Shelford show good powers of recovery to beat CS Stags in Regional 1 South East

Director of rugby Will Cotterill has revealed the contents of the half-time team talk that helped Shelford to beat CS Stags 1863 24-23 on Saturday.

With the visitors leading 20-3 at the break, it appeared that the Peacocks’ impressive home record was under severe threat. However, they rallied in the second half to edge out the away side.

Cotterill told the club’s Twitter feed: “We looked nervous. The bounce wasn’t going our way, we were not getting our kick-offs right and the ref’s hand was against us which is often the case if you’re under the pump.

“But we went in at half-time and I said to the boys that there was no way that half was 20 points to three like it was. They got a runaway try and I think we should have had one or two so I just said to them to reset and come out firing in the second half.

“We haven’t lost here since January 2020 and that was the chat. I said to them that I actually wasn’t worried if we won or lost the game, the second half was all about putting on a good performance for the fans and that’s what we did. We won in the end and that’s often the case when you forget about the result and focus on the rugby.”

Shelford’s next Regional 1 South East clash is at Westcombe Park on Saturday (October 29).