Shipston U16s fight valiantly in the Warwickshire Cup Semi Final

It was sizzling on and off the pitch at Mayo Road on a beautiful and unseasonably warm February afternoon. It was amazing to see so many supporters watching the game and the on pitch the action did not disappoint. The Coventry side had brought a good band of followers but they were outnumbered by the home crowd, with parents, friends, relatives, girlfriends and long lost cousins all called into action to buoy the U16s performance!

The game started promptly and Shipston immediately applied pressure to Barkers Butts, making them defend their line. The boys showed some really intelligent play, George H and Adam holding up a maul and winning the penalty, amazing tackling across the field from all players. 10 minutes in and George H broke away to score a quite beautiful try which he then converted. 7-0

Shipston were kicking well and the ref was making it clear how he wanted the game played. The forwards were marauding and the backs were very busy. Alistair made a couple of excellent tackles at full back, he really is a tough cookie. Archie tackled one of the BB forwards, twice his size, head on. Stunning stuff!

All of this great work meant the boys were defending hard and they really needed more possession. The BB forwards went through phase after phase with Shipston defending hard. Eventually they broke through to score, unconverted. 7-5

BB were on the attack and the Shipston defence held firm. The game really was a good one and BB were a very strong, capable opposition. It was proving to be a good spectacle for the crowd to enjoy.

After half time BB were soon on the attack again. They moved the ball out wide and found their way around the outside to score again, unconverted. 7-10

Shipston were swiftly back at BB and attacking well. Then George H, seeing space that wasn’t visible to anyone else broke through to score with real class. Which he then converted. 14-10

The boys heads were up and they started playing in the right part of the field. But the reprieve was short lived and Barkers Butts quickly attacked and ran through to score twice in three minutes. Both converted. 14-24. Both teams were grafting hard and it was tough. Shipston were awarded a penalty and George Hendy kicked a good goal to bring them within reach. 17-24.

There were infringements on both sides and both teams had a player yellow carded. The boys may have been a bit frustrated but they really were making every yard tough for each other. The game was tight and challenging. It was really intense and both teams had the potential to score again. Sadly the final whistle came too soon and the cheer from the Barkers Butts players showed just how hard won the game had been and what it meant to them. Final score 17-24

The Shipston U16s have so much to be proud of. They played with great heart, the drills and set moves transitioned onto the pitch as planned, the scrum emerged in the second half as its usual force to be reckoned with, the line out worked well, the tackling was awesome. The truth is that today Barkers Butts were the better team, but it really could have gone either way. Next time we meet we should anticipate another great game and the chance to get a different result.

Pete’s Treats.
George H, scoring all of today’s points
Harro and Adam, who both put in very good shifts
Joe P for some great marauding runs