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Chinnor 1st XV 18 vs. Clevedon 1st XV 13
Saturday 19th February 2005
South West Division One

This game went right down to the wire. With Chinnor extending their half- time lead to 13pts going into the last quarter, they appeared to be home and dry. However a spirited revival saw Clevedon claw back the deficit being denied at least a draw when their influential captain and full-back, Mike Lowis, had the ball wrenched from his grasp with the line at his mercy. Chinnor were left hanging on by their fingernails at the final whistle.

The half-term holidays deprived Chinnor of two influential players in James Cathcart and James Hewitt. Charlie Oyebade came in at full-back with Cameron Shaw going to fly-half and James Dollery slotting in at centre.

An excellent tackle by Jack Martin straight from the kick-off set up Chinnor's first try. The resultant scrummage saw Chinnor pick up and drive the ball over the line with Craig Burrows being awarded the score after just two minutes. Good defensive work by the home side kept Clevedon at bay before they went back on the offensive to create a line out some 10 metres from the Clevedon line. With Alan Cawston finding Matt Hutchins in the line-out, a well controlled driving maul saw Mike Cook going over the line to increase the Chinnor lead in the 24^th minute. This completed the scoring to the interval.

A well worked try from a ruck near the Chinnor line by the lively No.5 McMillan was just reward for a good start by Clevedon. A penalty by Richard Grimsdell, taking over the kicking duties for the day, calmed the Chinnor nerves. With Zane Winslade forcing his way over by shear strength from a 5 yard scrum, Chinnor thought they were in the comfort zone. A penalty and a try by Lowis reduced the deficit before the last ditch Chinnor tackle saved the day.

This was a vital two points for both sides, as with the season entering the final stages no game from here-on will be easy. For Chinnor Zane Winslade foraged tirelessly, and with Mike Cook as always putting in the telling tackles and Jack Martin getting around the park, they formed a solid back-row.