A busy week of fixtures has been highly successful for the Shiplake College teams; eight of the ten games played resulted in a victory for the Shiplake boys. Of the other two games, one was a draw, and one was incredibly close. The boys all worked well together as a team and look forward to taking on more rivals at the weekend!

Rugby

1st XV 24-5 Windsor Boys’ School

Thank you to newly-appointed Captain Finn Arbuckle for the following report on a very successful second match:

‘The bright and breezy weather conditions really suited our game today; we were much luckier than our previous game! Although the opposition team were bigger than we were, we were able to use our pace to a great advantage. Scorers for the match were Louis Ashcroft, Miles Bridgman and Harvey Hendry, and Els Frisby and I converted the tries. It was only our second game as a team, and my first game as Captain, but I was really impressed with how we came together and I’m looking forward to tackling other opponents.’

2nd XV 60-0 Windsor Boys’ School

‘Sometimes when you play a game for a while, a day comes where everything clicks into place, a team gets into a rhythm and they are unstoppable. Sports psychologists and top athletes call this 'a state of flow.' Everything works out. All passes go to hand. Everyone is running the right lines and everyone makes the right decisions.

Today was not that day.

And why on earth would it be? This was the second outing for this 2s side who built on a scrappy yet resilient performance (at times) against Reading Blue Coat for their season opener only a few days previously. Played under sweltering conditions reaching close to 30 degrees, the game proved too much for many on the sideline who retreated to some shade behind the in-goal area. The dry track encouraged a quick start for Shiplake who looked to play the high tempo rugby that yields offloads, linebreaks and tries. It took the Shiplake boys about 15 minutes to realise that they were not going to score at will off first or second phase. They would actually have to engage Windsor in the old fashioned battles of rucking and tackling if they wanted to get the better of them.

"First win the fight. Then win the game."

Having spilt a lot of ball in the early exchanges and forcing some passes, Shiplake settled into the game and started running hard and direct at Windsor. Smarter and more patient rugby started to emerge and soon chinks in Windsor's armour appeared. Tries from George Emeny, pack-leader Seb Rivett and tackling supremo Will Thomsett gave the visitors a commanding lead. The pack were picking great lines and punishing the home side by charging into space. Will Gresswell's flash footwork and reluctance to be tackled easy earned a score for the team and a hint of what the backs would offer later in the game. Soon after, Welsh House combined superbly when flyhalf Ollie Potter moved his defender and put Freddie Davis into a gap who showed some great pace as he sauntered up field. At half time, and 0-35, things were looking much better but still some unforced errors kept Shiplake hungry for more accuracy in their play.

Sticking to the formula that had yielded the successes in the first half, Shiplake looked to hold onto the ball. It was an old fashioned staring match as the tireless Jack Douglas and Tom Paine constantly secured quick ball and waited for Windsor to blink.

And blink they did.

Having recycled the ball for a number of phases, outside centre Will Parton showed great footballing skills to grubber the ball behind the on-rushing defensive line. Will's chase, flyhack and subsequent score was a sensational demonstration of individual skill that was built on the team's hard work. Any ball that was kicked to Shiplake was expertly fielded by full-back Sam Wisely who was exceptional at evading the first chaser and on one occasion, jinked and accelerated clear to the try line. Scores by backs George Docwra and Freddie Bowcock showed a real determination from the team not to rest on their laurels. Such drive needs great leaders and again, Captain Harry Rees was the catalyst in ensuring Shiplake kept pushing one another and never let up. There were two hugely impressive debuts for the 2s in Ben Monson with a lightening sidestep and Brad Wilkins who showed a great range of handling skills alongside support lines that would be the envy of many outside backs. Brad will need to work on his drop kick conversions however, especially if he going to run such excellent support lines as he is sure to cross the tryline a few times this season. Such additions to the squad can only be a good thing as the season will step up in intensity this Saturday with the arrival of Seaford at Shiplake. This might have been a high scoring game but far from perfect and certainly a long way from being in 'a state of flow'. What this game did provide however, was plenty of learning opportunities which will be invaluable for this team moving forward. The next question is: what will this team learn against Seaford?’

Mr David Sharkey

U15B 12-12 Windsor Boys’ School

The U15Bs took on a strong team from the Windsor Boys’ School. After a difficult game last week against Reading Blue Coat, the team were eager to level the playing field. Captain Rory Abery scored both of the tries for the Shiplake side, with Joe Rayner scoring the conversion. Jack Powell and Jack Underwood also performed brilliantly, excelling in tackling. Man of the Match went to Rory Abery, and the score was tied at 12-12.

U14A 40-10 Windsor Boys’ School

Thank you to James Burgess for the following report on another successful match for the U14A team:

‘After last week's performance Shiplake were keen to build on that result. Windsor Boys’ won the toss and kicked off the first-half. Luke Theodorou caught the ball from kick-off and ran powerfully towards the defence before releasing the ball to James Burgess, who went round the outside of the Windsor Boys winger and then finished that move off under the posts. Luke Theodorou stepped up to take the first conversion of the day, but the ball just went wide. Windsor Boys’ again kicked off and Shiplake, after a couple of strong phases, got the ball out to James Burgess who broke the gainline and finished the move under the posts. The try was converted to make score 12-0 Shiplake. After one more try from James Burgess, Theo Fewtrell made a great run down the wing and then stepped the fullback to again finish the try underneath the posts. The try was converted to make score 24-0 Shiplake.

After the break James Burgess scored once more, and Theo got another try to his name shortly after. Then Shiplake conceded 2 tries in relatively quick succession after giving away a couple of penalties. Then in the last minutes of the game Shiplake were piling pressure on the Windsor Boys defence to score the last try of the match, coming from Archie McArthur. The match finished 40-10 to Shiplake.’

U12A 15-10 Caldicott Preparatory Boys School

Thank you to Mr Tom Crisford for the following report from a very successful first match for the U12As:

‘In conditions that could only be considered as more suitable to cricket the Lower School had its first fixture of the season against Caldicott School. With minimal preparation time, consisting of just one training session, nobody was quite sure what to expect - but the boys were certainly keen to make a positive start and represent Shiplake College in their first ever fixture. The game started at a frantic rate with both teams playing some very open and entertaining rugby and what was particularly pleasing was the desire the boys showed in making their tackles really count. Caldicott scored first but this was quickly responded to with a try from Shiplake and it really did turn into a fantastic early season game. Both teams made lots of errors and Shiplake will be working hard to develop their attacking threat as on too many occasions they played in a narrow channel, and did not use the speed that was available on the outside wings. Despite this the game was levelled, with two tries each going into last quarter of the game. A moment of brilliance and an intercept resulted in a try for Shiplake. The final few minutes proved to be a really exciting period, with Caldicott constantly attacking the Shiplake line and outstanding defence from the team resulted in a first win for Shiplake College.’

U12B 20-35 Caldicott Preparatory Boys School

Thank you to Mr George Miller for the following report from a closely fought match:

‘In their first game of the season the 12B’s suffered a close defeat, losing 20-35 to Caldicott. Despite defeat, many positives can be taken from this game. This was the first taste of competitive rugby for some of the boys and, after just one official training session, the first game in Shiplake colours for all. Captained under Charlie Watts, the boys played a tremendous first half, defending brilliantly and creating chances, making the score 15-10 in favour of Shiplake. The second half saw much of the same from the boys, who put their all into the game, it was only Caldicott’s extra training that gave them the edge in shifting the ball and finding the space to penetrate the defensive line. There is no doubt that, with a few more training session, this team will go far.’