn’t long before Ollie
Chantler (centre) broke through for our first try from a well-organised
line out on the 22.
Some exceptional handling and positional play by the three-quarters
brought us a flurry of tries, to which Oswestry had no answer. John
Riddell (left-wing) crossed over for his first try for the club, rapidly
followed by one from Adam Faulkner (right-wing). No 8 Lee Turner, showed
real strength and determination to score the next try (his first this
season) from the back of a 5-metre scrum, and it was Adam again cutting
inside to score under the posts, leaving Oswestry shell-shocked at 0 –
25.
We should really have been 30 plus points up, but we were unable to
convert any of our kicks. (some practice required there !)
Unfortunately, we relaxed a little bit too much just before half time
and allowed Oswestry to score from a quickly taken tap penalty, which we
gave away needlessly.
Half Time 5 – 25
I substituted a number of players at half-time, giving every player
an opportunity to show what they were capable of. Oswestry also made a
number of changes and started the second half very strongly, spending
the first 10 minutes in our half, but we defended superbly and kept them
from scoring.
The game became a little scrappy at times, with a number of unforced
errors creeping in. However, we continued to throw the ball around, and
some powerful running from the second row forwards enabled us to score
three more tries in quick succession, with two for Ollie Chantler
(hat-trick) and one for Gareth Bedford (lock).
We finished the game off a few minutes later with another well-worked
try which involved virtually every one of our players, Adam Faulkner
crossing over for a well deserved hat-trick.
Final Score 5 – 45
This was a tremendous all round performance and a thoroughly
deserved win.
Well done lads, keep it up !
MOM – Ollie Chantler
Sunday
13th November Under 13s Moseley 65 Shrewsbury 0
You
would think from the score line that this was a one sided event and the
first half probably was. The Moseley team new their strengths and
played to them. They had one particularly quick winger. The old adage,
that there is no substitute for pace, proved to be very true.
Moseley moved the ball well through their hands out to the wing and left
the rest to him. We did not get close enough to attempt a tackle. This
was repeated several times and we were not able to deal with it. They
gained momentum and other players in their squad grew in confidence and
started to find gaps in our defence.
We competed well in the scrums and lineouts, but did not retain
possession well at rucks and mauls. We did have our moments with some
pressure in the bottom corner however we were unable to cross the line.
The first half ended 43-0 and the boys were down and tired.
The
second half was going to be a tough challenge and would be a test of
character. We gave away a couple of quick tries and then started to
compete. We kept the ball closer to the forwards and our rucking and
mauling started to pay dividends with much more possession. James
Leahy, leading his team took a quick penalty and ran for 30 meters
before a crunching tackle ended the move. We were having the better of
the possession but just could not get the penetration. Mosesly scored
another break out try and a combination of Charlie Cutcliffe and Brendon
Ramby managed to stop a certain try on our line.
We did not give up and kept the pressure on to the very end of the
match, spending most of the last 10 minutes in the Moseley half and
eventually limiting them to only 22 points in the second half.
There
were some good individual performance and with a bit more teamwork, we
could have got far more out of the game. Despite the result, we put up
a courageous performance, which we can gain from.
Having been given a bye in the first round, we
travelled to Solihull to experience our first ever game of “cup rugby”,
and what a game it proved to be. I decided to make a few changes to our
line–up, a couple of which were forced by injury.
Charlie Marshall was asked to play at fly half and to captain the side
for the first time, which proved to be an excellent decision.
In appalling weather conditions, we really took the game to “the Salts”
and it wasn’t long before we imposed ourselves on the game. Our forwards
worked exceptionally hard at every ruck and maul, perhaps a bit too
aggressively at times for the referee, who penalised us on several
occasions.
However, we continued to dominate and it was from the back of our scrum
that we scored the first try, a superb blindside run by Charlie.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have his kicking boots on and missed the
conversion. (0 – 5)
Some of our passing and movement was tremendous, and we opened the game
up by moving the ball wide at every opportunity. Charlie again broke
free and scored in the corner. (0 – 10)
Old Salts came back into the game briefly, when they were given a
bizarre penalty in front of the posts, which they duly converted. (3 –
10)
I made a couple of changes at half time, and we
continued where we had left off, with Charlie running in another try
after a superb driving maul. (3 – 15)
Some exceptional rugby was being played by us, and with a combination of
assured handling, excellent rucking and positive tackling, we pushed the
opposition back into their 22 and never looked like letting them back
into the game.
We scored two more tries in the second half, the first of which was a
superb passing move down the right flank, with newcomer Andy Hall (wing)
cutting inside for his first try for the club. (3 – 20) The second of
these came from a clever box kick by Grant, which was chased down by the
forwards, and after five or six phases of tenacious forward play, Ben
Davies (lock) drove over for his first try of the season.
Final Score (3 – 25)
This was fantastic all round performance, and one
that we thoroughly deserved to win. Credit has to be given to ALL
the players for their magnificent effort and for keeping our cup hopes
alive. A big thanks also to the Mums and Dads for your continued
support.
Don’t forget - Training
on Thursday 10th & Sunday 13th
A
game of two halves
After three
consecutive wins and a two-week break, we started this match full of
energy & enthusiasm, even though the weather was appalling.
The conditions
certainly made ball-handling a whole new experience, with both sides
“knocking-on” frequently. Our scrum & line out again proved to be
effective & the strong pack drove Willenhall backwards on several
occasions. Some excellent rucking & mauling by the forwards enabled us
to keep possession, and a fabulous jinking run by Sam Goddard (fly-half)
from the back of a maul broke the deadlock, Charlie Marshall (full back)
then converted comfortably. (0 – 7)
The opposition really tested us at times, especially having been given
several scrums on our 5-metre line, but we held on until half time with
no further score.
Willenhall came back
into the game in the second half particularly as the wind had changed
direction in their favour !
Unfortunately, injuries to several key players meant that I had to make
a number of changes, and as a consequence, we lost our shape and
cohesion. We were duly punished by a couple of converted tries, with one
unconverted try late in the game securing the win for Willenhall.
Final Score 19 - 7
I am very pleased to
say that we never gave up, and had we not had two tries disallowed, the
result may well have been very different. Despite the loss of our 100%
record, I was very encouraged by our performance in the worst possible
conditions.
Please remember –
N.M.Cup on Sunday 6th November – meet at 9.00 am
With
Newtown calling off our fixture at the last minute, Rae very hastily
arranged a match for us away at Newport. Having beaten them only once
during the last two seasons, this was always going to be a very tough
match, as indeed it turned out to be.
With one or two new faces in the starting line up, we made an excellent
start, looking composed and organised. The scrum and lineout were both
functioning well, and we made the most of our possession with a terrific
surge down the left flank, for new left wing Mark Stevens to score his
first try for the club, with Charlie Marshall (full-back) converting. 0
- 7
Newport realised they were in a match, and came at us with a vengeance,
competing fiercely at every ruck and maul. They put us on the back foot
with some smart kicking from their centres, but we managed to hold on to
our lead until half time.
Being
in the fortunate position of having so many players available, I decided
to make a number of substitutions, which unfortunately disrupted our
organisation, and for the first twenty minutes of the second half,
Newport capitalised on our uncertainty, scoring two tries from
intercepted passes, which were both converted. 14 – 7
The game became very scrappy for a while, and we were unable to retain
or recycle the ball. Fortunately the scrum held together, and after one
or two positional changes (and a few stern words from myself) we clawed
our way back into the game. We were making real progress when Newport
again latched onto a loose pass and scored a pitch length solo try. 19 –
7
I am very pleased to say that the lads didn’t drop their heads and made
a huge effort to salvage something from the game. We really competed for
the ball in every area of the pitch, and the forwards began to punch
some holes in Newport’s defence. Tom McDaniel (flank) broke through from
a superb driving maul to touch down between the posts, which Charlie
duly converted. 19 – 14
With five minutes left, Charlie caught a high ball from a defensive kick
and ran straight through several tackles to level the scores. 19 – 19
Everyone was asking the referee how long was left, with the reply
“enough” adding even more tension. There was a belief that we could win,
and it was Charlie again who made the break for the line after some
sharp & decisive passing from the backs. He scored in the corner to
everyone’s delight, and it was enough to secure our hard fought victory.
19 –
24
This
was an excellent all round performance, albeit scrappy at times, and
credit has to be given to all the lads for their commitment and effort.
It is the first time that we have beaten Newport away from home since I
have been involved, and to make it three wins out of three was all the
more satisfying. Well done lads !
A very
big thank you to all the Mums and Dads for their support.
9th October 2005
Under
13s
Newport
29 Shrewsbury
19
We had always had good fixtures against Newport in the
past as this was to be no different. They had a large squad and seemed
to be well drills. Previous confrontations had shown that they had some
good players in their team.
We were very slow to get going and gave Newport to much respect and
space. They were able to capitalise on our mistakes and ran in three
early scores without a great deal of opposition. One of which was
converted. These were created by their back line being given too much
space and time, which enabled to get moving. In addition, we missed too
many tackles.
This eventually acted as a wake up call and we started to fight back.
William broke through the middle gave a dummy pass which completely
fooled the Newport defence. He was tackled just short of the line but
managed to offload to Jack. He dropped the ball backwards and Matthew
Dodd picked up to score a try.
This spurred us on in the second half which was a much
tighter contest. However, Newport struck back straight away with a
try. We had more the urgency in our play and Tristen put in two
excellent tackles on their big centre, after which, he had a quiet half.
James stole a ball on the right touch line and ran forward with support
from Andrew. The forwards arrived and carried the ball over the try
line but were unable to ground it. From the following scrum, Michael
broke to score under the posts. This was followed by two points from
Steven.
Newport came back strongly and despite an excellent tackle from Jack,
they managed to score under the posts. We struck back from the restart
and managed to drive them back to their line. After a series of mauls,
Bradley grounded the ball over the try line. Steven was successful with
the conversion.
The match ended and the boys could hold their heads up high, at no point
they give in and they kept fighting until the final whistle. We need to
get on our game a bit sooner if we are going to beat teams of the
quality of Newport. This was a good test and hopefully we can learn
from it.
With confidence high after beating Wrekin College last
week, we should have started this game much better that we did. In
fairness to a much-improved Telford side, they were stronger than us for
the first twenty minutes, keeping us penned in our own half for most of
that time. Fortunately, we managed to concede only one try in the corner
with some excellent defensive work preventing them from scoring further.
This try proved to be the catalyst for a tremendous all round team
effort and we began to play with tenacity & flair. Our forwards had to
work exceptionally hard at every ruck and maul as Telford literally
scrapped for everything. Their scrum was the strongest we have yet come
across, but we persevered, and started to secure more ball. This gave
our half backs the opportunity to move the ball out wide. Once we got
our passing game going, we were much more effective. Charlie Marshall
(full-back), who had an outstanding game, broke free through the centre
to level the scores at 5 -5.
I made one or two changes at half time and we picked up where we had
left off, with the forwards showing their real strength. Some of our
passing and movement was the best we have produced, and we opened the
game up running in five more tries – Sean Quigley (flank), Adam Faulkner
x 2 (wing), Ben Brittain (centre) and Charlie Marshall (full-back) plus
2 conversions from Charlie.
Final score 5 – 34
This was an excellent all round performance, made
difficult at times by the very strong opposition. Credit has to be given
to all the players for their magnificent effort and for keeping their
cool in an intense game.
A big thank you to the Mums and Dads for their terrific support.
Under 14
2nd October 2005 Score
Telford 0 Shrewsbury 27
This was
the first test for our players on a full pitch playing fifteen aside.
We had a good size squad who were all keen to get involved.
We started confidently and soon gained control of the ball. The
forwards moved the ball towards the Telford goal line, the ball was
released to the backs and reached Brendon who was able to cross the line
for a try. Unfortunately, the try was in the corner and to far for
Stephen to make the conversion.
Telford restarted and soon conceded a penalty midfield. Jack took a
quick tap and passed to Lorenzo. He was to strong for their defence,
finally releasing the ball to Andrew on the wing. Still left with some
work to do Andrew managed to ground the ball for our second try. Again,
to near the touchline for the kick.
Our forwards were dominating the match, but tending to play as
individuals, their strength and energy levels were very encouraging.
Following a succession of scrums, Matthew Dodd broke down the left wing
and grounded the ball on the tryline, the referee did not have a good
view and awarded a five metre scrum. Following an infringement by
Telford, we were awarded a penalty. The ball again was passed to
Matthew who this time made sure. However, the try scorers were not
making it easy for Stephen.
The final score of the half came following a break through the middle,
which was passed to Charlie who cut through their defence to score, this
time under the posts. Unfortunately for Stephen, he was off the pitch
being rested and Paddy duly slotted the conversion.
The
second half was a tighter affair with Telford showing a great deal of
courage to keep the score down. We made some handling mistakes at key
times and were getting a bit frustrated. Eventually, Paddy who was
playing in the centre received a pass ran to the right corner. With two
players to beat, he passed to Brendon who straitened the line of attack
and crossed the line for our last try. It was not Stephen’s day and he
rushed the last conversion attempt pushing it wide of the left post. It
should be added that none of the kicks were easy.
The match was a friendly affair, which did not test our defensive
ability. We did the basics quite well. We need to now work on teamwork
and imagination to be in a position to beat better opposition. Fitness
levels were pleasing.
25th U17 September
Bidgnorth 0 Shrewsbury 53
Shrewsbury under 17's went to
Bridgnorth this Sunday 25/09/05 with a full
squad. Following last weeks poor performance at Whitchurch the lads had
a
point to prove.
Bridgnorth were no match for a re-vitalised forward pack, which were
strongly led by Tom Savage (3 tries), they kept up the tempo throughout
and
constantly provide good ball for the backs, they also showed an ability
to
go through several phases before releasing the ball.
The tries nine in total, were scored by Sam Wytcherley 2, Tim Andrews 2,
Phil Andrews 1, Sam Jones 1 and Tom 3.
Shrewsbury ran out winners by 53-0, we have a squad this year of 23 and
so
competition for places is strong.
We need to see these numbers at training, to ensure that we keep up the
intensity we showed on Sunday.
Well done to all of you.
24th September - Under 15 -Wrekin College 17 Shrewsbury 27
We kicked off the new season in style
with an emphatic away victory over Wrekin college on Saturday 24th
Sept.
Sporting our impressive new kit,
sponsored by local motorcycle, ATV & scooter importer – KYMCO, we got
off to a nervous start, conceding two tries and a conversion in the
first 10 minutes.
Once the nerves settled, we started to play our game.
The forwards secured the vast majority of possession and our scrum was
exceptional, giving the halfbacks time and space in which to operate.
The backs gave great support and began to run rings round the
opposition.
We turned the game round with two well-worked tries (Gareth & Tom Mcd)
and the college side were clearly rattled. By halftime, we had fought
back well trailing by just two points 12 – 10.
An excellent start to the second half
saw us really take the game to the opposition. Some superb rucking,
mauling & passing enabled us to score three tries in quick succession
(Adam, Kurt & Gareth), one of which was outstanding, with every single
player involved during 4 or 5 phases.
After making our substitutions in the latter stages, the college came
back strongly, managing to score a solitary try in the last minute.
Final score 17 – 27
I was really pleased with the way we
responded to the challenge, and the manner of our victory will certainly
boost our confidence going into the next match - away at Telford on
sunday 2nd October (11.00am kick off). Meet at Sundorne at
9.30am.
I look forward to seeing you all then
Ian
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