Shipston drag Spa further into the mire

Floods at Shipston meant this fixture was switched to a drier Moorefields and despite the difficult conditions the two struggling sides put on a very entertaining game of rugby.

Shipston pushed high-flying Kenilworth all the way the previous week but Spa failed to heed the warning and presented their visitors with only their second Midlands Two West (South) win of the campaign.

A Tom Jewitt penalty put Spa ahead in the third minute and Gavin Grant and John Holland upped the pressure with two surging runs.

Jewitt then turned defender to clear his lines with a long-range touch-kick.

Shipston had taken time to adjust to the wet conditions, but their mobile pack of forwards confirmed their acclimatisation with a well-worked converted try.

Spa responded almost immediately as Jewitt nailed his second penalty of the afternoon to reduce the arrears to a point.

They almost took the lead when John Raby latched on to Alex Carroll’s kick and set off down the flank. However, the ball was adjudged to have been in touch before Raby’s intervention and play was brought back for a lineout to the visitors.

Leamington were having the better of play at this stage and their forwards began to turn the screw, with Tom Greevy and Craig Smith dominant in the lineout and the scrum.

Shipston were unable to cope with the continuous pressure and conceded several penalties in succession, which forced the referee to award a penalty-try converted by Jewitt.

The young Shipston side hit Spa with another converted try before Jewitt added his third penalty to nudge the hosts into a 16-14 half-time lead.

The scoreline accurately described the balance of play at this time but in the second period, Shipston benefited from the slight slope advantage.

Spa began the second period in confident mood and their forwards put in several surging drives that Shipston had difficulty in defending.

This intelligent power play could not be turned into points and it would prove crucial as the match progressed.

Shipston responded with some clever forward play of their own and Spa found themselves having to perform some last-ditch defending.

Jewitt’s boot alleviated the first onslaught. From the resulting line-out, Greevy claimed clean ball and once again Jewitt rammed the ball up field to clear the danger.

The visitors did, however, claim a further converted score in the latter stages of the game and despite a sterling effort, Spa were unable to respond.