Hat-trick for Treadgold on his full debut for Shipston

The win maintains Rams’ second place and keeps them four points above nearest rivals Old Leamingtonians with a game in hand.

It was a bright start for the home side, who quickly went on the attack and looked dangerous with ball in hand from the kick-off. Rams were soon camped inside the Woodrush 22 and an attacking line-out almost saw them power over the line.

Woodrush were not to be denied some early possession themselves and strung several good phases together to work their way slowly back up the field. Shipston’s defence was rock solid though and the visitors found it difficult to make any penetration, consistently being met with strong tackles and a quick defensive line.

Shipston scored tries early on to set the tone and they continued to dominate throughout, winning the battles and the scrum and line-out to give the Woodrush backs nothing to work with.

The only area of disappointment was the breakdown in the first half. They didn’t commit enough numbers early on and found themselves competing for scrappy ball at times.

Shipston racked up 11 tries in total and there were hat-tricks for full-back Tobi Faulkner and Joe Treadgold, who was making his debut on the wing. In the forwards, Will Gasson and Aaron Neal were very strong in the back row and the industrious Charlie Hollies-Everett gave Shipston a great platform to throw the ball around and play some good rugby.

Leo Brice was outstanding in the second row, winning line-outs and carrying the ball in attack, roundingit off by racing away from 25 metres to score under the posts.