Sat 1 Feb 2020
Thatcham II 7 Shire Hall 31
It had been 10 years since Shire Hall last paid a visit to Thatcham when they reached the Berkshire Plate Final to receive a severe drubbing at the hands of Thatcham’s 1st XV. That day Shire fielded an ageing side – 10 years on and things are mightily different!
Having beaten Thatcham at home earlier in the season, it was presumed that this was going to be a similar encounter. Not so, as Thatcham fielded a much stronger team. Shire Hall’s starting XV saw the absence a number of regulars but still had a match day squad of 20 players – how times have changed (for the better).
Early exchanges were hard fought with Thatcham’s defence proving difficult to break. Shire’s now customary early score did not materialize until the 15th minute when Steph Margot, with a clever chip and chase, regathered the ball and dotted down, brother Matthew adding the two extra points. 5 minutes later Tom Gough went over for his 8th try of the season which was duly converted by Matt Margot. 14-0 and things going well in very windy conditions. Geoff O’Brien was having an interesting day throwing in at the lineout – his best one being straight to Sam at scrum half! Thatcham now started to come into the game and denied Jack Murray a great backs try with an excellent tackle in the corner. This seemed to lift the opposition and in the 35th minute deservedly scored a try of thei own which was converted. 14 – 7 to Shire and now game on! Another fine backs move resulted in Jack Murray finally going over in the corner but sadly no conversion.
Half time was 19-7 in Shire’s favour but they needed to up their game to ensure a bonus point and a win. Strong runs from Matt Margot, Chris Wiseman and Ollie Homan-Green provided the platform for some good attacking play. Your reporter must pay tribute to Thatcham's No.8 who still managed to pick up from the base of the scrum despite the juggernaut pack of Shire driving them back at a great rate of knots. The first 20 minutes saw no further scoring but some inspired tactical substitutions proved to be the key. Off came Eric, Jotham, Nathan and Sam and into the action came Andy. Rhys, Darren and Harry. It had become somewhat of a joke that Harry had yet to score for Shire but with his first touch, he actually caught the ball and went over for his first Shire try – it has been a long time coming! Into the last 10 minutes and the bonus point secured, Shire looked for more. Typically Shire’s TSM (Try Scoring Machine) duly went through a number of tackles to record his 22nd try of the season – not bad for a converted prop!! Rhys Stewart added the extra points to make the score 31-7 to Shire. Sadly young Elliot McNamara, on his full Shire debut, was shown a yellow card for a high tackle but this made no difference to a good Shire performance. Thank you to Thatcham for proving to be difficult opposition and providing a real test.
The next 3 weeks are going to be crucial – Phoenix, Aldermaston and Rams all visit Sonning. Good performances (and wins) will see us challenge for the League title.
FINAL RESULT: Thatcham II 7 Shire Hall 31
Tries: Steph Margot, Tom Gough, Harry Stubbs, Jack Murray, Matt Margot
Conversions: Matt Margot (2), Rhys Stewart
MOTM: Tom Gough – for his superb running of the back line, intelligent kicking and overall liveliness.
DOTD: Chris Wiseman – for his inability to understand the offside law at his age!
