Depleted Shipston lose out to Cheltenham Saracens

As our conversation in the car on the way back revealed it was a game that felt more like winning than losing. The score line was decisive but the play was much more balanced.

On the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1 We travelled with a fairly depleted side with injuries and absence this weekend. There were welcome returns to both Charlie Bygate and Alex Bradley, both of whom played with great impact. Zak and Charlie D played in the pack and Sarries kindly lent us two players and they contributed strongly for which we were very grateful.

Shipston’s scrum was strong from the get go and the game looked good. However a great breakaway from a nice Saracens backs move resulted in them scoring and converting. 7-0

Shipston were struggling to gain momentum and some of the early tackling and breakdowns didn’t go to plan. Similarly the line out with several of the team playing out of position and a considerably taller opposition just wasn’t working. But the boys never looked down, they worked and worked to make opportunities and defended hard. In the end Sarries took advantage of our lack of guards and went over for their second and third. 19-0

Shipston were soon back at them. George Hendy calling the set moves and momentum started to build. The ball moved along the line and out wide, the overlap was clear and Charlie Bygate selflessly passed the ball out to Declan who had a clear run ahead. He was then tackled high on the line and before the ref had called the penalty rolled over and grounded the ball with some determination. Penalty try! We were off the mark. 19-7

George Hendy injected some pace and Joe Painter made good ground charging through before being high tackled. We were given penalty advantage and George Hendy needed no further invitation with a demonstration of his brilliance breaking through the Sarries defence for a superb try which he converted to bring the scoreline to 19-14.

Max then took up the mantle running forward off the back of some tidy work by the forwards, George Hendy calling the plays consistently and with great confidence. Alex worked so hard, as did Sam (Sarries), Jonno and Jack D when finally Charlie Dews broke through to score under the posts. Converted by Mr Hendy. 19-21.

Charlie Bygate took a breather and we continued with 14 men. The boys worked hard and were unlucky in the last play of the half to concede a try. 24-21.

The second half started well with Shipston applying plenty of pressure. Unfortunately Henry was very heavily tackled and went off with a shoulder injury. The boys continued with 14 men for the majority of the second half.

They made Sarries work hard for every inch of ground, their tackling was effective, their work rate high. Sarries scored, but each time it was a break through rather than a set move that gave them their rewards. The Shipston boys may have been getting tired, but it was hard not to admire how they held their shape, deployed their game plan and worked relentlessly. 41-21

As we have seen so many times, they have a lot of grit and kept taking the game back to Sarries. A brilliant jinking run from Alex took us in sight of the try line. The ball was swiftly out to George who scored under the posts and converted too. 41-28

The final try went to Sarries to finish 48-28.