Holt's first home game of the season was against Shelford 2s. Shelford 1sts of course play in the national leagues, so this was always going to be a stern test for Holt.

It was a beautiful day with pitches in superb condition, miraculous when you consider that only 2 weeks ago they were uniformly brown and totally unusable; at that time there were genuine fears that this game would not happen. A minute's silence to pay our respects to the Queen precluded the afternoon's kick-off.

Shelford kicked off - a nervous exchange of kicks resulted in Holt winning a line out about 45m from the Shelford line. Holt won the line out comfortably, an area they were to virtually dominate throughout the game. Holt ran the ball through several phases before knocking on around the Shelford 22. Holt were penalised at the scrum and Shelford them back into their own half. Shelford in turn infringed at the breakdown and captain no12 Tom Jackson kicked Holt up to within 30m of the Shelford line. Another well won line out enabled Holt to once again attack ending in no11 Robbie Freeman being tackled into touch inside the Shelford 22. Holt again infringed at the breakdown and Shelford kicked Holt back to their own 10m line. Holt won the Shelford line out ball but knocked on, gifting Shelford a scrum on Holts 10m line. Shelford infringed, and a Holt penalty was awarded which Jackson kicked back deep into Shelford territory. Holt again won the line out, spread the ball, but Shelford infringed in the tackle giving Holt a penalty 20m out. Holt chose to take a scrum, no8 Rory Fryer broke from the base, offloaded to scrum half Pete Medler who beat a couple of Shelford defenders to touch down under the posts - the 3rd try in 2 games scored by Medler from the same move! Charlie Simmons playing at 10 on his 1st team league debut added the conversion. 14 mins Holt 7 Shelford 0.

From the kick-off, no2 Freddie Mann was tackled in the air, and the Holt penalty was kicked by Jackson to within 30m of the Shelford line. A great break by no15 Ali Hughes saw him brought down about 10m out and from the breakdown, Holt recycled quickly to Tom Jackson on a crash ball - try to Jackson, with Simmons again adding the kick. 15 mins Holt 14 Shelford 0.

From the kick-off another exchange of kicks ended with kicking up to Holts 22. Holt's counter collapsed; Shelford won the turnover and spread the ball wide very quickly scoring in the corner. The conversion was good. 22 mins Holt 14 Shelford 7.

From the kick-off Holt charged at Shelford forcing a scrum on the 10m line. No 13 Aaron Tagg, who had a great barnstorming game, crashed through the Shelford defence. He was brought down around 10m out, and the ball again was quickly recycled with no6 Nick Harding getting the final pass to go over for Holt's 3rd try. Simmons missed the kick. 27 mins Holt 19 Shelford 7.

Shelford attacked from the kick-off forcing first a penalty then a scrum 5m out from Holt's line and adding to their score with another try and conversion. 34 mins Holt 19 Shelford 14.

From the kick-off Shelford infringed and the penalty was kicked by Jackson up to the Shelford 22. Shelford again infringed and Holt gained possession. The ball went through several pairs of hands ending up with no3 Will Knights who charged over for Holt's 4th (and bonus point) try; The conversion was missed. Half Time 40 mins Holt 24 Shelford 14.

Holt kicked off the 2nd half, where Shelford knocked on in their 22 giving Holt a scrum. An exchange of kicks followed, and Holt ended up with a penalty on the Shelford 10m line. Choosing to run the penalty, the ball went through several hands getting to Ali Hughes who went over in the corner for a try; the conversion was missed. 50 mins Holt 29 Shelford 14.

Another period of tactical kicking followed the kick-off, with both sides relentlessly attacking. Shelford eventually got the better of the period, spreading the ball quickly from one side of the pitch to the other before going over in the corner; the conversion was missed. 60 mins Holt 29 Shelford 19.

The pace of the game was starting to tell at this point. Holt made some changes, with no16 James Goodlife came on for no2 Freddie Mann, and no18 Jack Straw came on for Ali Hughes who had injured his shoulder scoring, and no17 Joe Harrisson came on for no6 Nick Harding.

Again, from the kick-off Holt attacked hard, forcing Shelford backwards. Eventually Shelford kicked to clear their lines giving Holt a lineout 40m out. Holt won the line and spread the ball wide to bo11 Bobby Freeman who, in the company of Aaron Tagg, drove the ball up towards the Shelford line. Last ditch tackles from the Shelford defence stopped them, but Jimmy Goodliffe snapped the loose ball from the breakdown and crashed over for a try; Simmons nailed the kick. 70 mins Holt 36 Shelford 19.

Shelford by now were down to 13 men because of a succession of injuries, but Holt weren`t being very sympathetic, no 4 Jack Parker going over for a try on his Holt debut after a series of good phases drove Holt up to within 5m of the Shelford line; Simmons kicked the extras.
75 mins Holt 43 Shelford 19.

Again, Holt powered forward from the kick-off, no14 George Gill getting brought down on the line. Holt won the scrum, and spread the ball wide ending up with Tom Jackson going over in the corner for his 2nd try; the conversion was missed. Full Time Holt 48 Shelford 19.

This was a very good win against one of the fancied sides in the league. Two bonus point wins for Holt sees them at the top of the table and looking strong.

Scorers
Trys: Tom Jackson 2, Will Knights, Jack Parker, Pete Medlar, Ali Hughes, Nick Harding and Jimmy Goodliffe.

Conversions: Charlie Simmons 4

Congratulations to theMoongazer Man of the Match Rory Fryer. His outstanding performance in then lineout and solid platform at the back of the scrum gave the lads incredible pace and time on the ball. He was huge in defense as well.

The Dick of the Day award goes to Rob Hughes, Club Chairman, for not buying the after-match beers!

Post-match Phil Sharpe Head Coach said "We couldn’t have asked for a better start to the season than to have such good numbers at training, so good in fact we can run three full teams against each other most sessions. The players have confidence in the game we want to play and each other through all three senior sides. We remain focused on enjoying the whole rugby experience and being a welcoming, inclusive club".

Of the Shelford game he continued "It was great to have such an aggressive and determined opposition to test us in every aspect of the game. From the first whistle Shelford came at us. The team held their nerve and took opportunities as they arose and enjoyed playing the brand of rugby we thrive on. This was open, creative and exciting".

Afterwards Rugby Director Pete D'Amery said "I am delighted that we have continued to attract new players to the club. With great numbers at training and players enjoying the whole Rugby experience, things are going well at present. We are not getting too far ahead of ourselves though. We all need to continue to work hard, push ourselves both physically and emotionally to ensure success on and off the pitch. The start of the season is encouraging, and it was brilliant to have both teams winning at home this weekend".

Please don't forget our next home fixture is on the 24th Sept against Wymondham at 3pm, when we have our first pre-match lunch at 1pm - sponsored with thanks to Pointens and Mark Mitchell. Please book your places asap with Mike Bush in the usual way by the Wednesday prior to the match at the latest. Everyone is more than welcome.