Sat 7 Feb 2026
Thatcham 14 Shire Hall 30
In the previous fixture between these two sides, Shire fielded a very scratch side and lost but still felt that Thatcham could be beaten. This time, Shire were boosted by the return of Will Jellicoe and Stephane Margot. Late dropouts caused a bit of juggling but they fielded a strong 17. The pitch was very wet but in comparison to the pitch in Rome, a better playing surface. From the kick off, Shire took the game to Thatcham and made good territory, especially with Stephane Margot’s boot gaining big yardage. Shire’s defence caused Thatcham to make many mistakes with the wet ball. An early indiscretion by Thatcham allowed Ryan Darby to land a penalty after only 5 minutes and this was quickly followed 5 minutes later by a try for the unstoppable Will Jellicoe from close range. Ryan Darby added the extra points to put Shire very much in control. On the half hour, another Ryan Darby penalty extended the lead which highlighted Shire’s control of the game. Another try quickly followed when a good lineout drive was stopped just short, but the ball was recycled quickly to Ryan Darby whose delightful off load put Stephane Margot to crash over. Ryan added the two points, and it was starting to look like a hard day at the office for Thatcham who just couldn’t get out of their half. Long clearance kicks only found the safe hands of Alex Webb who ran the ball back with purpose. The last play of the half saw yet another penalty for Ryan Darby and so Shire’s lead at half time was 23 points.
Half Time Score: Thatcham 0 Shire Hall 23
At half time Ritchie Denver and Luke Barefoot made way for club stalwarts Rhys Stewart and Matt Margot. Shire knew that Thatcham would come back with renewed purpose and this was certainly the case. 10 minutes into the half, an altercation on the floor between Ollie Homan-Green and a Thatcham player saw them both sent to the bin to cool down. 5 minutes later, it was a 13-a-side game when Ryan Darby reacted to some naughty stuff by a Thatcham player and both of them went to the bin as well. Thatcham managed to get on the scoreboard soon after to reduce the deficit. Good runs by Andy Ryan and Stephane Margot created a lot of space but Shire were not having it all their own way as they did in the first half. A quickly taken penalty on the 5-metre line by Sam Watkins put Matt Brazier in oceans of space to score his 3rd try of the season. With Ryan in the bin, Rhys Stewart added the extra points to bring him even closer to the 1000 points for the club. Thatcham were not finished and their reaction was to score a second try of their own. With the weather switching between driving rain and bright sunshine and with both sides tiring in the heavy conditions, there was no further scoring.
This was an excellent win and a big improvement on the disappointing second half at Aldermaston last week. This was first time since 2007 that we had beated Thatcham's first XV and well deserved. Dave Tridgell ran his backs very well and created many opportunities for them. The clever use of the boot by Stephane Margot, Alex Webb and Dave Tridgell was very apparent to gain territory. Will Jellicoe, Ryan Darby and Andy Ryan all spilt blood for the cause as the sideline resembled a field hospital! The win moves Shire up to 5th place and next week, we welcome our neighbours Reading for our first home game since early December. Although we lost the previous game against them, the feeling was that they were beatable. We shall see !
Final Score: Thatcham 14 Shire Hall 30
Tries: Will Jellicoe, Stephane Margot, Matt Brazier
Conversions: Ryan Darby (2), Rhys Stewart
Penalty Goals: Ryan Darby (3)
MOTM: Stephane Margot – incisive running and a siege gun boot!
DOTD: Ollie Homan-Green & Ryan Darby – yellow cards and so DOTD!
