Chinnor were competitive and up for the task in the first half at Kingsey Road on Saturday as the interval score of 15pts to 12 in their favour would suggest. They defended well, ran good angles and were good value for their lead. Indeed had they not spilled the ball on crucial occasions with the line beckoning their lead could have been more substantial. The second half was quite a different matter, with Chinnor unfortunately losing the plot in the first quarter of this period. This is becoming somewhat a habit. Possibly they should stay on the park at the interval rather than retiring to the changing room as they appear to take an age to get back to the task in hand by which time it is too late with the damage done.

Chinnor could not get their hands on the ball in the first 5 minutes by which time North Walsham, keeping the ball tight with a succession of driving mauls, inched towards the Chinnor line for hooker Gideon Rossouw to go over for the first try. James Hewitt then got Chinnor back in the game with a finely executed penalty, before North Walsham struck back with another try from their No.8 Falgono Seve again by courtesy of another forward drive. With Iain Younss successfully adding the conversion North Walsham were 12 pts to 3 in the lead after 21 minutes. Chinnor then got back into the act  when after some surging runs by winger Eric Brown they were rewarded when Anthony Pyers forced his way over in the corner. It was now all Chinnor. With a little more patience and steadiness they could have been back on the score sheet well before they eventually got over the line with a fine try from second row debutante Harry Jackman in the side for injured skipper Matt Hutchins. With James Hewitt converting from the touchline , Chinnor were 3 points up and good value for this lead at the half time whistle.

Unfortunately for the home side, they failed to carry this form into the second period .A try from prop Timothy Groom, following yet another rolling maul put North Walsham back in front. Younss failed with the conversion although the referee gave him two attempts to get it right. Robert Clymer then added to Chinnor's woes with a try out of the blue. A breakdown in Chinnor's passing was seized upon by an alert Clymer. Two speculative kicks and a fortuitous bounce later, saw him go under the posts for a seven pointer. This was the killer blow. A try in the 68 minute from another rolling maul by Samuel Herrington, again converted by Younss put the icing on the cake for North Walsham. Their big, well drilled forwards set the platform for this win. Chinnor were not deserving of such a score line. For many periods the game was much closer than this score suggests.

The game took its toll in terms of the Chinnor walking wounded. Eric Brown hamstring, Pat Benson head injury, Joe Winpenny back problems are all non- starters next week. With Martyn O' Mahoney off to Iraq in the week, we wish him well,  Ben Hewitt unavailable and skipper Matt Hutchins still nursing an ankle injury Chinnor's resources will be somewhat stretched for the trip to Westcombe Park. However with the Second's notching up an impressive win against  their North Walsham counterparts this will be an ideal opportunity to illustrate the depth of Chinnor's playing strength.