It was a quiet week for fixtures with an exeat weekend and the house rugby during the week. However, matches against Holyport College were successful for three teams, and the 1st XV had an inspiring talk from Old Viking Ruairi Van Raalte. The Girls' hockey team continued to impress, taking on a strong side from Cokethorpe School and getting another win under their belts.

Rugby

1st XV Masterclass with Old Viking Ruairi Van Raalte

The 1st XV rugby team enjoyed something a little out of the ordinary this week; a masterclass from Old Viking Ruairi Van Raalte. Ruairi left Shiplake to pursue a career in professional rugby, and came back to his alma mater to give a workshop in tactics and skills to the players of the 1st XV team. Thank you to Head of Rugby Mr Sam Beckett for the following report on an interesting afternoon of rugby:

‘The 1st XV had a great time during their workshop with Ruairi. Ruairi left Shiplake in 2015 and went on to present the USA U20 in the World Cup last year as a hooker. He has since been playing professional rugby in New Zealand for the Manawatu Turbos, and popped into Shiplake as he is back in England for the festive period. He will be playing for London Scottish in the Championship, so it was great that he could spare the time to come and teach some tactics and inspire the players.

Ruairi ran a hooker masterclass, teaching boys in Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 some key tips and tricks, and how to be successful on the playing field. The pupils experienced training drills, and useful hints and tips on technique. It was an insightful afternoon of rugby and the boys were grateful to have Ruairi’s input!’

U16B 5-1 Holyport College

U13A 15-40 Holyport College

'Hopes were high after such a convincing win against Abingdon. However, some poor communication and patchy tackling meant that we went down to a side who we should really have given a run for their money. Highlights from the game included superb tackling from Tom Sharpe (unanimously voted Man of the Match) and the usual high work rate of Sam Horne. Some strong running from Archie Arnold, Milo Connelly, Seth Looney, Matty Hartrup and Jai Angel provided our best chances to even things up. As the light failed so too, sadly, did our hopes of drawing close.'

Mr Nick Brown

U12A 40-0 Holyport College and U12B 50-0 Holyport College

'The Under 12 squad headed off to Maidenhead for a double header against Holyport College with confidence high after a very successful season to date. The Under 12 A team dominated the game from start to finish scoring an unanswered 10 tries with some real quality being show cased. With a big pitch the boys managed to find some open space but perhaps will need to work on drawing their opposition man in order to create the overlap.

The Under 12 B Team had a fantastic game which for many of the boys was one of their first games of the season and with much work been done on the training pitch they showed Holyport College some excellent rugby. Stars of the show were Matt Grundy, Ollie Lewis and Charlie Watts who will be now pushing hard for places in the A Team. Overall a fine victory once again with 10 unanswered tries being scored.'

Mr Tom Crisford

Hockey

Girls 1st XI 5-1 Cokethorpe School

Many thanks to Captain of Girls Hockey’ Issy Webster for the following report from another successful match for the Girls’ hockey team:

‘Shiplake started off the match very quickly, intercepting the ball straight from the whistle and carrying it all the way into opposition territory. This is where the ball stayed for the majority of the opening 10 minutes of the match and, after a few mazy runs down the right side of the pitch, the early dominance paid off when Lauren McNally scored the first goal with a well taken finish. The Cokethorpe goalkeeper could only get a hand to the shot and Shiplake looked in full control. The rest of the first half was much more even and Cokethorpe got themselves back into the match as the Shiplake defence was overloaded. Despite the best efforts of Emily Duncan, who had another good game in goal, Cokethorpe managed to squeeze the ball home. However, this didn’t phase Shiplake and after a tough battle in midfield, the ball was moved forward quickly which set up an amazing goal, consisting of two quick and skilful passes involving captain Webster and Brooke Creighton, who found Liv Bartlett and she continued her fine scoring form as she put the ball away with the final touch of what was an even first half.

The second half of the game was one of the best the team has played this season. Continual pressure was exerted on the Cokethorpe defence which lead to Emma Renwick, Issy Webster and Brooke Creighton all managing to score brilliant goals. At the other end of the pitch, the Shiplake defence held tight to stop any goals being scored by Cokethorpe, with Daisy Stuart making several strong tackles and Sophia Gibbs often getting the ball moving forward as quickly as possible. The team should be very proud of the progress they have made this term and will hopefully continue like this for the remainder of the matches this year. The final score was 5-1 to Shiplake and the players of the match were Lauren McNally and Issy Webster.’