26th March 2006
Results & Reports
Under 11's
St Ives 0 - Wellingborough 19
A large Wellingborough squad travelled to St Ives and the first encounter witnessed a large and mobile ‘borough forward unit threatening to overwhelm the home pack. Dogged defence however kept the score down to one unconverted try in the first half. Continued pressure in the second half however resulted in two more scores for the visitors.
St Ives 7 - Wellingborough 28
With the wind increasing and making kicking ever more difficult, St Ives continued to defend against a squad with the comfort of being able to replace the entire team at half-time, with the result being a flurry of tries, all of which were converted. Despite the team tiring towards the end of the match Innes Christison scored and converted a consolation try.
Under 14's
Shelford 27 - St. Ives 7
This was a much-anticipated fixture and was defined as a mark of how far the St. Ives squad had progressed through the season. The strong and vocal travelling support was not disappointed in the game played in front of the home Grandstand!
The hosts started strongly, moving the ball well through their accomplished back line, but some good defence repelled the early onslaught. However, with the ball being moved wide Shelford took the first score in the far corner. This was quickly followed by two further scores, orchestrated by former St. Ives fly half Jack Lines. This seemed to galvanise Saints, who drove in to the Shelford half, recycled the ball to Andrew Howard whose chip and chase saw him in to the opposition twenty-two, where he off-loaded out of the tackle to Matt Bligh, who broke through to score under the posts; Howard successfully converted the try. Shelford replied from the restart, again moving the ball well through the backs to score again before the interval.
The second half was a much more even affair, with the St. Ives forward pack providing a good platform for the backs only for stout defence from the home side to keep the visitors at bay. St. Ives took the opportunity to give all of their squad a run out before the finish and some of this disruption saw the ball turned over from a defensive scrum, with the hosts making the final score of the game.
This was a game played with great spirit by both sides, providing a superb display for their supporters. The St. Ives coaches were extremely pleased with the whole performance from this developing squad.