Sat 28 Feb 2026
Shire Hall 27 Reading Abbey II 20
In the previous encounter, Shire were well beaten by a dominant Reading Abbey side. With two consecutive wins under their belt, Shire were keen to make amends for that defeat. Captain Ollie Homan-Green had 26 players available but had to make the difficult decision with selection. Will Myers, on loan from the Army, made a cameo appearance whilst Rory Mears and Jamie Mattison returned to the squad. This was a strong Reading Abbey side, and it was clear in the early passages of play that they meant business. Slick handling led to their first try after only 7 minutes despite some good Shire defensive work. But 10 minutes later after some powerful runs by Jamie Mattison and Jamie Perry in particular, the ball was transferred quickly along the back line for Laurie Moss to go over. Billy Wigley was unable to add the extra points, but it was clearly game on! 5 minutes later, Billy Wigley’s tackling technique let him down and he was rewarded with a nice yellow card – again! Reading Abbey successfully converted the resulting penalty and so Shire were faced with a 10 minute period with 14 men. From the restart kick, a brilliant take by Rhys Stewart saw him gain many metres to set up another Shire attack. On the half hour though, Jacob Kenny replaced an injured Jamie Mattison who had a tremendous impact on the game. With 5 minutes of the half remaining, Shire scored the best try of the match when Laurie Moss collected a loose pass and set off. He was bought to ground 20 metres later but found a supporting Matt Margot who set off for the line leaving Reading Abbey players in his wake. He was tackled just short of the line, but the ever-reliable Kris Sharma was on hand to score. Billy Wigley added the extra points, and so Shire had a 4 point lead going into half time.
Half Time Score: Shire Hall 12 Reading Abbey II 8
With the bomb squad ready to enter the fray, Rory Mears, Luke Jellicoe, Lloyd Weber and Will Myers replaced Neil Evans, Matt Brazier, Luke Barefoot and Oliver Kidson. Shire still had 2 other players to use later – what luxury! It was Shire who started the half strongest with the likes of Jamie Perry, Rory Mears and Will Myers making positive inroads. After a quickly taken penalty, Luke Jellicoe danced his was through the defence for his 7th try of the season. Billy Wigley kicked the conversion, and it was only 5 minutes later when a superb break from Matt Margot saw him record the bonus try point and also his 94th club try – will he reach the magic 100 before the season ends? Rhys Stewart could not add the extras, probably due to his rustiness from his long injury. Alex Webb and Manzi Murenzi replaced Andy Ryan and Billy Wigley but Shire were now in a very comfortable position. However, a 5 minute period of madness and sloppy play by Shire allowed Reading Abbey to score two tries to reduce the deficit to just 4 points. Will Myers thought he had scored his first try for the club when he clearly grounded the ball, but the referee ruled it out as he had already blown the whistle for foul play. Despite the closeness of the scoreline, Shire were very much the dominant side and it was a wise decision to go for goal with a penalty in the last 10 minutes of play. Rhys Stewart slotted it perfectly to bring him closer to the 1000 points for the club. Resolute Reading Abbey defence kept Shire out to ensure they took away a losing bonus point.
This was certainly the toughest match in the last month and overall, Shire did deserve to win. This was their 3rd consecutive victory against sides to whom they had lost earlier in the season. We are clearly a good side but only when we have a bench like today. Next up is the visit of Wallingford to Sonning next week when we hope to repeat the 68-0 result in our previous encounter.
Final Score: Shire Hall 27 Reading Abbey II 20
Tries: Laurie Moss, Kris Sharma, Luke Jellicoe, Matt Margot
Conversions: Billy Wigley (2)
Penalty Goal: Rhys Stewart
MOTM: Rhys Stewart– not only for the take at kick off but his great defence and aggressive attacking play.
DOTD: Billy Wigley – Oh no! Another yellow card!
