Chinnor U13's 17 vs. Henley U13's 5
Sunday 18th March
Oxfordshire Cup Final

Chinnor U15's 51 vs. Grove U15's 7
Sunday 18th March
Chinnor Champions Champagne Show

Chinnor confirmed their stranglehold on the league by maintaining their 100% record and grasping the title with a game to spare.  The first team pitch was a fitting venue for the victors to celebrate their title by putting 50 points past their nearest rivals Grove.  Champagne rugby?  Not quite – the strong wind put paid to that hope, but maybe decent Cava rugby?  It doesn’t have quite the same ring, but the lads wouldn’t care – winning was the priority.

Adam Crisp certainly fizzed and bubbled and carved decently through the Grove defence to claim four tries and help set up a convincing lead in the first period.  After the disappointment of last week, this was Chinnor back in form.  In a strong wind, they played to their strengths, maintained their shape and took their chances.  Captain Andy Berry was back to his superb best, leading from the front and scoring the opening try. 

Five tries in the first half looked good, but four more in the second playing into the wind was even better.  Berry scored two of them and also set up one for scrum-half Tom Green.  The other came courtesy of a bursting run from Bas Corp. Grove perhaps deserved more than the final try in this game – they fought hard throughout and played some good rugby, but they just couldn’t live with Chinnor in this form - champions’ form.  Final score 51 – 7.

Your roving reporter’s man of the match?  Fly-half Fraser Kay coped extremely well in difficult conditions, Ollie Jackson showed his pedigree when he came on in the second half and of course Adam ‘ad ‘em in the first half.  But there was really only one contender – champagne captain Berry.  Superb.

Bicester U15's 10 vs. Chinnor U15's 7
Sunday 11th March
Depleted and defeated

Bicester entertained Chinnor in a late-arranged match with both teams missing a large contingent on county duty.  In retrospect, Chinnor’s forwards stood up well to a Bicester pack missing only one player, but neither team was able to demonstrate their normal fluidity or cohesion.  Vital passes went to ground, tackles were missed and tidy rucks were a rarity. 

In a strong crosswind, Chinnor had the best of the first half, but found a splendid variety of ways to mess up scoring opportunities.  Promising moves failed to count as scoring passes went astray, the ball was held up over the line or as Bicester, to their credit, defended with great tenacity whenever a Chinnor score appeared likely.   Chinnor by contrast handed Bicester their first try as the home side scampered through flailing arms to take a 5 – 0 lead at half-time.

More flailing and failing left Bicester a simple run in on the blind-side to extend their lead to ten points shortly after the break.  From then on, Chinnor found a little more cohesion, with the forwards delivering some quality ball, despite their set scrums retreating at a pace and the line-outs being something of a lottery.  Their efforts were finally rewarded when Chris (Poacher) Perry drove over for a try to bring the final score to 10-7.

Perhaps this was a game to forget.  Despite ‘buckets-full’ of effort, neither side played to its potential and it seemed to be the more they tried, the worse it became.  Hopefully, the normal Chinnor teamwork will re-emerge next time out – in the meantime, a session on rucking and ball retention could be time well invested.

Your roving reporter’s man of the match?  Contenders included Calumn Bates and Sam Jones, but for his dogged, belligerent approach to the contact area, this week’s award goes to Bradley Powell.  Finesse can come later.

Chinnor U14's 55 vs. Bicester U14's 15
Sunday 11th March

With only a week to go, before the two best “under 14” teams in Oxfordshire battle it out in the Oxon Cup Final, Chinnor travelled to Bicester for a final warm up game against a reported big, strong team.

With the weather being the best it has been for many weeks and the first team pitch at the Bicester ground holding well under foot, the game commenced.

With a forward pack that had been feed on something special and making the normally big Chinnor forwards look small and light, in comparison. A hard fought battle within the forwards was expected. To the surprise of the Chinnor forwards, their bark was worse than the bite, as the Bicester forwards failed to use their obvious size and weight advantage to any use.

After the initial settling down period, normal within the Chinnor game, the game started to be played the way Chinnor wanted it to be played. With the forwards making good ground up the middle of the pitch and drawing in the Bicester defence every time, whilst the Chinnor back line kept their space out wide, it was only a matter of time before tries were being made.

With Jason Abbot, Jack Reed and James Lindsay (2) crossing the white wash and Jason Abbott converting 1 out of the 3 tries, the score started to rise.

Bicester came back in the first half, with continuous pressure near the Chinnor try line on a few occasions but with discipline and control Chinnor held them off well. With 5 minutes left of the first half and Bicester within 5 metres of the Chinnor line, they started to use their forwards weight and size to their advantage and after 2 or 3 failed attempts at a crash ball, which started dragging in the now tiring Chinnor defence, they eventually received the try they deserved. This was then dutifully converted.

The second half continued with a lesson in offence from Chinnor, with tries going over from James Lindsay (2), George Hope, and Jason Abbot, and with Will Ashworth scoring on his debut for the club, since signing from Witney. Conversions came from Jason Abbot and Will Carroll (3)

Towards the end of the game Bicester again woke their forwards up and using their weight and strength charged through and scored just off centre sticks. This was again dully converted.

Chinnor U14 team; David Wood (Captain), Matt Brockfield, Jack Reed, Alex Wingfield, Greg Smith, Matt Smith, Jim Greenwood, Will Carroll (Man of the Match), James Lindsay, George Hope, Jayson Abbott, James Percival, Freddie Hamlin, Claude Salter-Pietersen, Will Ashworth (Mention), Sam Abbott, Josh Coles (Mention)

Chinnor U15's 27 vs. Oxford Harlequins U15's 15
Sunday 4th March

Oxford Harlequins visited Chinnor for this top of the table clash, which lived up to expectations as the league’s two leading clubs battled for supremacy.  It has to be said Chinnor actually exceeded expectations after just a few minutes as they opened the scoring with what was perhaps their best team try of the season so far:

Harlequins turned the Chinnor defence with an excellent probing kick.  Tom Floyd fell on the loose ball in text book style, recovered his feet and set up the first ruck allowing George White to break the gain line again to pull in more defenders.  Superb handling through the backs then released winger Adam Crisp to outpace the defence.  Fantastic!  It was the sort of score that makes wet Wednesday evening sessions worthwhile.

More good handling of the wet ball gave Sam Jones the second try, but Harlequins, who played some intelligent rugby throughout, struck back with a try from a quick lineout.

Tom Green stretched the lead with quick thinking and previously unseen footballing skills as Quins fumbled the ball from a scrum and Fraser Kay kicked a penalty to give Chinnor a comfortable lead of 22-5 at half-time.

However, in the second half, Chinnor lost their focus and fell back into old ways.  Quins on the other hand showed their mettle and forced their way back into contention with some rampaging runs from Tom Webb and two unconverted tries to bring the score to 22 – 15.  The Chinnor faithful were in danger of losing their faith.  Thankfully, prayers were answered by Saint Sam Jones who scored a scintillating individual try coming into the line from fullback.  Final score: Chinnor 27; Quins 15.

Overall, this was an excellent match, with contributions from all quarters.  Chinnor showed they have enormous potential when they work as team, and Quins demonstrated the effectiveness of quick penalties, a penetrating kicking game and an ability to chase a game that appeared lost.

Your roving reporter’s man of the match?  Contenders included George White and Tom Floyd, but this week’s award is shared by the Webbs – Tom Webb of Harlequins and Josh Webb of Chinnor.

Oxford U14's 7 vs. Chinnor U14's 31
Sunday 25th February

With the fine weather that arrives after every storm and a good turn out by the Thame based Chinnor U14 squad. We arrived at Oxford expecting a hard fought battle against their Development Squad. We were not to be disappointed.

With the pitch almost swamp like in places and the top level a dark cold sludge, a fast running game with hard pushed scrums and mauls was just a far away dream. The game started well with good pressure from both sides. From the very start it looked like a hard battle was going to be had throughout the whole game. But as the game progressed, with the ball turning into a wet, mud covered slippery mound, being passed around (sometimes), Chinnor started to show that they had come to win, whatever the weather.

Defensive coverage that flowed across the field and communion that reached all on the pitch. An offence that Brian Ashton should look at (And the Welsh coaching staff too, come to think of it). With good angles of running and support, some quick thinking and moving (For the conditions) and try’s started to go over.

Will Carroll, Jason Abbott (With the initial play being started by George Hope) and James Percival (Through a well timed and thought out interception) crossed the white wash, (somewhere to be found under the mud and water) to touch down with the follow up conversion from Tom McCorkell in the first half.

The second half started well, with Oxford crossing over and converting their own try, within the first 10 minutes. The Oxford attack then hit a solidly built brick wall of “Black and Whites”, who cut down their attack in their stride with a counter-attack of their own, headed by Jack Reed, who went across twice in succession, with conversions again by Tom McCorkell.

With the players looking wet, muddy yet happy the game was called to a halt and Chinnor kept their record of wins, whole.

Chinnor team;
Jason Abbott, Josh Batty, Matt Brockfield, Will Carroll, Josh Coles, Sam Firminger, Joe Fograscher, Jim Greenwood, Freddie Hamlin, Will Heather, George Hope, Dexter Kent, Max Lamb, James Lindsay, Tom McCorkell, Ahmad Nafi, James Percival, Jack Reed (CAPTAIN and MAN OF THE MATCH), Robert Rees, Claude Salter-Pietersen, Greg Smith (MENTION), Ben Wilkinson, Alex Wingfield and David Wood  

Chinnor U14's 19 vs. Banbury U14's 17
Sunday 18th February

Chinnor sneaked into the County Cup Final courtesy of a second half revival against a stubborn Banbury side, who can count themselves unlucky not to have won the game. Captain Ben Carrington elected to kick-off into the wind in the first half and turnover ball at the start allowed the Chinnor pack to drive deep into Banbury territory. Aggressive ball carrying off the back of the scrum by Matt Jones and incisive running at inside centre pushed Banbury to their line.  But poor decision making helped Banbury to repel wave after wave of predictable short range attacks.

Then Chinnor gave away a series of penalties which invited a Banbury side growing in confidence to come forward. A five meter scrum at the Chinnor line saw the Banbury No 13 cross the line with ease to make the opening score. However Banbury failed to convert the try and this miss was to prove costly in the end.

Chinnor pushed forward at the restart with strong running down the middle from full-back Freddie Hamlin but again Chinnor failed to press-home the advantage. Poor tackling and more ill-discipline allowed Banbury to break out and push to the Chinnor line. Ball won against the head at a Chinnor 5 yard scrum was spun wide and Banbury scored their second to the delight of their travelling support. A superb conversion from close to touch line left Chinnor 12-0 down at half time.

With the wind at their backs in the second half, the Chinnor team finally made some headway and played a more intelligent game. Strong running from Jack Reed, Dan Bartlett and Matt Jones in the back row and quick service to the three-quarters put Banbury on the back foot. This time, instead of taking the ball into contact, the forwards delivered clean possession, the Chinnor half backs put the ball wide and Hamlin ghosted in for a welcome opening score. Jason Abbott then converted and at 7-12, the revival had begun. More aggressive rucking maintained the momentum and Chinnor surged forward looking for another score. George Hope duly delivered, finishing a well worked move to take the score to 12 points all.

The game then went into a scrappy phase as both sides could sense that victory was close. Hamlin cleaned-up a Banbury kick, beat two players and gained 20 quick yards. The Chinnor pack rucked aggressively, produced quick ball for fly-half Carrington which Bartlett took at pace and scored from outside the 22. Abbott converted his second of the day and 19-12 looked to be enough.

But there was more drama to come. Poor tackling allowed the Banbury fullback to slide his way through an inadequate Chinnor defence to score with seconds of the game remaining. The conversion was missed and a fortunate Chinnor side had booked their place in the Cup Final next month.

Chinnor U14's 51 vs. Abingdon U14's 5
Sunday 28th January

Chinnor U14 squad played host to visitors Abingdon this morning with their first game for 4 weeks, thanks to the weather.

Throughout the game Chinnor ploughed through the Abingdon defence with a show of “supporting play”, that any Premier League team would have been proud of.

With the forwards making ground and drawing in the Abingdon players and with the backs ready to sprint through any space made available, there was only one outcome from the start for this encounter.

With Abingdon coming up short on numbers, it was down to Chinnor to knuckle down and help out. A few of our players went across to assist the visitors and within 5 minutes of the start, one of Chinnor’s own players, Tom McCorkell, on loan to Abingdon for this match, went over the line to score, this turned out to be Abingdon’s only score of the whole game.

This startling start to the game woke the home side up and the game started afresh. With the forwards clearing out the rucks, space was made for Alex Wingfield (Captain) to cross the whitewash first for the home side. With the wind playing with any balls kicked high into the sky, it was down to kicker, Jason Abbott to convert. With a sure foot the ball went through the sticks.

James Lindsay followed through shortly afterwards, with Chinnor’s 2nd try of the game. With Gregg Smith making a great run, through the centre of the pitch and whilst being taken out, rather high for some spectators, Will Carroll picked up the loose ball to score Chinnor’s 3^rd.

Chinnor ended the first half, with a well ran in 4^th try from Full Back, Freddie Hamlin.

With the full 5 permissible substitutions made at half time the second half started, where the first half finished with fresh substitute, Jack Reed touching down near the corner flag.

One of the tries of the season soon followed, with Will Heather running 40m up the pitch, through a now bewildered Abingdon defence to score try no 6. Jason Abbott converting.

With the Chinnor players now lining up to be the next to get across the whitewash, George Hope filled the space and crossed for the 7^th of the game right under the posts.

With a good forward run by Robert Rees, it looked like he would cross for Chinnor’s 8^th but with Abingdon now concentrating solely on their defence and slowing Robert down just inches from the line, he unselfishly off-loaded to Ben Wilkinson, who powered over for his 1st try of the season.

Abingdon restarted with a deep kick, which landed in the awaiting arms of winger James Lindsay. From just outside his own 22m line James started his run up the pitch. What happened next must turn this into one of the best tries seen by any spectator, both here at Chinnor or at any Premiership Team. James, with his own running style and with players either side as support, ran through the Abingdon defence, handing off, spinning and finally placing the ball down, very carefully, underneath the awaiting posts. James’s efforts were then rewarded by Jason Abbott, who converted.

Chinnor U14 squad: Jason Abbott, Sam Abbott, Josh Batty, Matt Brockfield, Mitch Cann (Man of the Match), Will Carroll, Sam Firminger, Jim Greenwood, Freddie Hamlin, Will Heather, George Hope, Dexter Kent, James Lindsay, Chris Marsh, Tom McCorkell, Jack Reed, Robert Rees (Mention), Claude Salter-Pietersen, Ed Sharkey, Greg Smith, Matt Smith, Ben Wilkinson (Mention), Alex Wingfield (Captain), David Wood.

Bicester U15's 15 vs. Chinnor U15's 20
Sunday 14th January
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

This match had everything good about the game…. soccer that is.

Consistent hoofing of the ball by Bicester, incessant barracking of the referee by the home support, and the sad lack of generosity in defeat.

Still, this was the first time Chinnor had defeated their local rivals, thanks to a gutsy and gritty performance by the squad. This was edge of the seat stuff, pretty it wasn’t, with both defences nullifying any real attacking threats.

Ill-discipline from Bicester had allowed Jackson to put Chinnor six points clear with two superbly taken efforts, before a lapse in the blind side defence allowed the home team to bounce back at 7-6. Shortly before half-time captain Berry epitomised the Chinnor spirit by touching down the loose ball following a thunderous tackle. 7-13 at half time.

Bicester forward pressure forced a try early in the 2nd half, much to the delight of their now delirious following. Chinnor’s new found belief and determination took them back into Bicester territory where Berry took route one to score under the posts. Jackson again converting.

As the tension grew so did the antics, with Bicester losing more ground thanks to some Beckham style applauding of the referee. Chinnor were easing to victory, playing out the game in their opponents half, until a speculative punt up field allowed the home team to come to within one point.

But the excitement had taken everybody’s eyes of the clock, apart from the man who mattered, who blew for full time, heralding an ecstatic but dignified Chinnor team search for hands to shake.

Special mention to Bradley Powell for throwing himself into the fray at prop, and the subsequent stitches, but this week’s man of the match must go to the ever improving Seb Johnson and his black eye.

Chinnor U15's 38 vs. Witney U15's 0
Sunday 7th January 2007
Mud and Guts

Chinnor U15’s hosted a muddy encounter with local rivals Witney in a match for which each side was missing half a dozen county players.  The challenging conditions provided the opportunity to test a restructured Chinnor team to the full.  They came through with flying colours with particularly impressive performances from debutants Joe Rackstraw and Tom Lloyd.

The first half was hard-fought, but Chinnor took their chances and were flattered by a 19-0 scoreline thanks to tries from Ollie Jackson, Sam Jones and Seb Johnson.  It could it have been very different, but for a gutsy try-saving tackle by Joe Smith after just five minutes. 

Further tries from Johnson and Jones together with one from Josh Webb were the reward for selfless teamwork in the second half, with players working for each other to an extent not previously seen this season.   More effort, firstly to secure the loose ball, and secondly to work on running lines in the backs could have brought even greater rewards.

Captain Sam Jones had a great match and Fraser Kay was in sparkling form, but this week’s man of the match was prop Greg Wickert for grafting tirelessly and even appearing on the wing in the dying minutes as the first in support of one Chinnor breakaway. 

Aylesbury U14 XV 5 vs. Chinnor U14 XV 65
Aylesbury U14 Development XV 7 vs. Chinnor U14 Development XV 12
Sunday 17^th December
Junior “village side” do it again

This morning, Chinnor U14 A’s and Development team taught both Aylesbury U14 squads a lesson on how to play the game of rugby.

With six players out injured, Chinnor crossed the border from Oxon into Buck’s and got ready to display “their” style of rugby union.

CHINNOR U14's

The game started well with Mitch Cann running through a disorganized defence and crossing the whitewash within the first couple of minutes.

Jack Benson then started his plethora of tries by adding to the main score line, by crossing the line and running to score under the posts.

With loose defence on Aylesbury’s part and with some basic support and running lines from Chinnor, Jack Benson ran in for his second try of the morning, again under the posts.

With the game slowly becoming a training session for the “Village side”, the forward pack drove up the middle, drawing in the Aylesbury defence like a fly into a spider’s web. With gaps appearing on the outside wide enough to drive a tank up the ball was passed out to James Lindsay on the wing to run unchallenged, through the bewildered Aylesbury lines, to score, under the sticks. Tom McCorkell then converted the try.

Aylesbury then tried to start their comeback by winning their own scrum, but then lost possession in their own ruck, which was then collected off the floor by Jack Benson who ran 75meters up the pitch, past the Aylesbury players and again placed the ball under the now, well used sticks. Tom McCorkell then stepped up to the mark, by kicking over again.

With the first half over, a relaxed Chinnor side received their team talks from their coaches, ready to commence battle.

Man of the Match and developing hooker David Woods, started the second half off well, by running across the line and placing the ball down 10meters in from the corner flag. Jason Abbott then neatly slotted this through the posts.

As if scoring 3 tries in the first half were not enough, Jack Benson then added to his growing score line by placing the ball near the corner flag. The Aylesbury defence working well to stop him going too close to their posts. The kick from Jason Abbott was well struck from such an awkward position but unfortunately it did not have the legs to go all the way.

Dan Bartlett, with the support of the forward pack, then powered through for the first of his two tries. With Tom McCorkell walking the familiar route to the kicking tee and converting over the posts, for the extra 2 points.

Jason Abbott followed shortly afterwards with his own try, to add to his points tally with Tom McCorkell placing the ball, yet again, over the posts.

The now familiar sight of Jack Benson again appeared through the non-effective Aylesbury defensive line and scored his fifth and final try of the morning.

With two minutes remaining and Mitch Cann off the pitch with an ankle injury, leaving Chinnor with only 14 players, Aylesbury decided to start and through an Aylesbury penalty, a solitary Aylesbury player made a run up the wing, past a disbelieving Chinnor defence to score, near Chinnor’s corner flag.

With Aylesbury celebrating their single try and with a single minute remaining, Chinnor hit back with a forward move, that placed Dan Bartlett over the line, so endeth the lesson.

Team Chinnor U14 A’s: Jayson Abbott, Daniel Bartlett, Josh Batty (Men of the Match), Jack Benson, Mitch Cann, Ben Carrington, Freddie Hamlin, George Hope, James Lindsay, Tom McCorkell, Jack Reed, Matt Jones (Captain), Ben Wilkinson, Alex Wingfield, David Wood (Men of the Match)

CHINNOR U14 DEVELOPMENT XV

A most enjoyable match that was well balanced.

The match started with Aylesbury dominating possession and working the ball through the backs however Chinnor defence held up with good cover tackling. Chinnor then started to apply the pressure through larger and heavier forwards and achieved two tries in quick succession. The first was set up through good individual work from Sam Abbott who nearly scored but was held up on the line, Robert Rees, who supported well all day, was on hand to take the ball over the line under the posts. Dexter Kent converted to go 0-7 ahead. The second try followed a good passage of phased and support play before Josh Coles broke free down the right wing and scored in the corner 0-12. Chinnor dominated play for a further 10 minutes without scoring and then Aylesbury regrouped and came back with some good driving forward play and the game returned to a very level match. Half way through the game, Aylesbury scored a very well deserved try after the fly half kicked ahead and the three quarters ran forward in support and successfully scored under the posts. Aylesbury converted the try 7-12. The game remained well balanced and without further score to the final whistle. A good day out!

Team: Chinnor U14 Development: Matt Brockfield, Josh Coles, Jim Greenwood (Captain), Greg Smith, Joe Fograscher, Ahmed Nafi, Mathew Smith, Robert Rees (Man of the Match), Richard Hadder, Chris Marsh, Dexter Kent, Sam Abbott.

Chinnor U15's 86 vs. Wheatley U15's 0
Sunday 19th November

The third league match for the Chinnor U15’s saw the day dawn into a perfect day for rugby. The Chinnor players were fired up and ready to deliver a killer blow to bottom of the league Wheatley.

Chinnor strutted on to the pitch and took the game to Wheatley immediately, but shock of shocks, the Wheatley pack seemed to hold their own against the larger, stronger Chinnor front five, especially in the scrums. Then the Chinnor boys remembered low body position wins every time and soon Chinnor were winning quick ball from the breakdowns and it didn’t take long before the Chinnor backs started to weave their magic and scored the first try (3 minutes on the clock). Handling errors though stopped a number of try scoring opportunities and keeping the score down to 38-0.

The second half started much as the first, with the Chinnor backs running riot, but this was by no means vintage rugby as ‘white line fever’ kicked in and the old enemy of individual glory became the game plan rather than the fifteen man rugby that should have prevailed, (some things to work on in training). Having said that, at times there was some really pretty rugby played with the forwards winning the ball in several phases before the backs were let fly to score.

The highlight across the match was the support play, as there always seemed to be someone available for the offload and several tries were scored due to the fantastic fitness and energy shown by the players to ensure there was always an option and also the rush defence came into it’s own with several clearance kicks being charged down with one resulting in a try.

I know this match was played between top and bottom of the league, but it still takes a good side to score 86 unanswered points. A special mention should go to the Wheatley side, who never let their heads go down and kept trying throughout the match.

Man of the Match: Sebastian Corpe for his superb running lines and playing like a demon in the centres.

Special Mention to Fraser Kay who had an excellent game at scrum half.

Scorers:
Tries: Corpe (3), Crisp (4), Berry (2), Jones (1), Johnson (1), Webb (1), Bradbrook – Taylor (1), Kay (1).
Conversions: Jackson (7 from 13), Eastoe (1 from 1)

Chinnor U14's 22 vs. Drifters U14's 8
Sunday 29th October

Chinnor U14’s First Team, travelled across to Drifters (Near Slough) on Sunday, to play against a Buckinghamshire team that beat them 43-0 the last time they met.

Chinnor started well with good runs and hard, forward pressure and were rewarded within the first ten minutes, with a try from No 8, Jack Benson.

Drifters fought back with some of their own pressure, which paid dividends, when a penalty was awarded in front of the posts for “not releasing” the ball, after the tackle.

This fired up the Chinnor pack who started working their way through the pitch with gusto. After another good run from the forwards, Jack Benson again ran in, this time right under the sticks, to score the second try for Chinnor.

With the game going well for Chinnor, a slight mistake started a cascade of errors in defence, which let Drifters run in their only try of the game.

Again, this fired up the visitors who, showing some great rucking and forward plays, passed out to Jack Reed, who ran in Chinnor’s third try of the day, in the far corner.

Drifters tried to push into our half but were stopped on nearly every occasion with some great tackling, from a well-controlled defensive line. One Drifters forward, found out to his surprise, just how good the tackling was on the day, when he sprinted straight into the right shoulder of Jack Reed, who stopped the runner right in his tracks and then proceeded to drive him backwards, Micky Skinner style!

By now Drifters were starting to lose, not only their chances of winning this encounter but also their discipline on the pitch. Chinnor started to channel all their efforts into one final push for the line and were rewarded with some great handling and runs from the players in the “backs” with George Hope running in a superb try just off centre sticks. This was then converted by Tom McCorkell. Leaving the final score 22-8 in Chinnor’s favour.

Tries were run in by Jack Benson (2), Jack Reed, and George Hope.
Conversion by Tom McCorkell.

Man of the Match and winner of the Chinnor £5 was Mitch Cann.
A special mention and winner of the Chinnor £1, goes out to Joe Fograscher.

The Team were:
Sam Abbot, Jack Benson, Mitch Cann (man of the match), Will Carroll, Sam Firminger, Joe Fograscher, Jim Greenwood, Richard Hadder, Freddie Hamlin, Will Heather, George Hope, Matt Jones, Dexter Kent, Chris Marsh, Tom McCorkell, Ahmed Nafi, Jack Reed, Robert Rees, Claude Salter-Pietersen, Edward Sharkey, Greg Smith, Alex Wingfield, David Wood and the team were led by Ben Carrington (Captain)

Gosford All Blacks U14's 29 vs. Chinnor U14's 30
Sunday 15th October
CHINNOR FIGHT A HARD MATCH

With some players out through injury, a depleted “Development” Team, made their way to Gosford All Black’s ground, hoping to repeat their last sessions 85 – 0 thrashing, on an average junior side.

Chinnor’s chances of finishing the All Blacks off were dashed, when they took to the field against a new and vastly improved Gosford All Black side, this Sunday.

With the weather creating ideal rugby playing conditions, Chinnor started badly, with the All Blacks scoring, within the first few minutes. This was then returned, within ten minutes, with Chinnor scoring by the All Black’s own corner flag.

This laid the format the rest of the game, with tries being scored firstly, by a much improved, All Black team and then in turn, by Chinnor.

With the Chinnor forwards working harder than they have, for a few seasons and the backs trying out new playing positions, Chinnor carried the ball on numerous occasions but with slack ball handing from both groups of players, errors continued to be made. This, in turn, allowed the All Blacks to run at gaps and be allowed through with very slack tackling on Chinnor’s part.

Tries were run in by Jack Benson, William Carroll, and Edward Sharkey.
Man of the Match and winner of the Chinnor £5 was Matt Brockfield

The Team was:
Jack Benson, Matt Brockfield (man of the match), Mitch Cann, Will, Carroll, Sam Firminger, James Graham, Jim Greenwood, Will Heather, George Hope, Max Lamb, Chris Marsh, Jack Reed, Robert Rees, Claude Salter-Pietersen, Edward Sharkey, Greg Smith, Mathew Smith, David Wood and the team were led by Richard Hadder (Captain)

Chinnor U15's 26 vs. Bracknell U15's 19
Sunday 15th October
Fitness tells against Bracknell

Chinnor U15s had to work hard to beat a spirited Bracknell side last Sunday.  Chinnor twice took the lead firstly through Seb Johnson and then Josh Webb, only to be pegged back by Bracknell.  With the score tied at 14 each and Chinnor having had the first-half advantage of the wind and slope, it looked as if the second half could prove to be difficult for the Chinnor boys.  However, superior fitness told (yes, those extra training sessions are worthwhile) and Chinnor pulled away to a 12-point lead thanks to tries from Andy Berry and Adam Crisp.  Determined and spirited defence, with Bas Corpe particularly prominent, restricted Bracknell to one more late try from a quickly taken penalty.  Chinnor emerged victors 26 – 19.

Reading U15's 19 vs. Chinnor U15's 24
Sunday 8th October
Berry buries Reading

Four tries by Andy Berry helped Chinnor U15s to a hard-fought victory over Reading last Sunday.  With the lead repeatedly changing hands, Chinnor had to scrap for everything, eventually running out winners by 24 points to 19.  The forwards rumbled, tumbled and fought, with George White in inspired form.  The backs worked well together despite a number of enforced changes to the line-up, which meant several players starting out of position.   Ollie Jackson had a particularly impressive game at fly half and Adam Crisp used his pace to great effect both in attack and in defence.

Coach Jerry Smith was encouraged by the performance: ‘The guys showed great spirit and a terrific determination to fight back.  Despite going behind, heads didn’t go down – they simply upped the pace and forced their way back.  A year ago they wouldn’t have done so.  If we can tighten up the rucks and sort out one or two defensive weaknesses, we can be a match for anyone.’

Abingdon U14's 0 vs. Chinnor U14's 41
Sunday 1st October

Chinnor U14 “Development” team, started their season off with a commanding win, away to Abingdon, last Sunday.

With the rain and wind causing basic errors and with ball handling becoming difficult, on both sides, a tight “forwards” game was slowly being formed. Chinnor’s lineout held well with their scrum doing not so good against Abingdon’s heavier pack.

With Chinnor’s backs staying out wide and awaiting their chance, the forwards pulled in the heavier and hence, slower Abingdon pack and then quickly fed out to the awaiting backs. After a few phases of this the Abingdon forward game slowly wound down and it was then down to Chinnor to play “their” game. Abingdon, on a few occasions, found themselves too close to Chinnor’s try line (for our comfort) but with the errors picking up the longer the game went on (due to the weather) and also some great tackling by Chinnor, a clean sheet was achieved.

With the game taking shape, tries were scored by Dan Bartlett (3), George Hope, Freddie Hamlin, Jack Benson and David Wood with Josh Batty converting 2 tries and with Ben Carrington returning from illness, converting another the game was wound up for the day.

The Chinnor team were – Dan Bartlett, Josh Batty, Jack Benson, Matt Brockfield, Ben Carrington, Will Carroll, Sam Firminger, James Graham, Jim Greenwood, Freddie Hamlin, George Hope, Matt Jones (Captain), Max Lamb, Robert Rees, Edward Sharkey, Greg Smith, Mat Smith, Ben Wilkinson and David Wood.

Chinnor U15's 108 vs. Chipping Norton U15's 12
Sunday 1st October 2006
Driving Chinnor U15s putt Chipping Norton in the rough.

In their first league game, Chinnor U15’s took full advantage of the wind and slope to run in eleven tries in the first half against a depleted Chipping Norton side.   Total domination by a big powerful Chinnor pack created opportunities for the backline to run amok. 

All credit to Chipping Norton then for turning the tables and scoring the first two tries of the second half.  For a few minutes it looked as if they might make more inroads into the arrears, but Chinnor remembered the need to play as a team and quickly re-established their superiority.

The final score of 108 – 12 gives Chinnor an encouraging start to their league season, although few matches will prove to be this one-sided.

Chinnor are one up after the first.

Try scorers: Jackson, Berry (3), White, Jones (3), Crisp (2), Corpe (5), Kay, Bates, Webb,

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