Sat 29 Oct 2022
Hungerford II 7 Shire Hall 60
After last week’s dismal performance against Farnham Royal, Shire Hall looked to bounce back and prove that the last result was a mere blip. Again the availability of players meant that the team looked somewhat different and we are very grateful to Geoff O’Brien and Steph Margot for helping us out. Special mention must be made that Steph had travelled for over 2 hours to help in our hour of need. So a full XV with two subs took to the field in West Berkshire, albeit with Alex Webb playing out of position at scrum half.
The game started with Shire showing full intent in the first minute and a nice break by Steph Margot put Laurie Moss in with ease for his first try for the club. Rhys Stewart duly added the conversion and Shire were on their way. It became apparent the Shire forwards were dominant in set pieces and the second and third tries were a direct result of good driving mauls, resulting in typical tries for club veteran Neil Evans. Both conversions were missed by Rhys who was to complain later that he could not understand why these forwards could not get closer to the posts. It was pointed out that we should thankful of the points scored by the forwards. A trademark dummy which actually worked by Ollie Homan-Green and a typical Steph Margot try put Shire in complete control at 27 – 0. No conversions were added to these tries.
Half Time Score: Hungerford II 0 Shire Hall 27
Now playing up the slope in the second half, Shire Hall could not find a way through the resolute Hungerford defence until Will Jellicoe bullocked his way over from close range. The try was converted by Rhys. A quick penalty from Chris Wiseman saw him create space to cross, quickly followed by Neil Evans’ third try after another driving maul by the forwards. Much improved throwing in by Matt Corcoran, combined with Gwyn Robins’ excellent lineout work set the platform for Neil’s tries. Ollie Homan-Green added his second try after a long sprint to the line – was it 20 metres or 50 ? Shire’s final try was scored by Gwyn Robins in the last minute. To their credit, Hungerford never gave up and deservedly score a converted try in the very last play.
Final Score: Hungerford II 7 Shire Hall 60
Tries: Neil Evans (3), Ollie Homan-Green (2), Laurie Moss, Steph Margot, Will Jellicoe, Chris Wiseman, Gwyn Robins
Conversions: Rhys Stewart (5)
MOTM: Will Jellicoe for excellent all round play (Special mention for Webby playing out of position)
DOTD: Rhys Stewart for having only a 50% success rate with his boot!
