Sat 7 Dec 2024
Shire Hall 14 High Wycombe II 22
After the disaster of last week’s match against Windsor Fijians, Shire fielded a full fifteen and the luxury of a substitute. Rhys Stewart returned to the side but Shire were without both Sam Watkins and Gwyn Robins due to illness. Lack of available props meant captain Ollie Homan-Green was forced to play in the front row. Last season both sides were in the league below but rightly both teams were promoted. The game did not start well for Shire as they conceded a try in the corner in the very first minute, but this seemed to act as a lift for Shire. The backs made much good ground through Laurie Moss and Ashton Field, but sometimes wrong decisions were made. The weather conditions were not that conducive for running rugby and both sides were guilty of dropped or fumbled passes. On the half hour though, High Wycombe stretched the Shire defence to go over in the corner. With the wind swirling, the conversion was going to be difficult. Laurie Moss and Jonny Parry were both convinced the kicker had made a move toward the ball and so charged. The ball then fell off the tee, but the referee deemed that the kicker had not moved. Shades of the World Cup Final with the Tomos Ramos/Cheslin Kolbe scenario came to Sonning! Shortly, after a warning, the referee showed the High Wycombe winger a yellow card for another high tackle and it wasn’t long after that the ball came to Jonny Parry whose blistering pace tore through the Wycombe defence to score, surprisingly, his first try of the season. Rhys Stewart added the simple conversion and Shire were now just 3 points adrift. Lack of concentration by Shire saw Shire concede a third try on the stroke of half time.
Half Time Score: Shire Hall 7 High Wycombe II 17
At half time, Matt Margot was forced to leave the field after his bone crunching tackle on him last week and was replaced by Alistair McGregor. It was clear that Shire backs were superior to Wycombe’s and the message was clear what Shire needed to do. Some good sniping runs from Simon Sage and positive inroads by Sam Joyce, Dan Smedley and Jamie Pedder saw Shire gain good ground, but Wycombe’s tackling was solid. A driving maul from Wycombe saw them push Shire back over their own line to register their try bonus. Rhys Stewart was then forced to leave the field having taken a big hit to be replaced by the warrior that is Matt Margot. Our backs now started to put together some good moves and with 15 minutes left, Luke Jellicoe ghosted over for his 4th try of the season. Matt Margot took over the kicking duties and duly landed the two extra points. Only 8 points adrift, Shire went looking a 3rd try to at least get a losing bonus point. With 3 minutes left, we lost our veteran Neil Evans with a leg injury which reduced the weight in the scrum. Sadly, we could not achieve this. Both sides should be applauded for a very competitive match in difficult conditions.
We have now reached the halfway point of the season and, apart from the games against Henley and Windsor, Shire have had many competitive games. Games we have lost could have gone our way if better decisions had been made. We need more bulk in our scrum, so we are expecting the University boys to drink more beer! Next week we play Aldermaston, and we will be looking for revenge after the narrow defeat in September.
Final Score: Shire Hall 14 High Wycombe II 22
Tries: Jonny Parry, Luke Jellicoe
Conversions: Rhys Stewart, Matt Margot
MOTM: Sam Joyce – excellent tackling and attacking running
DOTD: Rhys Stewart – as our main kicker, he really should the laws of the game with regard to free kicks!
