Sat 26 Oct 2024
Shire Hall 19 Bracknell III 31
The last time these two teams were in the same league, Shire suffered the ignominy of having to concede the game due to lack of players. This time it was different as Shire managed to field a full fifteen and two subs. Two more University students made their debuts as Shire faced a very large Bracknell pack. From the early exchanges, it was obvious that Shire were going to having a hard time keeping Bracknell at bay. They had come into this game having lost only one of their opening five matches and it was only Shire’s fearsome defence that kept Bracknell out. Good tackling from the likes of Dan Smedley, Gwyn Robins and Sam Joyce was very evident. After 25 minutes, the game was still scoreless, and Shire were gaining in confidence. Despite conceding much territory, it was Shire who opened the scoring after a clever kick from Rhys Stewart just ran over the dead ball line. From the resultant drop out, the ball landed firmly in young Alex Crouch’s hands and from 30 metres out, ran through four tackles to score his first try for the club. Rhys duly landed the conversion and if truth be told against the run of play had the lead. This seemed to wake Bracknell up and they managed to score two tries to end the half 12 points to 7 in the lead.
Half Time Score: Shire Hall 7 Bracknell III 12
The second half saw Shire have more of the ball and create some good yardage. Unfortunately, a good run by Ollie Homan-Green saw him stripped of the ball in the tackle and Bracknell scored again. Four minutes later, Bracknell gained their bonus try point as a result of good strong forward play. With the score at 24 – 7 to Bracknell, it appeared to be game lost, but Shire had other ideas. Luke Jellicoe made another fine break and after a deft kick Ashton Field collected the ball and raced clear to score his second try in two weeks. With ten minutes of the game left, the referee’s patience had been tested to the limit by both sides and he called both captains together to inform them that they were both on a final warning. Three minutes later Rhys Stewart made what looked initially like an excellent tackle. But in the referee’s opinion, it was deemed high and so Rhys was shown the yellow card. Five minutes later, Bracknell scored their fifth try. In typical Shire fashion, Shire continued to press despite being one man down and it was fitting that young Jason Tunkume used his strength and determination to score in the last minute. With Rhys on the naughty step, Luke Griffith stepped up to the kicking duties and duly landed the relatively difficult conversion.
Shire can take a lot from this game. Despite losing Jonny Parry to injury in the pre-match warm up, they had given Bracknell a real game and at no time did Shire’s efforts wane. Full credit goes to all the team for this tremendous performance which augurs well for future games in this league. It will take some time for the youngsters to gel into this team, but the future does look bright.
Final Score: Shire Hall 19 Bracknell III 31
Tries: Alex Crouch, Ashton Field, Jason Tunkhume
Conversions: Rhys Stewart, Luke Griffith
MOTM: Dan Smedley – great defensive tackling and aggressive attacking play.
DOTD: Luke Griffith – throwing up on the pitch!
