Sat 19 Oct 2024
Reading II 32 Shire Hall 17
There had not been a meeting of these two sides in over 40 years as Shire had been playing Reading’s 3rd XV more recently. But promotion has ensured new challenges. A raft of unavailabilities and injuries meant that Shire could only muster 13 players for this game and that included 3 new recruits from the University. As is typical of rugby in this area, Reading kindly lent us 2 players to ensure a competitive game could take place. From the kick off, it was clear that Shire’s scratch side were going to find life difficult, and it took Reading just 8 minutes to open the scoring. Some good defence kept Reading at bay but after 20 minutes Neil Evans intercepted a wayward pass. Trouble was it was 70 metres from Reading’s line which is 65 metres further than Neil’s normal maximum distance! He admitted after the game that he should have put his boot through it but then again have you seen his prowess with boot and ball ? The chance was lost and 10 minutes later, Reading added a second try and 3 minutes later a third. Fortunately, Reading’s kicker could not find the target and so the scoreline was not too disastrous. A wayward kick by Reading was successfully gathered by Luke Jellicoe and he set off for the line with just a second row to beat. Unfortunately, the referee did not see that as a clear advantage and awarded us a penalty for offside instead. Luke, still running, took a quick tap and found Laurie Moss in space to cross unopposed. Rhys Stewart added the extra two points to put us only 8 points behind at half time.
Half Time Score: Reading II 15 Shire Hall 7
More cohesion was needed from Shire and certainly in the initial plays of the second half, there was some evidence of this with Will Jellicoe, Ollie Homan-Green and Sam Joyce all making good inroads. But it was Reading who crossed first to give them a 15 point lead. Shire’s better play forced Reading to give away many penalties and testing the referee’s patience. Rhys Stewart added a good penalty to reduce the deficit, and this was followed by a debut try for Ashton Field whose rampaging run broke through the Reading defence, Rhys adding the conversion. Shire were now only 5 points behind, but this was as good as it was going to be. Luke Jellicoe then made another telling break but his desire to carry the ball in one hand backfired when a good tackle meant he fumbled the ball (DOTD all day long!) Shire were reduced to 14 men when Reading claimed back one of their players and this was to be a deciding factor as Reading scored a 5th try with their man advantage. In the last minute, a pre-planned lineout move paid off as their second row burst through a gap to score unopposed with the Shire defence at sixes and sevens.
Shire’s endeavour and effort cannot be faulted, and our thanks go to Reading for lending us players. Our availability for matches and training must improve or else this is going to be a very hard season. Sam Joyce excelled in the back row and Rhys Stewart showed he has the capability to play at 10 although his line kicking was a little bit off! Ashton Field showed his strong running from the wing although he needs to learn the offside from a kick rule!
Final Score: Reading II 32 Shire Hall 17
Tries: Laurie Moss, Ashton Field
Conversions: Rhys Stewart (2)
Penalty Goal: Rhys Stewart
MOTM: Sam Joyce – a good all-round game
DOTD: Luke Jellicoe – carry the ball in 2 hands then you won’t lose the ball in contact!
There had not been a meeting of these two sides in over 40 years as Shire had been playing Reading’s 3rd XV more recently. But promotion has ensured new challenges. A raft of unavailabilities and injuries meant that Shire could only muster 13 players for this game and that included 3 new recruits from the University. As is typical of rugby in this area, Reading kindly lent us 2 players to ensure a competitive game could take place. From the kick off, it was clear that Shire’s scratch side were going to find life difficult, and it took Reading just 8 minutes to open the scoring. Some good defence kept Reading at bay but after 20 minutes Neil Evans intercepted a wayward pass. Trouble was it was 70 metres from Reading’s line which is 65 metres further than Neil’s normal maximum distance! He admitted after the game that he should have put his boot through it but then again have you seen his prowess with boot and ball ? The chance was lost and 10 minutes later, Reading added a second try and 3 minutes later a third. Fortunately, Reading’s kicker could not find the target and so the scoreline was not too disastrous. A wayward kick by Reading was successfully gathered by Luke Jellicoe and he set off for the line with just a second row to beat. Unfortunately, the referee did not see that as a clear advantage and awarded us a penalty for offside instead. Luke, still running, took a quick tap and found Laurie Moss in space to cross unopposed. Rhys Stewart added the extra two points to put us only 8 points behind at half time.
Half Time Score: Reading II 15 Shire Hall 7
More cohesion was needed from Shire and certainly in the initial plays of the second half, there was some evidence of this with Will Jellicoe, Ollie Homan-Green and Sam Joyce all making good inroads. But it was Reading who crossed first to give them a 15 point lead. Shire’s better play forced Reading to give away many penalties and testing the referee’s patience. Rhys Stewart added a good penalty to reduce the deficit, and this was followed by a debut try for Ashton Field whose rampaging run broke through the Reading defence, Rhys adding the conversion. Shire were now only 5 points behind, but this was as good as it was going to be. Luke Jellicoe then made another telling break but his desire to carry the ball in one hand backfired when a good tackle meant he fumbled the ball (DOTD all day long!) Shire were reduced to 14 men when Reading claimed back one of their players and this was to be a deciding factor as Reading scored a 5th try with their man advantage. In the last minute, a pre-planned lineout move paid off as their second row burst through a gap to score unopposed with the Shire defence at sixes and sevens.
Shire’s endeavour and effort cannot be faulted, and our thanks go to Reading for lending us players. Our availability for matches and training must improve or else this is going to be a very hard season. Sam Joyce excelled in the back row and Rhys Stewart showed he has the capability to play at 10 although his line kicking was a little bit off! Ashton Field showed his strong running from the wing although he needs to learn the offside from a kick rule!
Final Score: Reading II 32 Shire Hall 17
Tries: Laurie Moss, Ashton Field
Conversions: Rhys Stewart (2)
Penalty Goal: Rhys Stewart
MOTM: Sam Joyce – a good all-round game
DOTD: Luke Jellicoe – carry the ball in 2 hands then you won’t lose the ball in contact!
