Shipston got back to wining ways on Saturday with an emphatic 71-0 victory over Thatcham RFC, the first ever meeting between the two sides, in front of a large crowd at Mayo Road. A coach load of travelling supporters made the trip up the M40 and made for a fantastic atmosphere at the club, with plenty of vocal support for both sides throughout the afternoon.

There were a couple for changes for the Rams this week. Injured Dan Taylor was replaced in the centres by Tobi Faulkner and this meant a slot on the wing was fee for Henry Hopkins to regain a starting shirt - Matt Daniells coming onto the bench. There was also a change in the forwards as Adam Lane made his debut for the club at number 8 and Timon White moved into the second row to join Robbie Faulkner.

Shipston got off to a flying start and soon found themselves on the front foot, attacking down the slope in the first period and finding space out wide. Their dominance in possession and territory was rewarded with an early hat trick for Henry Hopkins, who was able to show good pace and footwork to touch down three times in the opening 20 minutes and make the most of his return to the starting fifteen.

The Shipston forwards were beginning to take control against the much heavier Thatcham pack, having the better of the scrum and using their attacking options well in the lineout. Some excellent ball carrying from the likes of Lane, Faulkner and George Minogue were backed up with the equally impressive defensive efforts of George Cowper and William Gasson whenever Thatcham enjoyed any periods with ball in hand. The pack outlined their superiority by walking the visitors back towards their own try line from an attacking 5 metre scrum, Lane showing good control at the base of the set piece, to allow Will Hammond to pick up from scrum half and dive over the line for the 4th try of the afternoon and earn Shipston a bonus point before half time. With Rob James converting two of the scores, both sides went in at the break with the Rams leading 24-0.

Whilst Shipston could be pleased with their first half's efforts, there were areas that could improve and the emphasis going onto the second half was on being more clinical with the possession that they were experiencing. The half time team talk seemed to spur the side on even more and they became more rampant as the game wore on, enjoying a host of line breaks and more space out wide to have a run at the visitors.

William Gasson scored the first try of the half for the Rams, finishing off a brilliant solo effort after breaking through the line on a strong carry and sprinting past the covering defence to touch down. This try was followed by a first of the afternoon for Rob James and a try for Matt Daniells on the wing, who received the ball out wide and showed good pace and awareness to cut back inside the covering full back and score.

With Shipston now leading 45-0 they began to really throw the ball around and test themselves out wide. The tactical kicking game was abandoned for a more attacking approach, throwing the ball around in their own twenty two and looking for more ambitious options. Robbie Faulkner started and then finished a try in this manner, making a break straight from kick off and exchanging passes with Harry Clark (who had run an excellent support line) before going over for a well deserved score.

The final 3 tries of the match all came via Rob James, taking his total tally for the match to 4! He showed good pace to finish a couple of them off and then ran a great support line for the other to cap off a fine individual display. With conversions all tallied up, the final whistle blew with the score at 71-0 and a comprehensive victory for the Rams. A lot of credit must go to Thatcham who persevered all afternoon, working hard and chasing down everything until the last whistle. The travelling support was also outstanding and they were a real credit to host, we wish them all the best for the rest of the season.

MOTM this week was a tightly run affair, with a number f players putting their hand up for recognition. Henry Hopkins and Rob James were excellent in running in three and four tries respectively and there was a lot of good work done by the back row and midfield. It was awarded this week however to Isaac Clayton, who was solid as a rock in the front row all game and was equally as impressive in the loose, running so excellent lines and carrying with real authority for the 80 minutes.

Shipston are at home again next week when they welcome Aylesbury RFC to Mayo Road, hoping to reverse a disappointing result from earlier in the season - kick off at 2.15pm.