Sat 16 Sep 2023
Shire Hall 94 Thatcham II 0
In the unfamiliar ‘home’ surroundings of Reading Abbey, Shire Hall kicked off their league season in fine style. After a promising friendly against Risborough, Shire were looking to build on the good work done in pre-season training. An early quick score was important and this was achieved in 4 minutes when Luke Jellicoe sprinted clear of the defence. Four minutes later, Gwyn Robins crossed, quickly followed by Jonny Parry leaving the Thatcham defence in his wake.
Thatcham started to come back into the game after these three early tries but were unable to break through a strong Shire defence. The bonus point was achieved after 22 minutes when Luke Jellicoe went over for his second try, quickly followed by a James Pritchard effort. Rhys Stewart had his kicking boots and, up to this point, had successfully converted all of Shire’s tries. The last 10 minutes of the first half saw Shire comfortably go further ahead with tries from Luke Jellicoe, Gwyn Robins and Matt Margot – all converted by Rhys.
Half Time Score: Shire Hall 56 Thatcham II 0
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with various Shire players making good runs. It must be noted that Thatcham’s fly half, who had many restarts to perform, absolutely nailed his kick offs landing just over the 10 metre line for his forwards to regather possession. Shire, however, were just quicker to the ball. Laurie Moss and Mike Smith crossed to put the score over 70 but Shire were not done yet. Laurie Moss and Jonny Parry both put on the afterburners to leave the Thatcham defence in disarray before Luke Jellicoe added his fourth of the afternoon. The final try went to Matt Margot who crashed over to complete a resounding win. Full credit must be given to Thatcham who never gave up.
The next match is in two weeks when certain aspects of Shire’s play need to be improved. Support for the ball carrier and speed of recycling the ball must be addressed. Better sides will exploit that.
Final Score: Shire Hall 94 Thatcham II 0
Tries: Luke Jellicoe (4), Gwyn Robins (2), Jonny Parry (2), Matt Margot (2), Laurie Moss (2), James Pritchard, Mike Smith
Conversions: Rhys Stewart (12)
MOTM: James Pritchard
DOTD: Alex Webb (a harsh call but he did drop the ball a few times!)
In the unfamiliar ‘home’ surroundings of Reading Abbey, Shire Hall kicked off their league season in fine style. After a promising friendly against Risborough, Shire were looking to build on the good work done in pre-season training. An early quick score was important and this was achieved in 4 minutes when Luke Jellicoe sprinted clear of the defence. Four minutes later, Gwyn Robins crossed, quickly followed by Jonny Parry leaving the Thatcham defence in his wake.
Thatcham started to come back into the game after these three early tries but were unable to break through a strong Shire defence. The bonus point was achieved after 22 minutes when Luke Jellicoe went over for his second try, quickly followed by a James Pritchard effort. Rhys Stewart had his kicking boots and, up to this point, had successfully converted all of Shire’s tries. The last 10 minutes of the first half saw Shire comfortably go further ahead with tries from Luke Jellicoe, Gwyn Robins and Matt Margot – all converted by Rhys.
Half Time Score: Shire Hall 56 Thatcham II 0
The second half followed a similar pattern to the first with various Shire players making good runs. It must be noted that Thatcham’s fly half, who had many restarts to perform, absolutely nailed his kick offs landing just over the 10 metre line for his forwards to regather possession. Shire, however, were just quicker to the ball. Laurie Moss and Mike Smith crossed to put the score over 70 but Shire were not done yet. Laurie Moss and Jonny Parry both put on the afterburners to leave the Thatcham defence in disarray before Luke Jellicoe added his fourth of the afternoon. The final try went to Matt Margot who crashed over to complete a resounding win. Full credit must be given to Thatcham who never gave up.
The next match is in two weeks when certain aspects of Shire’s play need to be improved. Support for the ball carrier and speed of recycling the ball must be addressed. Better sides will exploit that.
Final Score: Shire Hall 94 Thatcham II 0
Tries: Luke Jellicoe (4), Gwyn Robins (2), Jonny Parry (2), Matt Margot (2), Laurie Moss (2), James Pritchard, Mike Smith
Conversions: Rhys Stewart (12)
MOTM: James Pritchard
DOTD: Alex Webb (a harsh call but he did drop the ball a few times!)
