Shipston Win Against Salisbury RFC

A stirring second half performance for Shipston was enough to see them fight back and claim the victory on Saturday against a very big and well organised Salisbury RFC. Playing up the slope and into a strong breeze in the first half, the Rams always knew the first period was going to be difficult and Salisbury made the most of a poor start from the hosts to get onto the board with an early try, moving 0-7 in front.

With kicking out of hand not really a viable option, Shipston opted to keep the ball in hand and try to retain possession as best they could, but a few silly errors and penalties allowed Salisbury some easy field position which they used to their advantage. The visitors' lineout was functioning well and their big forward pack was able to gain some momentum, putting the Rams on the back foot at the driving maul. The result was an inevitable try scored in the corner and this, with the help of a successful penalty kick a few minutes previously, pushed Salisbury out in front by 0-15.

Eventually Shipston were able to make some meaningful ground and found themselves in possession deep into the Salisbury half. Following an attacking scrum, the ball was spun wide and it looked like Henry Hopkins might have enough space on the wing to dart over, but some good covering defence thwarted the opportunity. Play was brought back for a penalty to the Rams though and following a good attacking scrum, they recycled the ball well through some phases and worked their way towards the Salisbury line. A good carry from Harry Barnard set up a ruck just a couple of metres short and then the ball was fed to Paddy Kane, who took the ball at pace and crashed his way over for Shipston's first score of the afternoon. The successful conversion from Rob James made it 7-15 approaching the half way mark.

Frustratingly for the hosts they conceded a try just before the interval, as another penalty gifted Salisbury the chance to kick for the corner and have another attacking lineout. It was a carbon copy of their earlier score, with the forwards setting up a driving maul and despite some good early defensive work from Shipston, they were able to re-set and crash over the line for their third try and take a lead into the break of 7-20. What was worst for the hosts is that Robbie Faulkner received a yellow card for attempting to collapse the maul, so the Rams were facing the next 10 minutes with just 14 m3n on the field.

After a few stern words at the break, the Rams started the second half much brighter and immediately set about rebuilding and getting themselves back into the tie. Some excellent carries from the likes of Isaac Clayton and James Pither gave the pack some real impetus and the back row of Adam Lane, George Wilcock and skipper, Aaron Roseblade-Neal were doing some fantastic work at the breakdown. After a mini break from Faulkner into the Salisbury half, the ball was recycled quickly and Dan Taylor was able to smash his way over the line from 5 metres out and get Shipston's second try of the match. Another successful conversion from James narrowed the deficit to 6 points, at 14-20.

A third Shipston try wasn't long in coming, this time through a very well worked backs play in the midfield. The forwards won an attacking scrum on the halfway line and the ball was spun left into the midfield, where fullback Matt Daniells cut a brilliant line and carved his way through to race home and touch down for the third Rams try. A third successful conversion gave Shipston the lead for the first time at 21-20 and momentum was now well on their side.

As much as Salisbury fought to get back into the match the Shipston defence stepped up another level in the second period and they hardly gave the visitors a sniff with their line speed and efforts around the contact area. Their resilience forced a couple of turnovers and this led to an opportunity for Robbie Faulkner to gallop away down the left wing and score a well deserved try, giving Shipston their 4th of the match and securing the try bonus point. Unfortunately the difficult kick from the touchline scraped agonisingly wide, so the Rams lead was still within just one score at 26-20 and 8 minutes left on the clock.

Shipston seemed to be controlling the game and the clock very well until, with just 2 minutes left on the clock, they conceded a silly penalty in their own half and allowed Salisbury the opportunity to launch a final assault on the try line. After kicking to the corner for another attacking lineout, the visitors set up a driving maul and tried to shunt the Rams pack over their own line again. Shipston were able to defend this much better though and thwarted the maul, so Salisbury spun the ball wide and tried to get over in the far corner, but an excellent covering tackle forced the Sals winger into touch and the match was over. The Rams had come back and taken the victory with a score of 26-20.

There were some excellent individual performances throughout, especially in the second half, with the likes of Matt Daniells, Robbie Faulkner and James Pither all having excellent games. This weeks MOTM though was awarded to Adam Lane, who had an excellent game in the back row, forcing turnovers and defending brilliantly all afternoon and also linking well in attack.

The Rams are at home again next week (24th) when they welcome Witney RFC to Mayo Road.