Weekend Preview 16th October Flipbook PDF

Weekend Preview 16th October

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SHELFORD

RUGBY

CLUB

WEEKEND PREVIEW

Friday 16th October 2020 Number 98

WELCOME

ADULT RUGBY READY4RUGBY

By Rory Finlayson, Club President

Welcome to the 98th edition of the Weekend Preview.

EPISODE THREE

I hope everybody is still in good health and remaining safe. I extend a warm Shelford welcome to all teams visiting the Davey Field this weekend, such as Huntingdon and Hills Road Sixth Form College. This will be our second R4R tournament that includes external clubs. We’re intent on providing our members and the local community with Rugby in whatever form we can. Club members and visitors will be able to enjoy rugby from across the senior section of the club (U18 Boys and Girls, Senior Men and Women). The competition will of course be followed by our annual Oktoberfest event, only this year with a few twists to abide by social distancing regulations. I look forward to seeing a busy club on Saturday. Rory Finlayson Club President Shelford Rugby Club

PHOTOGRAPHY

BY

This weekend Shelford RFC will host another Ready4Rugby Tournament and welcome teams from Huntingdon and Hills Road College to play against our U18 Boys and Girls while our adult sides play an inter-club series of matches. Teams from the Men’s 1st XV and Nomads, 345 Squadron, Women’s 1st XV, and Nomads as well as Colts and Under18 Girls will battle it out over three pitches from 3pm onwards. It will be great to see Shelford Colts and Under-18 Girls compete against visiting teams as well. The 345 Squadron and Shelford Women’s teams will

be playing an intra-squad best of three tournament before mixing up the teams for some exhibition matches later in the day. If the success of the last intra-club tournament is anything to go by then we surely are in for a grand day of rugby with the usual social interaction helping us to find some enjoyment during these unusual times. Here’s looking forward to a fantastic day! Will Cotterill Director of Rugby

UPCOMING EVENTS We’ve got some great events coming up over the next few weeks, here’s an overview of what you can expect. For more information about events, visit our website or email [email protected]

OKTOBERFEST 17TH OCTOBER

HOLIDAY RUGBY CLINICS 26TH - 28TH OCTOBER

MENS RUGBY 345 SQUAD

Two quizz teams where put out by the 345. One was rather happy about the outcome of the night as one of the participants stated: “we didn’t come last”. The other team were in the top 3 going to the last round when Sam Heaton dropped the ball on Mt Vesuvius, wiping all his team’s final round points. He apologises for his performance and promises to do better next at month’s quiz. In other news, earlier this month the 345 fielded 2 teams at the Ready 4 Rugby tournament. They played each other 3 times. In each game the scores were tight. Some of our players also got mixed with the

SHEL-FOOD FEST 30TH OCTOBER

QUIZ NIGHT 6TH NOVEMBER

women teams for one more touch game on a full pitch. It was a great day for all and while real rugby isn’t back on the calendar, R4R will have to do.

WOMENS RUGBY

touch games and practicing the new Ready4Rugby game format. Alongside our regular weekly training many of our women’s squad members organise and take part in additional skill specific training and fitness sessions.

WOMEN’S SQUAD OCTOBER UPDATE

Shelford women have kicked off the 2020-2021 season with a bang by having, on average, 40-50 women descend onto the Davey Field each week for our preseason training. We have been busy at work getting prepared for when our matches can resume again but until then our training has evolved in line with the RFU guidelines, meaning we now train in small groups runnings drills, set plays,

Pleasingly, this year we have retained a large pool of senior players whilst also welcoming a high number of new players, ranging from those who have come from other clubs to those who have never picked up a ball before. The outlook is very promising for when we can get back to playing competitive rugby again. Until then, we have

WOMENS RUGBY been busy taking part in Shelford’s Ready4Rugby Tournaments.

The first Ready4Rugby tournament held on the 12th of September was a big success for the women’s team, with 34 players attending, making up three different teams. Spirits were high amongst the teams and everyone had a fun day playing against each other, with quite a few women staying on to join in with the exhibition mixed games later on in the day. A few weeks later on the 3rd of October, we again fielded three teams with a total of 24 women signed up. Charlotte Gisbourne’s captaincy of her team proved yet again

successful with a second win in a row. This weekend the Shelford Women’s squad again look to hone their skills in an inter-team tournament, before welcoming our first external opposition on the 31st of October. It looks to be a great day with a good number of players already signed up, and we’re excited to test ourselves against another competitive team at the end of the month. Abbie Macmillan-Jones

CLUB NEWS

Career Support Programme

Shelford Rugby Club is embarking on a new initiative with the aim of giving our players The goals of this initiative are in line with our player welfare programme supporting adult players both on and off the field and will help us retain and recruit key players. We will offer mentoring and advice with job hunting, interviews, CVs and we’ll help players look for opportunities within the club’s vast membership, and beyond. If you can help in any way with this key programme please get in touch. We need people with specific sector knowledge, mentors/guides for CV writing, interviewing etc. Most importantly we need someone with the enthusiasm and ability to lead this initiative. Yours, Will Cotterill - Director of Rugby [email protected] Noel Woodgate - Chair of Playing [email protected]

VOLUNTEERS SPOTLIGHT This month, the volunteers spotlight is on our team of Covid-19 officers: Emma Roberts, Annaleaza Finlayson, Tony Roberts and Mark Campbell have worked really hard over the last 6 weeks to ensure compliance with Government and RFU guidelines and to provide a safe environment for our members. The four of them have put together Club policies (available here), designed a one-way system around the club and protocols for coaches, first aiders and players. This crucial task has required them to adapt rapidly to events, learn from our experiences every weekend and improve constantly the delivery

of these policies. Please join me in thanking Emma, Annaleaza, Tony and Mark for their continuous efforts in keeping our Club a safe place where players, parents, spectators and visitors can enjoy our game and the company of fellow members. Remember that we are all in this together and it is incumbent on all of us to adhere to the policies and guidelines on hygiene and social distancing when visiting the club, and gently remind others if necessary. Thanks also go to Robin Boatman, who last month had to stand down from his role as Chair of Facilities and Grounds. Robin took up his role in the middle of the lockdown and oversaw the completion of many jobs over a short period of time during the summer. These include redecorating the main hall, putting signage ahead of our reopening in early July and many other maintenance tasks which would be too long to list here. Thank you Robin! Also standing down is Tom Arnold, our Bar Manager. Tom was already in place before the arrival of the Coronavirus but he also worked really hard over the summer: tidying up and painting the cellar, cleaning up the bar and preparing the reopening on July 4th and throughout the summer. If, like me, you were a regular visitor of the Bar during July, you will have appreciated Tom’s efforts which allowed many members to catch up and reunite over a drink...or more. Thank you Tom! If you feel inspired by the work of our many volunteers and want to join us, please get in touch with Fred by email at volunteering@shelfordrugby. co.uk or phone on 07941 982021

CLUB NEWS ONE FOR THE WINE LOVERS

Some of you will recall me talking about a personal project to explore some aspects of the social history and culture of wine. Like a good wine this has been slowly fermenting and ageing – in my head!! The time has now come when I need to pull the cork, and my finger, out and see how it flows on paper. Much has been written about the early history of wine production and consumption, some of which is open to conjecture, and I will repeat aspects of this for completeness. Some of what I plan to write will be based on personal experiences observed during holiday visits to wine producing countries, getting to know the wines and the culture and history behind the industry development and also taking opportunities, as they arise, to talk with wine producers and suppliers. Many happy hours have/ are been spent sharing bottles with family, friends and work colleagues, at home and abroad, which also provides an insight into likes and dislikes and the varied habits and rituals associated with drinking a glass of wine. I hope that the result will reflect a personal approach rather than an historical document. One of the areas I want to look at is the trend in wine purchasing and consumption at an everyday level since the mid 20th century. There is some helpful information at a general level available on line and I would like to add to this at a more personal level. I will be approaching friends and contacts

between the current ages of 17 – 90, both male and female although not separating out the genders. I would be very grateful if you could take the time to answer a few personal questions, set out in the attached survey, regarding your own wine drinking habits. It will only take a couple of minutes. IMPORTANT: All of the information you provide will remain anonymous and not shared in a manner that can identify any individual. Please answer the questions in the attachment and then email the attachment back to me at james. [email protected] I will then download the attachment and retain it in a personal folder, on my password protected computer, with all other replies. Your email will be deleted from my computer as soon as I have downloaded the attachment and I will then tabulate all the responses together. This will likely happen some months after receiving responses therby further ensuring that I will not be able to attribute any form to a known individual. As the completed form will not contain any reference to your name your responses will be almost totally anonymised. If you prefer, please print your completed response, anonymously, and post it to me at: 20 Greenfield Close, Stapleford, Cambridge, CB22 5BT Jim Foreman Honorary Life Member

MINI RUGBY UNDER 10s

Our Shelford U10’s turned out in force to Cambridge RFC last Sunday, and we fielded 3 teams; the Peacocks, Sharks and Samurai. After a couple of close games, that suggested what they were capable of, The Shelford Peacocks showed their true colours in the final game. The improvements in defence were evident as they repelled Cambridge from short range near the breakdown numerous times, whilst maintaining their width and pressuring the opposition into errors. This allowed them to launch several long range attacks resulting in some fantastic team tries, which benefited from players carrying the ball in two hands. Special mention to Will Hatchett for his tireless work both in defence and attack. In the Shelford Sharks debutants, Will Sweeting and Max Aslett made a big impact. Max was constantly breaking the gain line with his direct running and Will was unstoppable in defense, covering line breaks with speed and determination. The players played with a level of maturity far beyond what we have seen before, with several tries coming from a series of patient phases on one side of the pitch, sucking in the defense before quick hands led to one of our many speedsters cantering over on the other side of the pitch proper rugby! Even better, there was

no running backwards from them in the entire match! The Shelford Samurai ran in more tries than the opposition in all three games, which was great, but better still they improved in each match with some moments of terrific rugby. I think we all enjoyed having some matches to play – and some sunshine! We focused on keeping the ball alive by trying to avoid the “second touch”. Some of the boys really got this concept and scored some beautiful tries – though there is still work to do in this area. Special mentions to Ben Compton for straight running with the ball in both hands, Ollie Waters for speed and directness and Kamran Djamarani for some of the best support play I have seen for a while – he was always on the ball carrier’s shoulder and calling for it. Handling was excellent all round – I don’t remember a single knock-on from any player. Defence was solid, too, with Finley Hills and Luke Robinson particularly keeping the line well and not letting anyone past. Well done to all of you – see you on Sunday!

MINI RUGBY

YOUTH RUGBY

The U11 squad currently stands at ~55 players, a 10% increase compared to our numbers from U10. We have welcomed 10 new players throughout September. In addition we have gained 2 new coaches among our parents, taking it to a total of 11 coaches. This setup is completed with 4 first aiders. So all in all a very healthy squad with great support from the parents when it comes to kitchen duty, ball washing, etc...

On Sunday 3rd October, the U18’s took part in the Senior Ready4Rugby tournament at Shelford against Hills Road. With numbers evenly matched, the girls took part in 3 matches across the afternoon. Each match was an opportunity to develop their game plan and work on individual skills with this new style of rugby. Covid-19 has put a stop to contact at the

UNDER 11s

It’s fair to say that after 5 weeks of training and getting used to R4R, everyone was excited to have a proper fixture, and what better way than kickoff the season with a derby against our Cambridge neighbours. However, Peacocks outnumbered Cambridge about 3 to 1 and our guests could only field 2 teams, while we had enough players to make up 6 teams (we have had numbers in excess of 40 every Sunday so far, and in the high 20’s during midweek). So a majority of training matches (Shelford v Shelford) were played but there was an opportunity for everyone to play some “friendly competitive” R4R. Pride #6 (report by coaches Lewis

Cooper and Gaz McLaughlin) Finally a game day, against real opposition! Cambridge proved to be difficult opponents for the boys today, and evident in the end to end scoring by both sides, with Shelford coming out on top. Stand out players today were Ben W. and Oliver H.: deadly on the wings in plenty of space,with great awareness to find supporting players once caught near to the line. Alex M. was proving a handful and keeping Cambridge on their toes. Also Oscar R. having a great go at his first competitive game, getting his hands on the ball. Lewis M. keeping the play going forward in the tight and the defence on their heels. Aaron C. also getting involved, showing some great footwork and keeping his cool in the close quarter situations. Work to be done on rush defence, so the attack doesn’t make so much easy ground. But an otherwise very successful competitive day for the Peacocks!

UNDER 18s

moment so the girls focused on attacking the spaces, ball handling and most importantly, enjoying themselves. All girls had stand out performances across the matches from high speed intercepts, chasing down breakaways and scoring tries out on the wings. It was a brilliant day for rugby (British weather aside) and we look forward to playing at Cambridge on the 11th.

YOUTH RUGBY UNDER 15s

Shelford U15s revelled in the opportunity of playing competitive rugby against Cambridge last Sunday, with both Shelford teams playing enterprising rugby with no little skill and an abundance of effort, determined to be as competitive as possible against two Cambridge sides that contained dangerous attacking players. Each team played 3 matches and all 6 matches were extremely close, with attacking play dominating in a format that favours the attacking side. Our defensive organisation and associated effort levels improved throughout the day, resulting in a number of turnovers due to attacking sides failing to reach their respective attacking zones or scoring tries within the allocated number of touches. Positive themes were: - our ball carriers identifying opportunities to break through the opposition line and running hard lines in order to achieve this. We also attacked the wide channels well.

- support players putting down the accelerator to be in the right position to receive the try-scoring pass, and - all players using their improved fitness levels to stay in the game, continuing to add value to Shelford plays up until the final whistle. Key area for improvement is to remain mentally switched on throughout matches, since especially in this format, switching off for a split second can be the difference between repelling an attack and conceding a try. Overall, it was a hugely enjoyable day and our young men did themselves and the club proud. It was a great competitive start to the season and we have put a positive marker down.

CLUB INFORMATION Membership Information about how to renew memberships is available on the Club’s website or by contacting ShelfordRC@ gmail.com. Membership fees for the new season are: Playing member £150 Playing member with concession £75 Non-playing/Social member £150 Non-playing/Social member with concession £75 Mini/Youth player (1st Child) £150 Mini/Youth player (2nd/3rd Child) £50 VP member £150 VP member with concession £75 Life membership £900 Concessionary membership is available to members of the armed forces, to those older than 65 and to students. All current members should be able to renew their membership through the GMS website and every email you receive from GMS will include a link to the GMS website and the member’s username. Contact ShelfordRC@ gmail.com if you have any problems. This season, no-one will be able to play for the Club after September if they don’t have a fully paid-up membership. This will apply to all teams at the Club. Shelford Peacock 100 Club

The Shelford Peacock 100 Club is an opportunity to support the future development of the Club. For just £100 you will get two pre-match lunches and a unique Club tie. For more information contact Andrew Locke (Andrew.locke@ native-land.com). Sponsorship The Club values the support of all our sponsors and some of our sponsors are highlighted in this Preview. Each sponsor’s logo or advertisement is also a hyperlink so if you want more information about the sponsor please click on the link and visit their website. There are multiple sponsorship opportunities available, including matchday sponsorship, pitch side boards, inclusion in the weekend preview, advertising screens, prematch lunches and much more. For more If you would like more information about sponsorship, or an opportunity to discuss possible options, please contact Duncan Rhead at VPshelford@ earthlink.net.

Stevens, Simon Taylor, David Thomas, Tim Thomson, Chris Timms, Barry Tiplady, Jeremy Tuck, Adrian Tucker, Alan Upex, Martin Walshe, Duncan Ward, Malcolm Watson. Honorary Members The Club Shop The Club shop stocks a wide range of playing kit, off-pitch clothing and other items and is open every 1st XV match day and Sunday mornings from 09:30. The shop might also be open at other times and information will be posted on the Club website and on Facebook. In addition to the items stocked in the shop, there is also a range of items available at the Club’s online store. If you have any questions about the shop, or ideas for new ranges that might be stocked, contact Anna Biard. Vice Presidents The Rev Nigel Abbot, Chris Atkin, Andrew Baron, Geoff Booth, Bridget Chambers, Tony Clarke, John Clements, Richard Cottam, Ian Coupe, Steve Cracknell, John Crilley, Dai Evans, Ray Fordham, Peter Foster, Stuart Gibson, Ian Giddings, Martin Green, William Hellyer, Rodney Herbert, Dr Ian Hodgkisson, Roger Howlett, Simon Kidney, William King, Mike Kenyon, Canon Michael Law, Geoff Maskell, Nigel Moore, Keith Noakes, Michael Norden, Paul O’Connor, Craig Peden, Richard Priestly, Peter Ramus, Duncan Rhead, Terence A Smith, John

Diane Arnold, Mr and Mrs Colin Astin, Peter Baron, Len Baynes, David Beck, Robin Boatman, Sue Boatman, William Bradford, Gilly Bradford, Jackie Burgoyne, Tim Cadman, Chris Collins, Annaleaza Finlayson, Rory Finlayson, Jim Foreman, Christine Jakes, Nick Kotschy, Richard Longdon, Mike B Mills, Hugh Mumford, Gill Palmer, Julia Perry, David Pimblett, Phil Prior, John Ringer, Keith Thomas, Mr and Mrs Paul Wheeler. Life Members Lindsay Anderson, Damon Astin, Kane Astin, Dick Barker, Andy Barnes, Bob Barnes, Larry Bennett, Richard Bensen, Peter Brindle, Jon Brown, Tim Buttimore, Sandra Collins, Lee Coney, Peter Cutmore, Chis Day, Nick Denton, Dave Dunnett, Paul Foster, George Franklin, Stephen Franklin, Thomas Franklin, William Grain, Paul Gray, John Green, Steven Hartley, Dave Hatter, Roger Impey, Huw Jones, Eddie King, Stuart Lingard, Andrew Locke, David Martin, Rob Mauchlin, Jim McNicholas, David Morgan, Alec Motts, Mike Nettleton, David Pearce, Benjamin Rayner, David Reed, Nick Reynolds, Tony Roberts, William Russell, Dave Southby, Brian Stevens, Renate Stevens, Rob Stevens, Robert Todd, Chris Webber, Mike Whibley,

CLUB HISTORY It is important to remember the Club’s history and to remember all those players, administrators and supporters who have played their part in making Shelford Rugby Club the Club it is today. So where did Shelford Rugby Club come from? The date was 6th October 1933 and the Cambridge Independent Press announced ‘A rugby section of Shelford Amateur Sports Association has been formed. Club colours will be claret vests with white collars’ and the story begins for Shelford Rugby Club. The first ground was loaned to the Club by Mrs Goldsmith-Martin and was close to Shelford Railway station with changing facilities at the nearby Railway Tavern. Captains and Vice-Captains at the time included R A Collard, R P Davey, whose father P L Davey became benefactor and long-standing President to the Club, and T A Arias, who went on to become President of Panama. Teams were put out for Thursday and Saturday games, and press comments reported good progress for the teams, although on one occasion the enthusiasm spilled over with a game between Shelford and Duxford RAF being abandoned after 15 minutes because of rough play. When World War II broke out Club members went their different ways – some never to return. Those who did come back soon got down to the task of rebuilding the Club. An Emergency Committee was formed comprising the following members: P L Davey (President) A A Seymour (Secretary) G Hawes (Match Secretary) L S L Brown (Team Secretary & 1st XV Captain) L Baynes D Webster A fixture list for the 1946-7 season was drawn up and the Recreation Ground in Great Shelford, which had been the Club’s ground before the war, was re-equipped for the coming season. Coinciding with the new era, the Club acquired a new headquarters at the Peacock Inn adjacent to the recreation ground. An advertisement in the Cambridge Daily News to announce that Shelford RUFC was ‘back in business’ and would warmly welcome new players. World news was preoccupied with the Nuremberg Trials and, on the day that the Paris Peace Talks were due to end, Shelford played their first game of the postwar period. They travelled to Norwich with very much an experimental side. Meanwhile, Norwich, with three games under their belt, were one of the strongest sides in the Eastern Counties. It is sad to report that the result reflected this difference in standard with Norwich easily winning 22-0. On the following Saturday the team travelled to Kettering and gave a better account of

Shelford 1st XV 1949-50

themselves, losing by an unconverted try and a penalty goal to nil. The Cambridge Daily News reported that Shelford were desperately unlucky to lose this match as it was they who had most of the play, especially in the second half. Better news was soon at hand when, in their first home game of the season, Shelford drew with Letchworth with each side scoring an unconverted try. This was quickly followed-up by the Club’s first post-war victory against King’s College, winning 5-3. It was unfortunate that this first season was affected by one of the worst winters on record. Blizzards raged all over the country during early January and everywhere remained under a blanket of snow for virtually two months. The thaw that followed did nothing to improve the state of the pitch. After this long lay-off only four fixtures were left to play out for the remainder of the season. Considering the experimental nature of the team, the playing statistics were very credible; playing 19, winning 9, losing 8 and drawing 2, scoring 118 points and conceding 106. During the 1947-8 season the 1st XV, under the captaincy of Roy Davey, played 28 games, of which 11 were won, 14 were lost and 3 drawn, scoring 290 points and conceding 215. Although the side lost to the other two Cambridge Clubs (Cambridge Town and Old Cantabrigians) it made an excellent showing against such strong sides as Northampton ‘A’ and Norwich. This season to be the first one that the Club provided a really full fixture list for a 2nd XV. Of the 24 games they played, 13 were won, 6 were drawn and 5 were lost. The side was captained by George Hawes in their first season. One of the events of the season was an Easter Festival with three matches played on the recreation ground against Westminster Bank, Old Cytringanians and Gidea Park. In the Management Committee report for the 1947-8 season it states ‘our younger players rose notably to the occasion and it promises well for the future of the Club when we such players as Sherman, Binns, King, Haddon, Patterson and Hatten’. 1947-48 saw the formation of the Cambridgeshire Rugby Football Union. This came about through the imagination of Jules Malfroy, Shelford’s representative to the Eastern Counties and Rugby Union. Since its inception members from Shelford have been influential

The opening of the new changing rooms in 1950

on and off the pitch at Eastern Counties. 1949 heralded yet another stage in the in the development of the Club. For the first time in its history, Shelford fielded three sides. Life was beginning to settle down after the war and there was a sudden influx of members. With the increase in membership it soon became apparent that the Club was outgrowing its facilities at the Peacock and negotiations were started with the brewery – Fordham Brothers – with regard to expansion. The problem of where the 3rd XV would play home fixtures was resolved through the generosity of Doug Webster who offered one of his fields at Granhams Farm. A special sub-committee of the 3rd XV was formed who duty it was to clear the field of cows before each game. Another step forward was a proposal by Jules Malfroy that the 1st and 2nd XVs play each other at the end of each season. The winners of this fixture would be presented with the ‘Malfroy Mug’. This game soon became established in the Club’s fixture card. In later years the competition was widened to include all Club members, playing 7-a-side rather than 15-a-side games. In the 1982-83 season steps were taken to revert to the original format. In 1950 the 2nd XV was narrowly beaten by a single point but in 1953 the 2nd XV won the Mug for the first time. It was not until 1962, under the captaincy of H Parish, that the Nomads regained the coveted Mug, defeating a 1st XV captained by Colin Royston. When the Club was in a position to field four sides a new domestic competition was arranged – the Stearn Cup. This was played for annually by members of the 3rd and 4th XVs. The trophy was presented to the Club by Mr N Stearn in memory of those players who gave their lives during the war. Sadly, the Stearn Cup disappeared from the fixture list and it was not until Mike Mills was captaining the 4th XV that efforts were made to reintroduce the annual fixture.

To round off the 1949-50 season the 1st and 2nd XVs were invited to play in Hendon RFC’s annual charity match, with proceeds in aid of the National Playing Fields Association Silver Jubilee Fund. Shelford were entertained in more ways than one when the Crazy Gang made a personal appearance. After shaking hands with the teams, as only the Crazy Gang could, ‘Knox’ went out to kick-off. Shelford went to Hendon knowing that the hosts had just completed their best season ever, having lost only three of their 26 matches. The 1st XV came away with a very credible draw after Reg Martin converted two penalty kicks. To complete a very enjoyable afternoon, the 2nd XV won their match against Hendon ‘A’ 8-0 with tries from Eldred and Bailey with Starte converting. The report on the match records ‘there is no doubt that this ‘A’ side of Shelford is too good for most ‘A’ teams it meets’. The 1950-51 season was the Club’s most successful season since the war. The 1st XV scored notable victories against Cambridge, Norwich, Peterborough (twice) and Guy’s Hospital ‘A’. The first of what was to become an annual Boxing Day fixture against Old Cantabrigians was won 11-0. At the same time, the 2nd XV maintained their record of being unbeaten at home, a record that stretched back to the 1948-49 season. In 1950 Shelford went posh with the opening of new changing rooms adjoining the Peacock Inn. This development was entirely due to the generosity of Mr Herbert Fordham and his brother Mr Russell Fordham, the owners of the Peacock. Up until this time, the changing rooms consisted of an old tin shed on a wooden framework. Mr Fordham opening the new changing rooms on 1950 Reg Martin recalled that the arrangement for the Club to remove the existing facilities while the Fordham brothers would finance the building and equipping of the new accommodation. To quote Reg, ‘we had a sort of demolition squad and we pulled all the tin and framework down, so we all stood in a line, got hold of the wall and shook it and it just collapsed on the ground in a pile of stones’. The new facilities now provided sufficient accommodation and bathing facilities for 60 people. The building work was carried out by Messrs Baynes (Snowy) and Rayment. In officially opening the changing rooms, Mr Herbert Fordham said ‘that it had been a pleasure for him and his brother to have the opportunity of doing something for Rugby Football in Shelford’. In congratulating the architect and builder for overcoming the very serious difficulties caused by the limited site on which they had to work. The spirit within the Club at this time was very high. With the opening of the new changing rooms and the pitch in excellent condition, thanks to the tireless work of Messrs Webster, Baynes and others. Shelford

facilities. Another pitch was added from land provided by Mr Davey in 1972 and floodlights were added in October 1973. There was continued progress in the 1980s and 1990s with Shelford seeing the start of its hugely successful youth section in 1989 which has now provided a large number of players who have gone on to play for the senior sides. The Ladies team in the early 1990s. With the help of Shelford Parish Council, a fourth pitch, the allotment pitch, was added in 1995.

Work began on our Artificial Grass Pitch in 2017

now boasted some of the best facilities in the Eastern Counties. Although the 1st XV had not had a good season, the 2nd XV was very successful. The selection committee came in for some abuse and questions were asked as to why they did not promote some of the 2nd XV players. Their reply was that it was a deliberate policy not to throw some of their most promising young players into the hurly burly of 1st XV rugby until a stage of greater maturity had been reached. That time was now and the Club looked forward to a new 1st XV to compare with the side that represented the Club in the vintage years just before the war. In this period of its history everything seemed rosy for Shelford Rugby Club, apart from one small matter that demanded immediate attention. This was the fact that a considerable time elapsed between the post-match tea and the pub opening at 6pm, sometimes causing the visitors to leave early. It was decided to approach the landlord with a view to an earlier opening time. At the same time a letter was sent to the brewery respectfully requesting a stronger beer! Under the captaincy of Roy Hollings, the 1952-53 season saw the 1st XV reach new heights. The period between November and March did not see a single defeat and undoubtedly the highlight was winning the Eastern Counties 7s at Ipswich. Contemporary reports of this achievement record that it was a ‘rousing performance’ against the best teams in the Eastern Counties. The Club continued to grow during the 1950s and 1960s and in 1965 the Club reached a major milestone when Mr P L Davey honoured the Club by donating the playing fields on Cambridge Road, the Club’s present home. The fields became known as the Davey Field and the official opening of the ground and new clubhouse took place on 19th September 1966. The day was marked with a game against Andy Hancock’s star-studded XV from Northampton. The Club continued to flourish through the 1960s and 1970s from their new home at the Davey Field. On the pitch there was a string of County Cup victories and off the pitch there was continued development of the

Into the new millennium and another milestone was reached with the opening of a new clubhouse with spectator seating. This development was only possible through the determination and hard work of members and with the support of sponsors. To cope with the growth of the Club, further land was bought to add another pitch. This pitch was called ‘Jakes Field’ after the Club’s longstanding Chairman who sadly died in 2002. In recent times, performances on the pitch have gathered pace. The philosophy of introducing key players to add support and experience to local players brought on through the Club’s youth policy has paid dividends. The Club has progressed through the leagues achieving national league rugby. Most notable recent developments include the installation of a 3G artificial grass pitch (AGP) with financial support from the RFU. The new pitch, combined with further developments in the clubhouse, has created an environment for playing and watching rugby at all levels. The facilities at Shelford Rugby Club are amongst the best in Eastern Counties and Shelford is the only side in the region to regularly field five men’s teams. At the end of the 2017-18 season the 3rd, 4th and 5th XVs all won their respective county cup finals in back-to-back games in front of a large crowd on the new 3G pitch. A day that will live long in the memory. This has been only a brief history of Shelford Rugby Club and there is much is missing. This is a work in progress so please send information about anything you think should be added to the history and it will be updated between Previews.

End note

Thanks to all those who contributed to this week’s Preview. Special thanks go to Steven Illingworth, Mike Harris and John Kirkpatrick for their fantastic photographs. If you have any news, reports and photographs you would like to see in a future Preview please send to [email protected].