Sat 2 Sep 2023, 15:00
Abbey began life in Counties 2 Tribute Berks/Bucks & Oxon South with an entertaining victory over Beaconsfield 2nds at a sunny Rosehill. The home side scored eight tries, with full back Max Boucher running in a spectacular hat trick. Abbey’s players will have been disappointed to have been shown five yellow cards during the game, but at their best they produced some breathtaking rugby.
The afternoon began with the teams observing a minute’s silence in memory of former captain and coach Ian Scott, who died the previous weekend. He would have relished the start of the game, with Abbey scoring a spectacular try in the opening minute. Scrum half Sol Wallis-Robinson took a quick tap when his side was awarded a penalty near the halfway line, and after winger Furio Dawkins made ground, centre Charlie Shackleford sprinted in to score under the posts. He then converted his own try to complete a dream start to the afternoon.
Abbey continued to look confident after this, with No.8 Max Courtnage producing the first of several storming runs to take play into the visitors’ 22. A penalty was conceded and Beaconsfield kicked into the Abbey half, but flanker Chris Shaw stole the subsequent lineout and after a further burst from Courtnage, Wallis-Robinson, skipper Mike Beckly and Shackleford sent Boucher on his way to the line. Shackleford was unable to convert from the right hand side of the pitch, but Abbey now led 12-0 after just five minutes.
Second row ‘Treacle’ Knights stole the next Beaconsfield lineout throw, and a clever break from his own 22 by centre Reuben Norville nearly put Boucher in the clear again. After this outside half Scott Rennie and prop Ollie Charlton took play to the halfway line. The first scrum of the game soon followed, and Abbey drove Beaconsfield off their own put-in. Courtnage stole possession at the next Beaconsfield lineout and second row James Becalick made a 10-metre run. Abbey were awarded a penalty, and after Shackleford had belted the ball 40 metres downfield, Shaw won good lineout ball. Courtnage set up another attack, and a superb break and offload from Boucher resulted in Dawkins sprinting clear to score. Shackleford converted from in front of the posts.
Abbey received their first yellow card soon after this, with winger Alex Ashford being penalised for a deliberate knock on. However, Knights again disrupted the visitors’ lineout, and great running from Beckly and prop Mathew Woodrow soon saw Abbey attacking again. After this, Beaconsfield enjoyed a period of territorial advantage, with scrum half Alex Spring directing his side’s attacks very well. But just after the half hour mark another quickly taken penalty from Wallis-Robinson gave Boucher a 70-metre run to the line for the bonus point try. Shackleford again converted with ease.
Ashford returned from the sin bin soon after this and instantly impressed with a fine tackle on his opposite number. But Abbey were conceding a lot of penalties at this stage of the half, and after a series of attacks skipper Toby Jones crossed for Beaconsfield’s first try. Spring was unable to convert, and Abbey continued to fall foul of the referee in the closing stages of the half, with hooker Mark Toland being carded for obstruction. In the last play of the half, Woodrow nearly put Charlton in the clear, but Abbey were penalised again. Spring’s missed penalty was the final act of the half.
Arron Ross replaced Norville at the start of the second half. Beaconsfield soon got points on the board again when flanker Sam Stephens crossed in the right corner. Spring missed the conversion, but the visitors began to enjoy territorial advantage as Abbey’s discipline disintegrated. George Goodenough and Zac Mayo came on for Rennie and Shaw, but Mayo was soon carded, as was Courtnage, and Abbey were briefly down to twelve men before Toland’s timely return from the bin. Adam Postlethwaite replaced Charlton and was quickly involved in the action, halting a Beaconsfield attack with a great tackle. Knights made a promising break, and this time Beaconsfield saw yellow when centre Dan Cady departed for a deliberate knock on.
Shaw came back to the action, replacing Becalick, and a good run from Ashford nearly brought a try. Courtnage returned from the bin, and a great seven-man Abbey scrum made sure possession was secured. Abbey really needed a further try to prevent the threat of a Beaconsfield comeback, and it came from a powerful 10-metre charge to the line from Courtnage. Shackleford’s conversion took the score to 33-10 after 63 minutes. Mayo was back on the field by now, and with Abbey up to full strength again, Wallis-Robinson, Dawkins and Boucher sent Ashford away on a brilliant diagonal 50-
metre sprint to score under the posts. Again Shackleford converted, and with just under 15 minutes remaining the win was secure.
Knights became Abbey’s fifth yellow-carded player of the afternoon following a high tackle, and Callum House came off the bench, filling in on the flank with Woodrow going off. Mayo prevented a third Beaconsfield try by diving on a loose ball over the line, but soon after this a good move led to Stephens crossing for his second try, with Spring this time landing an excellent conversion. There was time for Beaconsfield to go in search of a bonus point try, but the final stages belonged to Abbey, with two more spectacular tries coming in quick succession. First Shaw and Ross worked Boucher clear to run in unopposed for his hat trick, and finally, after Knights had returned to the field, Boucher’s break released Dawkins, who sprinted clear and then shrugged off an attempted tackle in the left corner to score. Shackleford converted the first of the tries, and although Abbey lost Wallis-Robinson to injury just before the end, Rennie returning in his place, they were still on the attack when the final whistle sounded.
There was much to admire in this display from an enthusiastic Abbey squad. Building on their amazing pre-season victory over Reading, the players produced some magnificent 15-man rugby, and it is abundantly clear that they are enjoying life under new head coach Travis Sutherland. The back three of Boucher, Dawkins and Ashford certainly took some stopping in full flight, while Wallis-Robinson impressed with his quick sniping runs. Courtnage was the pick of an impressively mobile pack. Beaconsfield, whose squad included father and son Kwong and Cai Lin, deserve great credit for making a real contest of the game despite going 26-0 down in the first half. The main concern for Abbey will be the penalty count and the yellow cards, but there is every prospect of further entertaining rugby when Slough visit Rosehill on September 16th.
Abbey: M Boucher, F Dawkins, C Shackleford, R Norville (A Ross 40), A Ashford, S Rennie (G Goodenough 45), S Wallis-Robinson (S Rennie), O Charlton (A Postlethwaite 51), M Toland, M Woodrow (C House 72), J Knights, J Becalick, C Shaw (Z Mayo 45), M Beckly (captain), M Courtnage
Beaconsfield 2nds: O Smaje (E Murphy 23), Sosa, D Cady, M Bunce, A Naghten, D Wilson, A Spring, C Gallligan (K Lin 54), W
Jewell, X Leadbetter, E Shenoy (M Murphy 11 – 30, P Oosthuizen 40) , D Sellers (C Lin 78), C Lin (M Murphy 44), S Stephens, T Jones (captain)
Abbey: Tries: Boucher (3), Dawkins (2), Shackleford, Courtnage, Ashford
Con: Shackleford (6)
Beaconsfield 2nds:
Tries: Stephens (2), Jones
Con: Spring
Yellow cards: Abbey: Ashford, Toland, Courtnage, Mayo, Knights
Beaconsfield: Cady
Referee: K Perkins (Berkshire) 
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