Shipston thrilled another strong home crowd on Saturday (30th November) with a clinical display of running rugby, as they defeated visitors Whitchurch RFC 88-0 at Mayo Road - maintaining their unbeaten home run and third position in the league in the process.

Playing up the slope in the first half, the Rams got off to a very fast start, immediately settling into good attacking shapes and giving the Whitchurch defence plenty to think about. With just 2 minutes on the clock, centre Ben Harris got the first try of the afternoon (converted by Tate O'Donovan) following an excellent set of attacking phase play. Shipston used the full width of the pitch to drag the Church defenders wide and create space, before Harris found the gap and was able to burst through and over for the opening score.

The home side were relentless and put together some of the best rugby they've played all year at times, with the likes of Alex Merrick and Bertie Taylor doing some fantastic work up front to create quick ball for the backline. A further 5 tries were scored in the first half, with Matt Daniells, Toby Wheeler, Harry Clark and Bertie Taylor all going over for scores (4 of which were converted by O'Donovan) to give the Rams a commanding 40-0 lead at the break.

Into the second period and Shipston maintained the pressure. Their lineout was faultless throughout the game and the scrum was also very strong, which created a great platform to launch from. Matt Daniells picked up his second try of the game just minutes into the second half, following a lovely set play off an attacking lineout.

This was followed up with further scores from Tobi Faulkner, Ben Harris, Bertie Taylor x 2, Rob James, Ollie Windebank and Harry Clark to give the Rams a comprehensive 88-0 victory.

It was a fantastic performance from the home side, with a strong defensive display, keeping Whitchurch scoreless throughout, as well as the obvious attacking threats that they displayed. Huge credit must go to Whitchurch RFC who made the Rams work for every one of their scores and kept fighting right until the last whistle.

A number of players made a case for MOTM this week. Merrick, Bertie Taylor, James Pither, Harry Clark and Tobi Faulkner all had excellent games in the forwards, while the likes of Ben Harris and Dan Taylor were very strong in the backline. It was awarded this week however to Matt Daniells, who was a constant threat in attack, popping up on shoulders and getting through a great deal of work and picking up a brace of tries for his efforts.

It was also a bittersweet afternoon for Shipston as they said goodbye to Tate O'Donovan, who is returning back to Australia from his travels over here. Tate has been a great asset to the club during his time here, but we'll remember him more for being an absolutely fantastic bloke. We wish him well for the future and look forward to welcoming back to Mayo Road some time soon.

The Rams travel to Edwardians RFC on Saturday 7th December in what promises to be an exciting clash between third and fourth in the league.