In the week building up to this fixture, we looked at using pod-work to help move the ball more and to allow us to keep possession for longer, and this clearly worked with the well organised and ambitious 16s squad scoring the first try of the game inside the first 2 minutes.

The message before the game was, ‘set the tone of the match early on’, and with big tackles, quick feet and an early try, this is certainly what the boys did. A resilient Windsor Boys School however, regrouped and were able to respond quickly and for the rest of the first half, the game was neck and neck, with Shiplake just 2 points ahead.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first, but under the leadership of captain Oli Beaney, Shiplake began to show their class, with a well organised structure, blistering pace, power and passion, the boys pulled away emerging as comfortable winners with a final score of 28-17, giving the 16s a 100% record so far this season; scorers of the trys were Will Kemble x2, Mikey Taylor Fitzgibbon & Bertie Demery with Charlie Nash Steer converting 3 from 3 kicks and Mikey Taylor Fitzgibbon with 1 from 1.

Each and every boy who represented Shiplake in this fixture deserves a mention for an incredible performance, making a difficult game look much easier than it was.

MOTM: Oli Beaney for exceptional leadership, carrying the line forward after every breakdown of play and for mastering the art of jackalling to allow us to break quickly which was instrumental in securing the win for Shiplake.

Thank you all for an excellent start to the weekend, enjoy your exeat weekend and we go again on the 7th October.