Success at Society of Heads 7s

On Thursday 15th March, the 1^st VII headed to the Hazelwood in Sunbury training centre of premiership outfit, London Irish. Shiplake faced Milton Abbey, Reading Blue Coat “B”, Halliford and Reed’s in group A. Shiplake were winners of this competition last year and were favourites going into the competition along with Llandovery College (favourites in group B) who are famous for some well-known rugby alumni including Wales Internationals Alun Wyn Jones, George North and Craig Quinnell.

Shiplake started the day off well with a nine try, 77-0 win over Milton Abbey, tries by Ben Stacey, Matty Fitzgerald (x2), Joe Booth, JJ Acton, Lucas Smyth (x2), Casper Wise, Louis Ashcroft and Matt Dalrymple. Shiplake were showing huge strength in depth, with the players on the bench clearly up to the standard required.

Shiplake then faced Reading Blue Coat’s “B” side, which was a cagey affair for the first three minutes until the 1st VII adapted to the opposition and found themselves 6 tries up at half-time thanks to fantastic efforts by Joe Booth (x2), JJ Acton, Matty Fitzgerald, Louis Ashcroft (x2). Further tries by Joe Booth and JJ Acton put the game truly out of sight, the final score 48-5 to Shiplake.

At this point, Shiplake had played two games and won two games. The boys knew Halliford would be a sterner test for the 1st VII, but with the boys showing confidence right from the kick off, Shiplake went four tries up at half time through JJ Acton, Louis Ashcroft, Matty Fitzgerald and Joe Booth. Shortly after half time, Lucas Smyth danced through the Halliford defensive line to score under the posts. Halliford hit back with a well-worked try of their own but Joe Booth had the last act of the match scoring a 50m solo effort and dotted down under the posts. Final score 38-7 to Shiplake.

Reed’s, who have historically been a strong rugby school, were our boys’ final opponents in the group that was incidentally the final from the 2017 competition. Reed’s were first to score after only two minutes, switching the 1st VII on and enabling Louis Ashcroft to score two well-worked tries. Half-time score 14-5 to Shiplake.

The first five minutes of the second half was end to end, with some excellent tackling from both sides. Robbie Cartwright found a gap midfield and ran 60m to give the 1st VII some breathing space (19-5). Reed’s, desperate to top the group, hit back with two tries but time ran out giving the 1st VII a two point win. 19-17 to Shiplake, who were through to the cup semi-final.

Much to the delight of the team, old rivals Reading Blue Coat’s A side were our boys’ opposition and after losing two players through injuries, the 1st VII knew it would be a tough challenge to win the next two matches. Reading Blue Coat scored in the first minute, but once the nerves had settled, Louis Ashcroft and JJ Acton managed to cross the try line to put the score at 12-5 going into the break. After the break, Reading Blue Coat came back with a try of their own but Joe Booth put the game to bed, final score 19-15 to Shiplake, we were through to the final!

The route to the final had been tough for both Llandovery and Shiplake and the side showing superior fitness would be the ones taking home the cup. After the ball changed sides a number of times, Matty Fitzgerald showed some pace around the outside of the Llandovery defensive line to score the first try of the game. Nerves settled. Llandovery hit back with a penalty try after a Shiplake player killed the ball at a breakdown on our own 5m line (5-7 down at half-time). Shiplake knew they were more than capable of scoring 2, 3 or 4 tries in the second half of the match. Llandovery started the half off with a well-worked set play from the scrum and dotted under the posts. It was starting to look out of reach for the 1st VII to be back-to-back Society of Heads 7s Cup winners, however JJ Acton found a weakness in the strong Llandovery defensive line and scored to bring the score to 14-10 with 1 minute to play. Shiplake regathered the kick off and looked composed on the ball. Joe Booth spotted a gap, backed his pace and in what was the final play of the match, scored the winning try. Final score 15-14, Shiplake were Society of Heads 7s Cup Winners!