Berkshire Shire Hall Vs Crows

Recap

On an unseasonably bright and sunny October day, the Crows travelled to the unusual surroundings of Reading school, as Shire Hall’s usual home pitch in Sonning was still unplayable, following the Summer drought. Due to a special offer event hosted by Mounjaro, no fewer than 7 front rows were unavailable for this fixture, meaning that the Crows pieced together a makeshift front row of marathon enthusiast and former player James Derlacki, 47 year old veteran Jake Mollett playing on his old school pitch and Titan of Tinder, Sam Taff manfully filling in at tight head!

Aside from the temporary front row crisis, Crowthorne had a full complement to choose from, with the exception of flanker, Nick Collis, who unfortunately injured his shoulder the previous week. With Captain, Sam Turner away, fly half, John Holden stepped in as skipper. There was an ageing feel to the Crows pack, with 2 x 43-year-olds and a 47 year old. However, Shire Hall trumped this with a 49-year-old in their pack and a fly half that looked like he had seen many birthdays, so plenty of experience on show on both sides. In the Crowthorne backline, local plumbing expert, Karl Pearce shifted from wing to 9 and after impressing off the bench in week 1, South African winger, Ryan Biscombe got his first start. Finally, utility back Steve MacKenzie, made his first appearance for the club, adding spark out wide.

The first 20 minutes were hotly contested, with Shire Hall retaining the ball better and changing the point of attack well. The Crows pack held up well in the scrum but at line out time, it quickly became apparent that not having any recognised hooker in the squad would be an issue for the entire match. When the Crows were able to clear their lines after earning penalties, it proved challenging to retain the ball from the line out, giving possession immediately back to Shire Hall to mount further pressure. Eventually this took its toll, with Shire Hall crossing 3 times in a 15 minute spell. After this, Crowthorne began to rally and made inroads into the Shire Hall defence. After Stock took a tap and go penalty, the ball was recycled a couple more times, before the Hero of Hinge, Sam Taff, crashed over for Crowthorne’s first try of the day, converted by Holden.

Unfortunately, the 2^nd half started in similar vein to the middle section of the first half, with Shire Hall adding a couple more tries to their tally and the Crows really struggling to build momentum without a set piece platform. At this age of the game, the shackles were off and Crowthorne focused on tap and go penalties and moving the ball at pace. Hard running Northumbrian, Josh Lowes began to make big yards and eventually, a few well worked phases ended with openside, Da Costa crashing over the line for Crowthorne’s 2nd, again converted by Holden. The purple patch continued, with Shire Hall temporarily unable to live with a rejuvenated Crows and good work from Derlacki was ultimately finished off with a tremendous run to the line from the Baron of Bumble, Sam Taff, who deservedly went onto claim man of the match.

Injuries and fatigue began to take their toll in the last 10 minutes. Honourable mention to Mollett who despite having his forehead split wide open returned to the field moments later following a quick patch up job on the side lines. Shire Hall’s impressive 9 had a lot of joy running round tired Crowthorne forwards to bring up the half century on the stroke of full-time.

Shire Hall were well worth their victory but there was plenty to take away from the game for Crowthorne, notably defensive fortitude and when we did retain possession for a couple of phases, we scored. However, set piece will need to improve, which will in turn help ball retention. Next week, we look forward to hosting Tadley back at the Nest. Many thanks to all the volunteers and supporters that came along on the day!