The Roadside slope provided the stage for Chinnor’s last match in the Oxon, Berks and Bucks plate league program and their quest to well and truly cement their place as champions.

The weather was up for this game from the first whistle and so were Milton Keynes. Chinnor though, took a while to grasp the situation and what was required. Eventually, they took the lead, when Mk were penalised for failing to release in the tackle on their own fifteen metre line. Ben Hewitt provided the boot that was to make it 3-0. That remained the score until an over ambitious long pass by Chinnor on their own fifteen metre line was intercepted with the inevitable result. A try in tight in the corner for MK. Unfortunately for them, the attempted conversion kick was from the touchline and thus proved an insurmountable task for the kicker. It remained 3-5.

Shortly afterwards, MK conceded another penalty on their own fifteen metre line and Ben Hewitt successfully performed a post bisection, to nudge Chinnor back in front 6-5. Chinnor were now warming up and consequently, were operating a little more efficiently as a team.

It was centre Tim Hughes, who then seized the limelight, with a dazzling display of elusive running and strength to get over the try line, not far from the posts, after covering about thirty metres or so. Ollie Heath stepped up and calmly slotted the conversion.  

At that stage, Chinnor had the edge, with Ben Hewitt's right boot forcing MK to attack from deep. However, they did survive a scare, after another suicide pass was needless thrown to the hands of the opposition. It was still 13-5 though, when the referee blew his whistle to signal halftime.

Come the second half, with Chinnor beginning to turn the screw, Tim Hughes again came to the fore, by taking the ball and turning the MK defence inside out with a weaving incisive run, before touching down by the posts. It was Ben Hewitt, who coolly stroked over the conversion to make it 20-5. 

The scoreboard did not have too long to wait before it moved again. This time, the player responsible was winger Brendon Davis, who gratefully took a well timed pass from second row, Dean Spinks to embark upon a clear run over seven or eight metres into the corner. Good finish. Ben Hewitt was unable to rise to the occasion this time, but was not too far away with the attempted conversion. 25-5.

MK were down, but certainly not out. The clear evidence was their commitment to contact and the way they responded to being awarded a penalty five metres out from the Chinnor line, which appeared to be needlessly conceded. They applied their bulk and then set up a try by the corner flag to make it 25-10. No one expected the kicker to get the conversion from a testing location and no one was disappointed.

Were MK about to stage a dramatic recovery? If they were, no one had informed the Chinnor backs, particularly, Tom Duffy, who took on the big guys about five metres out and bounced up and over the try line to give Chinnor an unassailable 30-10 lead.

Credit must go to the referee, who kept the game moving in a safe manner and kept on top of the players.

After the match, Chinnor players received their winners shield and individual medals as due reward for their efforts over the season thus far. Next week, comes the biggest match of their season so far, when they take on Chipping Norton, over at Chippie to decide, who gets the right to progress through the south-west corridor to the National Final

Today though, although they stuttered at times, overall they performed well and earned their victory, both as a team and individually.