Shiplake College secured a nailbiting
victory over Lord Wandsworth College to delight their vociferous home support
at Henley Hawks RFC in the school’s annual Friday Night Lights rugby event.
A healthy crowd of over 500 ignored the
damp and dreary weather to roar on the Shiplake players, who rose to the
occasion and made a lightning start to the match. The backs made light of
greasy conditions and set up camp in the LWC half. After consecutive driving
mauls from well-executed line outs, vice captain Tom Harman crossed the line
but was held up by desperate defenders.
It was not long before another Harman catch
set up Saracens inside half Fili Savou to crash over in the corner. This
triggered a spell of relentless Shiplake pressure which was again rewarded when
Savou shrugged off two attempted tackles to bag his second try.
Refusing to give in, LWC rallied and
launched their first attacking spell of the game. Shiplake were forced to
defend their own try line but strong tackles from Charlie Sichel, Will Janes
and Ruairi Van Raalte repelled the danger. The game settled into an even
contest which ebbed and flowed from end to end, but with just moments left in
the first half it was Shiplake who seized the initiative once more. Van Raalte
finished well, and although Toby Howe’s conversion drifted narrowly wide,
Shiplake entered the break with a comfortable 15 point lead.
Perhaps thinking the hard work was done,
Shiplake’s intensity declined at the start of the second half and they were
duly punished when LWC were awarded their first try, despite winger Matt
Chatfield not appearing to ground the ball. Belief flooded through the
Hampshire side as they sensed a comeback was on the cards.
With
tiring legs, Shiplake struggled to maintain the breakdown dominance they had
achieved in the first half and LWC scored again to make the score 15-10. In a
frenetic finish, Shiplake declined three easy points in search of further
tries. This inexperience almost proved costly in the final minute as LWC broke
down the left wing and took the game to the wire. However, Shiplake stood firm
with resolute defending in front of their posts to hold on and retain the
Davies Shield for the 3rd consecutive season.
Final Score: Shiplake 1st XV 15-10 Lord Wandsworth College
More photos are available to view in our media gallery (click on camera icon in bottom left corner of the menu). Thanks to Shiplake parent Mr Baker and Year 12 pupil George Robinson for taking photos on the night.