Cleeve U17's 6 vs. Chinnor U17's 43
Sunday 20th February 2005
Chinnor went down to tread the lush
turf at Bristol Grammar School for the purpose of taking on the mighty
Cleeve, in the last sixty-four of the National Under 17 Knockout Trophy.
They took a nineteen man squad,
which was bolstered by the presence of four excellent under 16 players,
who had volunteered to assist to fill gaps created by a string of
unfortunate absences.
As the referee signalled
commencement of proceedings, Chinnor faced up to a chilling wind. They
did not freeze though. In fact, it was not too long before centre Tim
Hughes warmed the hearts of the Chinnor faithful, with a devastating
break on half-way, that took him virtually to the Cleeve line. If Hughes
had warmed them though, then the sight of lock, Dean Spinks on his
shoulder, must have caused them to ignite. Spinks then did what Ben Kay
failed to do in the World Cup Final. He took the pass from Hughes and
scored. Fly-half Ben Hewitt, had his conversion attempt out muscled by
the rampant wind
Against all expectation, it was
Chinnor, who grabbed the next points. They came courtesy of some fine
forward play, which culminated in Will Batting taking the ball into
contact before popping it to Ben Sanders, who again made it available
for Batting to bash his way over from ten metres. The wind again showed
no mercy to Ben Hewitt and so it remained 0-10.
Cleeve then reduced the arrears with
two successful penalties, which pegged back Chinnor to 6-10. Will
Batting was then adjudged to have been held up over the try line, before
lock Ben Lee, had his say. Lee came on to the back of a ruck five metres
from the Cleeve line, picked up and dived over by the posts like a hawk
nailing its prey. Ollie Heath slotted the challenging conversion to make
it 6-17. Hence, when the referee blew his whistle to bring down the
curtain to the first half, Chinnor could be forgiven if were feeling
optimistic.
Soon after the curtain had raised to
signal the beginning of an intense second half, Tim Wyndham-Smith got
away with a searing burst of speed up his wing. As he approached the
try-line, he calculatingly, drew his opposite number and delivered the
ball to centre Neil Mauger, who was acting as his support runner on the
inside. Mauger taking an excellent line went over to make it 6-22 and
the screw was beginning to turn,
Next it was the turn of the forwards
to show what they could do. After some imposing phases of play, flanker
Ben Sanders, broke through the Cleeve defensive line, some fifteen
metres out and bore down on the try line to create a shockwave that
reverberated around the ground and stunned the opposition. After he had
gone over, Ben Hewitt eagerly bagged his first points of the day and put
Chinnor into an unassailable 6-29 lead.
Hewitt must have felt a surge in his
confidence because his next significant act was to break from his own
half and deliver the knockout blow, with a devastating solo effort ,
which saw him dance through the opposition for a superb try. With the
wind at his back and in his sails, his bisection the uprights was a mere
formality. It was 6-36 and there was more to come.
Chinnor did not lose focus, or rest
on their laurels. Instead they went for the jugular. The telling thrust,
that capped this awesome display, came from Ollie Heath. When Chinnor
were awarded a penalty close on half-way, he was alert to the situation
and tapped. His speed of thought and of feet, took him directly under
the Cleeve posts for Ben Hewitt to take the extras and close out the
game 6-43.
On the upside there was much to
admire about this totally inclusive electric Chinnor team performance.
Application to training is clearly having a very positive effect. The
Under 16 players, Timothy Wyndham-Smith, Sam Blewitt, Marcus Stevens and
Charles Afkham-Penny, all made significant contributions, for which
their depleted Under 17 counterparts and their management were extremely
grateful. Thanks also to their parents and the Under 16 coaches, who
kindly facilitated their participation.
On the downside, all lock Dean
Spinks got for a storming try-scoring performance was a suspected broken
collarbone. Clearly, this is a worry with the squad already depleted and
next round against Cheltenham only two weeks away.
Squad: Afkham-Penny, Barrett, Batting, Blewitt, Gellier,
Hare, Heath, Hewitt, Hughes, Lee, Maloney, Mauger, Peddie, Powell,
Rumble, Sanders, Spinks, Stevens and Wyndham-Smith
