Shipston secured another win in Midlands 3 West (South) on Saturday after a free-flowing and tense affair away at Upton on Severn. Matt Elliott, Steve Baker and Tom Beeley all returned to the squad for the first time in a number of weeks as injury cover and there was a reshuffle in the backline as Sam Cooper shifted back to fullback and Tobi Faulkner stepped back into fly-half.

It was a bright start for the Rams who set the tone with some strong carrying and they began with a tempo and work rate that Upton couldn't live with. The speed and accuracy at the break down allowed the Shipston backs to run some lines in plenty of space and work their way up the field. From a defending lineout in their own twenty-two, Upton won the ball and fed it back to their fly-half to clear the lines, but he was brilliantly charged down by openside flanker, George Wilcock, who was able to gather the loose ball and dive over for Shipston's first try of the match out wide.

After conceding a penalty in front of the posts Shipston allowed Upton an easy shot at 3 points, which the gratefully took, but this was the only score from the home side of the first period. The Rams scored their second try after 20 minutes with a sustained period of pressure eventually presenting a scoring opportunity. Alex Hammond made a bust up the middle of the field and was well supported by John Higley and the rest of the pack, who were able to clear the ruck quickly and get the ball sped out to the back line. The ball fell to Harry Jackson and he stepped inside his defender and raced away from the covering defence to score under the posts. Sam Cooper converted to make it 12-3 to the visitors.

As half time approached, Shipston pushed on for their third try of the afternoon and were awarded for the persistence and tenacity with a try for Harry Clark. Upton put in a box kick on half way which was well gathered by Cooper at fullback and he was able to feed Jackson down the right wing. After cutting inside a couple of defenders he offloaded brilliantly to Clark who just had to canter in from 40m out for the try. The missed conversion gave Shipston a half time lead of 19-3.

The second half began with Shipston on the front foot again and they were rewarded for their pressure with a fourth, bonus point try and a second for Harry Clark. After a number of phases in the middle of the park, Tobi Faulkner released the backs out to the left and the ball made it's way to Clark on the right wing. He raced around his winger and chipped the ball over the oncoming fullback, only to re-gather the ball himself and touch down for a brilliant solo try. The Cooper conversion made the score 26-3 to the Rams and it looked like they would cruise to victory from there.

How wrong could they have been! With 50 minutes on the clock Upton were sparked into life and came back into the game with a bang. Their number 8 carried the ball extremely well all afternoon and allied with some sloppy defence from the Rams, beat a number of tacklers to make a host of metres up the field. They scored four tries of their own in a pulsating final 20 minutes that left the visitors clinging on for dear life. The Upton set piece began to take control in the scrum area and Shipston's defence, which had looked solid as a rock in the first period, suddenly began to creak under the pressure from the home side.

In amongst the trues for Upton, Harry Clark was able to score his third and Shipston's fifth of the game to push their score up to 33 points and this would prove just enough.

Upton scored three unanswered tries in the final 15 minutes of the match in a period of real domination. The Rams weren't helped by injuries to Matt Corby, Andy Hunt and a HIA for Tobi Faulkner, as well as a yellow card for James Pither after repeated infringements in the scrum. With 5 minutes left and the home side looking in total control, there was a serious and unfortunate injury to one of the Upton wingers. Whilst taking the ball into contact it appeared that he sustained a nasty looking broken leg and an ambulance was called for straight away. It goes without saying that everyone at Shipston RFC wishes him a speedy recovery.

The injury forced the game to relocate to another pitch for the final 4 minutes and the break in play allowed Shipston to regroup and clear their heads. Upton had possession and threw everything they could at the Rams, but a huge defensive effort, epitomized by Matt Elliott who had come on for Andy Hunt in the front row, held firm and Upton spilled the ball forward in contact to give Shipston the possession. After a couple of phases from the scrum the clock was in the red and Tobi Faulkner - having returned from his HIA successfully - cleared the ball into touch and the final whistle blew. Shipston had held on, just, to take the win 33-29!

It's a cliché, but it really was a game of two halves. Having looked so comfortable and dominant in the first half, the Rams found themselves with their backs against the wall for the final 20 minutes following a huge effort from Upton in front of their home support. There were a number of candidates for MOTM this week with both Harry's - Clark and Jackson - having excellent games in the backline alongside Tommy Barry and the whole of the back row (George Wilcock, John Higley and Alex Hammond) were outstanding. It will go this week to Alex Hammond for the second game running. His work rate in both attack and defense were second to none and he's quickly becoming the first name on the team sheet each week.

The Rams continue their push for league promotion on Saturday with the visit of Woodrush to Mayo Road on the Easter weekend, kick off at 3pm.