Marlborough 39 – 17 Shipston-on-Stour
On Saturday, Marlborough welcomed Shipston-on-Stour to the Common; this was the visitors’ first experience of the Common and its quirks. Though it was
gloomy with a brisk, fresh breeze, there was a lot to be happy about. Not only was it the first home game of the New Year for the 1st XV, but it was
also the first time that the club has ever had a scoreboard. This was made possible through the sponsorship provided by Gigaclear, which is very much
appreciated.
After the promotional photos were taken, the junior and mini members were then required to lead the players out onto the pitch for the game. As usual,
they did an amazing job and were an excellent talisman for the team. After last week, the boys needed as much help as possible to not end their
continued winning streak within the Regional 2-Tribute Southwest League.
The start was awful for the home side, Shipston scored a converted try within one minute of the whistle blowing. Then, seven minutes later, the
visitors converted a penalty. Ten nil down and a Marlborough player in the sin bin – not the perfect start.
Marlborough did start to wake up, as within a minute of the restart, the home side struck back. Following a very dominant scrum, the ball was fed out
by the new scrumhalf, Aaron Hold, to Will Reeve, who in turn offloaded to Weir Filikitonga, who beat three players to score, which was then converted
by Richard West.
Marlborough were still not firing on all cylinders, but on the twenty-minute mark, they took a five-metre tap penalty followed by two phases, and loose
head prop Ash Horner crashed over the line, under the posts, with West putting the icing on the cake.
Shipston was always looking dangerous in attack, and Marlborough was still making elementary defensive errors, allowing Shipston to score another
converted try after twenty-six minutes to retake the lead.
There was some improvement from Marlborough, but there were still too many missed tackles and unforced errors. Marlborough’s redemption was their set
piece from a dominant scrum, and yet again, 18-year-old Arthur Allen was disrupting the Shipston lineout. After thirty-one minutes, an attacking
five-meter scrum saw Marlborough’s No. 8, Siaosi Feaomefiui (last week’s “Man of the Match”), pick up and score in the corner, sadly unconverted.
Half-Time: Marlborough 19 – Shipston 17
Elisi and Vili did not mince their words to the players during the half-time talk; they were very disappointed with the players’ performance during the
first half and the players needed to improve straight from the start.
Two substitutions were made: Tommy Elbrow came on in the second row, and young Dom Rokomaqisa came on in the back row for his first cap for
Marlborough. The effects of the coach’s talk were not immediate for Marlborough, but very slowly, Marlborough did start to find their feet, helped in no small measure by the awesome front row and the set piece.
Marlborough’s fourth try was scored by Akariva Seruvatu (Aka) following a very powerful carry by hooker Solomone Aniseko (Seko), setting up two
phases, sucking in the Shipston defence then along the line to the flying winger Aka to score fifteen minutes into the second half, which was again
converted by West.
Marlborough were now starting to dominate the game, but they were by no means at their best. After seventy-two minutes, fullback Will Reeve came into the line and scored in the corner following a powerful run also converted by West.
Soon after, Prop Gareth Smith crashed over following several phases in the Shipston 22, sadly unconverted, for the game’s sixth and final try.
Final Score: Marlborough 39 – Shipston-on-Stour 17
Since returning from the Christmas break, Marlborough has struggled to find their flow and has been below par. As always, there were positives to take
from the game. The further they went into the game, the better Marlborough played. The defence was weak in the first half, which allowed the visitors
to get the upper hand, but during the second half, the visitors did not score a point.
The team was delighted to welcome two new players into the fold: Aaron Hold and Dom Rokomaqisa. Both got their first caps for the 1st XV, and both
pleased the coaches.
“Man of the Match” again went to Arthur Allen, who was outstanding in the line-out, stealing six against the head. As always, the awesome foursome of
the front row was outstanding. Having the opportunity to rotate four such fantastic players in a match is a luxury we never thought we would have. And
with props Bradley Whatley and Simon Pilkington also waiting in the wings to be rotated into the squad now, this is an area of strength for Marlborough.
Next week, the boys will be travelling up to the Cotswolds to play the return leg against Stow-on-the-Wold in a top-of-the table clash. There will
be a need for substantial improvement from Marlborough for this game. Stow will be set on bringing Marlborough’s continuous winning streak to an end.
Marlborough has never played at Stow, so it is a bit of an unknown.
Half-Time: Salisbury 0 – Marlborough 17
Larkhill point-to-point – now postponed until Saturday 28 Jan due to frozen ground
