Chinnor 2nd XV 11 vs. Canterbury 2nd XV 10
Saturday 24th March 2007
Canterbury Shield

Talk about a close shave! Chinnor Seconds took another top class scalp Canterbury Seconds by beating them 11pts to 10 in the Canterbury Shield League. This brings it to 3 out of 3 for the last three league games. This was quite a feat since Chinnor 2nds had lost 5 players to the first team, and another 4 to injury, sickness, travel and work commitments creating 9 changes from the normal 15 starting.

Due to the 3rd team having a bye, we were able to play some of the team and 3 young players from the Chinnor academy who held their own very well, and it bodes well for Chinnor’s future.

The two teams played with passion and in the spirit rugby should be played, hard and physical.

Chinnor came out fired up and ready for the game having lost to Canterbury in the away game.  With the advantage of a strong wind at their backs in the first half, Chinnor should have done better, missing many chances but lacked patience.  Having said that, great defence by Canterbury who were camped in their own half for most of the first half did not concede a point until the 35^th minute when the young academy player Thad Cooper was successful with a penalty and the first half finished 3 - nil.

With Canterbury having the wind in the second half, they seemed to make better use of it than Chinnor did and went ahead after only 7 minutes with a converted try followed 4 minutes later with a penalty and were in the lead 10 points to 3. It took until the 30^th minute before Chinnor closed the gap with a try by Adam Winchester. In the last five minutes Chinnor were fortunate to have Thad Cooper give Chinnor the win 11 points to 10 by converting a penalty.

A big thank-you to young Mark Westaby, Thad Cooper and Ollie Heath and all the others that helped us out.

Man of the Match was Adam Winchester for his full commitment to the second team, week in and week out and not for his clearance kick towards the end of the game.

Scorers:
Tries: Adam Winchester
Penalties: Thad Cooper (2)

Witney 1st XV 18 vs. Chinnor 2nd XV 0
Sunday 11th March 2007
Oxfordshire Cup Semi Final

Chinnor Seconds lost to Witney First team in the Oxfordshire Cup Semi final on Sunday. Unfortunately three of the team’s influential players were omitted due to cup rules. The team just didn’t manage to gel as they normally do. It seemed to be a bitter pill to swallow having come off such a great result against Ealing last week. It seems they were still on a high and not as focused on this game as they could have been.

And Witney deserved their win on the day

It was a very disappointing game of rugby that was more like tag wrestling at times, and not the type of rugby that Chinnor have been involved in this season, with so much going on off the ball in rucks and mauls.

 The ref allowed players to be taken out around the rucks which appeared to questionable to say the least, and not one yellow card.

The first try for Witney came by the way of a forward pass and when the linesman informed the ref he chose to ignore it and awarded the try, The second try was from a lineout and when the linesman indicated to the ref that the ball was not in straight the try was still awarded.  Chinnor was penalised at every scrum and this with a pack that have not had this problem in the last 22 games.

The game turned into bit of a farce, with the ref unwilling to be approached by the Chinnor captain on questioning the reason for the penalties being awarded.

Nothing changed when Ian Stock came off with concussion and thankfully nothing worse, and Tom Whelan was substituted, they still had the same problem. When Chinnor should have been awarded a penalty try for not retreating 10 meters nothing was done. Chinnor did make their own mistakes for not taking points from four penalties from in front of the posts.

Chinnor takes their hats off to Witney for the win. Thanks for the game and best wishes for the rest of the season, and the best of luck in the Cup final in two weeks. A big thank you to all the supporters who travelled to Witney, just a pity it was so disappointing. Please note that it is not in my nature to comment on the reffing in a game, but I felt duty bound this time. 

Chinnor 2nd XV 24 vs. Ealing 2nd XV 17
Saturday 3rd March 2007
Canterbury Shield

Chinnor Seconds took another top class scalp when Ealing Seconds underestimated a team from the sticks (their words), beating them 24pts to 17 and destroying their chances of winning the Canterbury Shield League on a day made for rugby. This was another great win after beating Havant one of the top teams 2 weeks ago 26 points to Nil.

Two very passionate teams played the game; in the spirit rugby should be played, hard and physical with no quarter given.

Chinnor came out fired up for the game and were in Ealing’s face from the start.  They were very unlucky not go ahead in the first minutes as a result of some great defence by Ealing.  Finally 15 minutes into the game they got their reward with a well worked try by Jaike Carter, after some fantastic play by the forwards & backs duly converted by Adam White.  It took till the 25^th minute for Chinnor to add to the points tally with a successful penalty by White.

Chinnor were unlucky to concede a try in injury time and the first half finished 10 points to 5 in their favour.

Chinnor kept the pressure up from the start of the second half and went further ahead in the 10^th minute after some great work again by the forwards, with scrum half Danny Burns going over the line and converted by White resulting in Chinnor increasing their lead 17 pts to 5.

The next twenty minutes saw Ealing put Chinnor under a lot of pressure and although Chinnor had a number of opportunities, Ealing were the ones to add to the score board, first with a try and then with a converted try in quick succession.  Thus resulting after 30min with the score being level at 17pts a piece.  After this set back the Chinnor boys dug deep making the last 10 minutes nail-biting rugby.  At no point in this period did the Chinnor boys on the field look worried and with 4 minutes left on the clock were rewarded with a well earned second try, once again by Carter and converted by White.  Chinnor finished the game winning 24 points to 17.  All 19 players had a fantastic game played with great heart and spirit, which made it impossible to choose a man of the match.

The consensus of the Chinnor crowd is that this was one of the best games seen at the club, with the other accolade coming from Ealing stating that the Chinnor 2nd team on the field was 95% players from their first team, however flattering was totally untrue, maybe they would like to see our team sheets for the season but thanks anyway.

A big thank you to the match day sponsors Bank of Scotland, we really appreciate their support and what all sponsorship does for Chinnor RFC

Scorers:
Tries:  Jaike Carter, Danny Burns
Conversions:  Adam White
Penalties:  Adam White

Chinnor 2nd XV 31 vs. North Walsham 2nd XV 7
Saturday 27th January 2007
Canterbury Shield

Chinnor seconds have made it two out of two in 2007, with a win in their league match against North Walsham beating them by 31 points to 7 on the Saturday.

It was a game played by two good teams of equal strength and it took until the 30^th minute before Chinnor 2^nds took the lead with a good try by Johnathan Phipps, which was well converted by Adam White. With Chinnor forwards dominating the game North Walsham took the easy ‘in vogue’ option which is becoming the norm by going for uncontested scrums to neutralise Chinnor’s strength. Chinnor rose to the occasion and went further into the lead after John Pritchard broke through about 5 tackles to score again, and converted by Adam White. The first half ended with Chinnor in the lead by 14 points to nil.

Chinnor lost Ian Stock at the start of the second half to a yellow card; this was a somewhat harsh decision by the ref with him having only pulled a player out of a maul.  During this period of play North Walsham scored a converted try due to an interception. As soon as the team were back to full strength Phipps then scored his second try and then shortly followed 5 minutes later by Danny Burns scoring. Chinnor were in the lead by 24 points to 7.

In the closing minutes of the game it was the turn of Leon Westerman to cross the line once again and Adam White was again successful with the kick and Chinnor finished the game winning by 31 points to 7.

All seventeen players had very good games, but man of the match goes to Johnathan Phipps for his work rate throughout the full game.   

Scorers:
Tries: Johnathan Phipps x 2, John Pritchard, Leon Westerman, Danny Burns.
Conversions: 3 for Adam White

Rosslyn Park 2nd XV 22 vs. Chinnor 2nd XV 28
Saturday 9th December
Friendly

Another first for Chinnor Seconds when three sets of brother’s played in the same game, Richard and Nick Grimsdell, Ben and Guy Hackshaw and Adam and Phillip Seymour.

Chinnor seconds lost their friendly match against Rosslyn park seconds by 22 points to 28 on a very muddy field in Richmond Park. It was a very physical match with both teams giving no quarter and the tackles coming in fast and physical, sadly the ref had different interpretations to the rules that affected both sides.

Chinnor went behind in the 10^th minute against the run of play to a try, but managed to pull back with a try of their own 5 minutes later by Richard Grimsdell also converted by Richard.  10 minutes later Johan De Bruin scored and Chinnor was in the lead 12 points to 5.

This was short lived; Rosslyn Park equalised and then pulled ahead with another try. Chinnor then experienced a few problems with the ref, and when one of the players reminded him that there were two teams playing in this game, a yellow card was given and the player sin binned for 10 minutes for his trouble.  A penalty was awarded, which they gratefully accepted and finished the half 20 points to 12.

Rosslyn Park surged further ahead in the second half with another try with Chinnor still down to 14 players.

Chinnor then stepped up their play and ignored the ref who was difficult at times but took control and were on top for the rest of the game.  Nick Grimsdell scored another try that kept Chinnor in the game. Sadly another silly penalty against Chinnor brought the score to Chinnor 17 - 28 behind.  Danny Wiseman then scored a great try making it closer for us to reach and gave the boys everything to play for at 22-28.   

Chinnor did have many opportunities in the last 10 minutes and in the last move dropped the ball going over the line under the posts which one could look at as a lost try.

Man of the match was stand in captain Andrew Coady.

Scorers:
Tries: Johan De Bruin, Nick and Richard Grimsdell, Danny Wiseman
Conversions: 1 for Richard Grimsdell

Chinnor 2nd XV 57 vs. Southend 2nd XV 0
Saturday 2nd December
Canterbury Shield

Southend 2nds were humiliated by Chinnor 2nds with an emphatic win in their Canterbury Shield match at home on Saturday winning 57 points to 0.

Placed second in the league, it appeared that Southend felt they only had to turn up to get the points. However, unlucky for them the Chinnor boys were in top form and gave Southend a master class in rugby.  Despite them being a very good side, Chinnor did not let them settle from the very first kick. Chinnor attacked and had the first points on the board within five minutes with a try by Paul Hennessey converted by Chris Sutton, five minutes later it was the turn of Ben Hackshaw and Chinnor were in the lead 12 points to Nil.

 For the next 20 minutes the Chinnor forwards controlled the game with big drives that kept Southend on the back foot, and they did defend well against this rampant Chinnor pack that wasn’t prepared to give them an inch. The last ten minutes Chinnor scored four more tries, by Sutton, Nick Grimsdell, Guy Hackshaw and Jaike Carter of which 3 were converted by Sutton and Chinnor finished the first half 38 points to 0 in the lead.

The second half was much of the same although one got the impression that the ref was looking at Southend with some sympathy. Ian Stock continued to show his form by scoring a try, which was again converted by Sutton.  Chinnor then brought on five fresh players from the bench for the last 30 minutes and this did not affect the flow at all with the replacements just carrying on were the others left off.

 Leon Westerman scored a try after some great play between forwards and backs and Chinnor were in the lead by 50 points to 0. Followed again by another try by Westerman, which was again converted by Sutton.

It was impossible to pick out any one player for man of the match in this game; all 20 players had outstanding games.

Scorers:
Tries: Ian Stock, Ben Hackshaw, Paul Hennessey, Nick Grimsdell, Jaike Carter, Guy Hackshaw, Chris Sutton, Leon Westerman
Conversions: Chris Sutton (6)

Canterbury 2nd XV 15 vs. Chinnor 2nd XV 10
Saturday 25th November
Canterbury Shield

Sadly Chinnor Seconds lost their Shield league game against Canterbury this past weekend.  Once again one has to look at the grey area of uncontested scrums in this league. Chinnor suffered this last week and coincidently outclassed Canterbury up front and at some stage during the second half the request came in for the uncontested scrum with front row replacements on the bench.

This was expected to be a tough game with both teams placed about mid table in the league. Both sides had the awful disadvantage with the field being very wet and muddy and the ball slippery, so handling was a problem.

The attack and defence from both teams were top class as were the tackles.

It took until the 15 minute before Chinnor notched up the first points with a great forward drive which sent Adam Seymour over for the first try. The first half finished with Chinnor in the lead 5 points to nil.

Canterbury closed the gap with a penalty after 5 minutes shortly followed by a try from a missed tackle.  2 minutes later an interception pass put Chinnor behind bringing the score to 15 to 5 down. At this stage in Chinnor’s defence they were playing directly into a very low sun, which made the visibility very poor. Gareth Duder then closed the gap by scoring a try bringing the score to 10 - 15.

Chinnor were all over Canterbury for the rest of the game, but were kept out due to the uncontested scrums and some inconsistent passing as well as some very good defence on their behalf. Chinnor crossed the goal line on three different occasions in the last 5 minutes and got the ball down onto the ground, only for the ref to rule that the ball was held up on each occasion.

To crown it all, the team also landed a good few injuries i.e. Gareth Duder a broken thumb, Joe Iosefo ligament damage to his leg and Captain Rob Fenwick a broken nose.  Not bad for a game of rugby!

Scorers:
Tries: Adam Seymour, Gareth Duder

Reading 2nd XV 3 vs. Chinnor 2nd XV 23
Saturday 18th November
Canterbury Shield

Chinnor seconds had another good win against Reading 2^nd beating them 23 to 3 in their return league match. It was a first for the Hackshaw brothers Ben and Guy who played their first rugby game together, watched proudly by Mom and Dad. Well done and a big thank you from your team-mates, coach and manager.

It was a difficult game due to the scrums being uncontested at Reading’s request. This was an example of using the rules to favour one’s needs in order to counter act Chinnor’s forward power. It was stated that they didn’t have a front row. Sadly this was far from the truth and not in the spirit of the game of rugby and very disappointing. It was a physical game with a lot of big hits being put in by both sides and it took until the 15^th minute before Chinnor got the first points with a try by Tom Whelan.  Reading then got their first points by way of a penalty 5 minutes later. In this passage of play Darren Oxley was watching the game from the sideline because of a yellow card, having told the ref where he felt and everybody else knew he had made a mistake.

Chinnor scored again giving Whelan his second try and Chinnor finished the first half 10 points to 3 in the lead.

The second half was more of the same with both teams attacking and defending well and the uncontested scrums saving Reading time and again and Chinnor trying to rush things as a result giving scrums away.  Reading were able to clear their line, and it stayed that way for 35 minutes of the second half until Chinnor added a penalty by Oxley to stretch the lead. The last 5 minutes a try by Jake Carter increased Chinnor’s lead, followed by another try by Oxley and Chinnor finished the game 23 points to 3.

The team played far better than the score indicates. All of the boys played well as did all the replacements. But man of the Match goes to the new captain Rob Fenwick.

Scorers:
Tries: Tom Whelan (2), Jake Carter, Darren Oxley.
Penalty: Darren Oxley

Chinnor 2nd XV 58 vs. Bracknell 2nd XV 0
Saturday 11th November
Friendly

Chinnor seconds had a good win against Bracknell 2^nd winning 58 to 0. The team played far better than they did last week against League leaders Ealing 2^nd.

This week the focus and will was there and some of the missing leaders who were unavailable last week were there to make a presence.

Chinnor showed their intention from the start of the game by taking control of the scrums as well as the lose play which kept Bracknell on the back foot. Although the score does not reflect it, Bracknell was a very good team and did not stop coming at Chinnor.

The first try came in the 8^th minute with Rob Arthur breaking through the line and passing the ball to Pip Seymour to score, 3 minutes later it was the turn of Jake Carter to break the line and score that was duly converted by Gareth Duder.

It did not matter what Bracknell tried the Chinnor boys closed them down and in defence they were awesome. After some good forward drives the ball went out to Nick Grimsdell who finished off the move and scored and again converted by Duder.  Chinnor lead 19 points to Nil after 20 minutes

The next 15 minutes Bracknell threw in everything but were unable to breakthrough the Chinnor defence.  Chinnor then counter attacked with some great moves between backs and forwards, and Joe Iosefo barged over the line to score. Once again converted by Duder, this was followed 3 minutes later with a try by Phil Scott-Priestly and Chinnor finished the first have 31points to Nil in the lead.

Chinnor had a explosive second half start with Duder scoring within 2 minutes and Pip Seymour 3 minutes later with a fantastic individual try from his own 22 for his second and Chinnor increased their lead to 41 points to Nil.

The next 20 minutes the game was all attack and counter attack but the Chinnor boys were in no mood to let Bracknell get points on the board.

Then Iosefo went over for his second of the game followed 3 minutes later by Darren Oxley converted by Duder.  A break from his own try line by Richard Grimsdell ended in a try, then followed by second row Fenners who was on hand to take the pass who also scored.  This was a good game played by a very motivated Chinnor team.  Man of the Match for the third time this season and stand in captain Joe Iosefo.

Scorers:
Tries: Joe Iosefo x 2, Pip Seymour x 2, Rob Fenwick, Jake Carter, Phil Scott-Priestley, Gareth Duder, Nick Grimsdell, Darren Oxley.
Conversions: 4 by Gareth Duder     

Chinnor 2nd XV 27 vs. Cambridge University 2nd XV 17
Saturday 28th October
Friendly

Chinnor seconds added another great scalp to their list of wins when they beat Cambridge University seconds in a friendly game at Kingsey Road by 24 points to 17. A friendly is a contradiction of terms when it refers to a rugby game with no quarter given, even if one of the opposition is a Chinnor Club player doing his degree at Cambridge, as was the case of Alex Thompson.

It was always going to be a tough and fast game which is just what transpired from the first kick. However, Chinnor had a bit more of an advantage up front, which is one of the team’s strengths.

An interception by Cambridge gave them the first points on the board after 15 minutes, but the teams were evenly matched and it was not untill the 30^th minute before Chinnor broke the Cambridge defence with Darren Oxley breaking inside to score and it was converted by Richard Grimsdell which gave Chinnor the lead, 7 points to 5.

Ten minutes later Oxley made the same break to split the Cambridge defence and scored under the post again converted by Grimsdell. This was followed 2 minutes later by a great run by Jamie Hiscock who added another five points. All this was due to some good teamwork being carried out by both forwards and backs. The first half finished with Chinnor 19 points to 5 in the lead.

The second half was a carbon copy of the first with both sides attacking and defending as if their lives depended on it.  Cambridge drew first blood with another interception try from their own 22metre line with a converted try which cut the deficit to 19 points to 12. This was followed with another try and the points were 19 to 17 in Chinnor’s favour. It was a very tight game that could go any way at that stage, although Chinnor seemed to be in control at all times the Uni defence held up well. With 5 minutes to go and after some great play between forwards and backs Grimsdell scored in the corner and took the game away from Cambridge University.

Chinnor seconds finished the game 24 points to 17.

All 19 players played well and man of the match was awarded to Joe Iosefo for his consistent outstanding play not only this week but every time he dons the Chinnor shirt. It can’t be long before we lose him to the first team.

Thanks to Cambridge for travelling so far, hopefully we will be able to reciprocate at some stage for a return game.

Scorers:
Tries: Darren Oxley (2), Richard Grimsdell, Jamie Hiscock
Conversions: Richard Grimsdell (2)

Chinnor 2nd XV 29 vs. Reading 2nd XV 10
Saturday 21st October
Friendly

Chinnor seconds are back to their winning ways with a great win against a very strong Reading seconds, beating the visitors 29 points to 10.

This makes it 3 wins and 3 loses in this very competitive Canterbury Shield Division 2 League playing against major clubs with large pools of players, and the boys are holding their own.

Chinnor went behind within 3 minutes of the start to a penalty but pulled it back in the 10^th minute after some good work by both forwards and backs, ending up with Joe Iosefo going over in the corner, and then well converted by Gareth Duder from the touch line against the wind. This lead only lasted briefly before Chinnor dropped behind again 5 minutes later to a converted push over try and Reading was confidently ahead 10 points to 7.

 Chinnor then started to take control despite some strange decisions that saved Reading from going further behind, when Nick Grimsdell scored to take Chinnor into the lead 12 points to 10. This was followed by a well worked try by Ed Orchard and again converted by Duder and the first half finished with Chinnor 19 points to 10 in the lead.

The Chinnor boys kept control of the game but were denied adding to their points tally by being blown out of the game with 19 penalties to 4.

This added to their own mistakes and some dubious choices, besides not keeping control of the ball and at least 5 forward passes with the line at their mercy. This was duly rectified with Orchard going over for his second try. Ed Devine, who has been out of the game for 3 months after receiving a knee injury at practice, came on as a replacement for the last 20 minutes and did very well to score the next try.

An elated Chinnor team finished the game ahead 29 points to 10.

All 19 players had good games and although Ian Stock was taken off for the last 20 minutes he was adjudged man of the match.

Scorers:
Tries: Nick Grimsdell, Joe Iosefo, Ed Orchard (2)
Conversions:  Gareth Duder (2)

Havant 2nd XV 48 vs. Chinnor 2nd XV 5
Saturday 14th October
Canterbury Shield

What a difference a week made for the Chinnor seconds. Three players moved up to the first team and no one was dropped to replace them. The team then had four players not available through work commitments and holidays, and finally two injuries. This translated into a very deprived team needing five new players, which provided opportunities for four new players in the team for the first time. All these challenges created three positional changes and as a result we knew it was going to be a huge request. To crown it all Havant have a very large squad and had seven first team players available to them either through form or a return from injury in the team.

Considering all and with these odds it was not surprising that Chinnor lost 48 points to 5.

 The point’s difference was no reflection of the game. Chinnor played very well in the first half and were very unlucky to be down by 12 points to nil after missing two kickable penalties.

 The second half Havant brought on six replacements while Chinnor only had two available and began to feel the pace with a few missed tackles in the first ten minutes of the second half and they dropped further behind with another 2 converted tries.

This still did not stop Chinnor giving they’re all, and after some good work Nick Grimsdell scored a well earned try.

Ollie Heath, who came up from the third team to replace the injured Danny Burns had a very hard game against a very big and experienced Havant scrum half who didn’t hold back against the smallest man on the field, and on most occasions from an off side position. This didn’t stop Ollie giving his all and some of the tackles he took it was hard to believe that he would ever get up again. Hats off to you Ollie!

Chinnor suffered a blow with Rob Fenwick getting injured and Matt Webster getting 10-minutes in the sin bin for some pay back stamping.  Matt Webster returned to the field for a matter of minutes before suffering an injury to his knee that will probably keep him out of rugby for the next month or so.  This period of play proved very costly for Chinnor. Having said that, we have to compliment the boys on their tenacity and determination, and the fact that they didn’t let their heads drop even though they were very disappointed with the score. We can be very proud of our players in the seconds.   

Scorers:
Tries: Nick Grimsdell

Chinnor 2nd XV 50 vs. Westcombe Park 2nd XV 13
Saturday 7th October
Canterbury Shield

What a great game played by two good sides, but this time the Chinnor 2^nds reached new heights with everything just going right for them on the day. The forwards were awesome and they gelled superbly with the back-line who were also in top form. 

Chinnor came out of the blocks from the start unlike last week where it took them 20 minutes to settle in.

Joe Iosefo put points on for Chinnor within 5 minutes after good control by the forwards, but then Westcombe Park came back within minutes to even the score.  Five minutes later it was then the turn of the backs and Ed Orchard scored which was then converted by Gareth Duder, only for Westcombe Park to come back again in the 25^th minute and the score was 12-10 to Chinnor.

Chinnor then stepped up a gear with Andy Millburn turning the ball over on the halfway line by putting Chinnor into an attacking position and allowing for Phil Scot-Priestley to score, again converted by Duder.  Another good break this time by Ian Stock gave Nick Grimsdell the opportunity on the wing to score, and again Duder converted.  The first half ended 26points to 10 in Chinnor’s favour.

The second half went all Chinnor’s way and Westcombe Park found whatever they tried was just to no avail. Chinnor continued to score at regular intervals with tries by Martyn O’Mahony; Leon Westerman; and two by stand in captain Andy Millburn, and Duder converted for two of the tries.

Westcombe Park added to their tally with a well-taken drop goal when every thing else seemed to have failed for them.

 The game finished with Chinnor winning 50 points to 13

All 19 players featured, had great games but there were outstanding performances by O’Mahony; Beets; Iosefo; Weeks-Pearson but man of the match goes to Stocky for his all round game and change in position.

Scorers:
Tries: Andy Millburn (2),  Joe Iosefo, Phil Scott-Priesley, Martyn O,Mahony, Ed Orchard, Nick Grimsdell, Leon Westerman.
Conversions: Gareth Duder (5)

North Walsham 2nd XV 11 vs. Chinnor 2nd XV 21
Saturday 30th September
Canterbury Shield

Pictures are from Patch Dolan

Another great game played by two good sides and in the spirit that all rugby games should be played. Fair, but with no quarter given, the hits came in hard and it was played at a fast pace but this time the Chinnor boys came out on top. 

Chinnor were forced to defend well for the first twenty minutes and went down to a penalty and a try in this period.  With only fifteen players available for Chinnor, and no replacements, North Walsham made rolling changes with twenty players. Matt Woodward injured his arm with a possible fracture after 10 minutes, but stayed on playing in absolute pain knowing it would jeopardise the game if he left the field, as did Andy Millburn who had an injury with a finger in the eye. This gave him a lot of trouble for the whole game but he too persevered.  They both have to be commended for their conviction and team spirit.

The next twenty minutes Chinnor settled down but tried too hard and lacked patience, as a result they wasted some good scoring opportunities.

 North Walsham succeeded with another penalty in the 10^th  minute of injury time and the first half finished 11- nil to North Walsham.

After a good chat at half time by Captain Tom Whelan and a few players the boys came back on fire. And the pack dominated the opposition, the backs clicked and Chinnor had their first points within 3 minutes of the start with a good try by young wing Rob Arther in the corner. The forwards kept up the pressure and were rewarded with two penalties in the 16^th and 30^th minutes, Gareth Duder turned these into points with some good kicking and the score was equal at 11 all.  Rob Fenwick (Fenners) was very vocal on the field, which helped to gee up the team and appeared to encourage everyone. Chinnor took the lead with another great kick by Duder from somewhere near the halfway line.

Finally in the 8^th minute of injury time Adam White ran in a superb try which was well converted by Duder and Chinnor seconds got their first win in the Canterbury Shield League.

Man of the match .

Scorers:
Tries: Rob Arther, Adam White.
Conversions: Gareth Duder
Penalties: Gareth Duder (3)
Man of the Match Gareth Duder, but fourteen other inspirational players did their club proud

Chinnor 2nd XV 21 vs. Barking 2nd XV 31
Saturday 23rd September
Canterbury Shield

This game was played by two good sides and in the spirit that all rugby games should be played. Fair, but with no quarter given, the hits came in hard and it was played at a fast pace. Barking’s 2^nd team were a lot stronger than our Chinnor boys have been used to with their 1^st Team playing in National 2.

Chinnor were forced to defend well for the first 10 minutes, they then settled down and took the game to Barking but were very unlucky to concede a try against the run of play in the 25^th minute. That didn’t stop Chinnor from putting pressure on them, and after some great forward play the ball went along the backs for Aaron Russell to score and then converted by Adam White. With good rugby being played by both sides the first half finished 7 points each.

The second half started as the first half finished with Chinnor taking the game to Barking and with some well worked forward play Captain Tom Whelan drove over the line to score, again converted by White 14pts to 7. The lead was short lived as a missed tackle in the centre allowed Barking a soft try and the scores were level. A few minutes later Chinnor made an error of judgement in their own 22. And the ball was turned over with no defence and another try conceded.

With fifteen minutes to go Matt Webster was penalised for holding and killing the ball in open play when he was not allowed to get back on his feet, he was not only penalised with a penalty in front of the posts but was also sinned binned for ten minutes and Chinnor were down to 14 men. Barking capitalised on the man short by scoring another try giving them a lead 31 points to 14. Chinnor never stopped attacking and Captain Marvel got his second try converted by White to close the gap to 21 points to 31.

Joe Winpenny had his first game since having an operation and made a big impact in the second team, so the props in the first team beware.

All fifteen players had good games with Pete Naylor and Rob Arthur coming up from the thirds to help out, a big thank you.

Chinnor seconds are really stepping up to this new league with no easy games and all players trying to get in their respective 1^st teams, which are national 3 and above

Scorers:
Tries: Tom Whelan (2), Aaron Russell
Conversions: Adam White (3)
Man of the Match Rob Fenwick

Bracknell 2nd XV 19 vs. Chinnor 2nd XV 25
Saturday 16th September 2006
Friendly

Chinnor 2^nds have made it 3 out of 4 with a friendly at Bracknell.

Chinnor started encouragingly with not much luck going their way and some very questionable decisions as well as a lot of infringements that were not blown.

 It wasn’t until the 22^nd minute that Bracknell took advantage of a missed tackle by Chinnor and this gave them a converted try against the run of play, they followed 3 minutes later with another in the corner and Chinnor found themselves 12 points to Nil down. Chinnor pulled six points back with 2 successful penalties by Chris Sutton who had a good game a fly half. Unfortunately Chinnor allowed the decisions against them to affect their game and lost a lot of ground as a result.  They ended 6 points to 12 down after the first half. Chinnor always seemed in control only to be let down by the last pass or not being up quick enough support from each other. Another missed infringement allowed Bracknell to score from an off side position.  Captain Tom Whelan then seemed to pull the team together and they started to concentrate on cutting out the mistakes with Tom leading by example and going over for a well worked try by the pack, which was converted by Sutton.

 It was the turn of the backs with Adam White getting on the score sheet with a good try, once again converted by Sutton. Chinnor found themselves 20 points to 19 ahead.  Bracknell was awarded 3 penalties for descent in front of the posts, however justice prevailed when all three attempts were missed.

 Once again after some great team rugby the forwards finished off the move and made sure that the ref had no recourse but to award the try when they pushed Bracknell over the try line allowing Tom Whelan to score his second try and give Chinnor the game 25points to 19.  This was a much-improved effort by Chinnor after last week’s performance.

Man of the match Andy Millburn

Scorers:
Tries: Tom Whelan (2), Adam White
Conversions: Chris Sutton (2)
Penalties: Chris Sutton (2)

Chinnor 2nd XV 10 vs. Hertford 2nd XV 52
Saturday 9th September 2006
Canterbury Shield Division 2

Chinnor 2^nd played their opening league game in the in the Canterbury Shield this Saturday and rapidly realised that it’s going to be a very tough league, probably about three leagues higher than they played last year.

Hertford 2^nds proved to be a very well drilled experienced team and straight from the kick off showed great support for their strong back line. With the benefit of a couple of bounces Hertford found themselves in the lead and Chinnor worked hard to stay in touch

with a penalty by Adam White and try by Martyn O,Mahony in the corner converted by White, the half finished 19 points to ten to Hertford.

Hertford looked the hungrier and more disciplined side, ten minutes into the second half scored their next try. The visitors were stringing together some well-worked moves and had Chinnor encamped in their own 22 metres for most of the second half.  They were awarded a penalty try when Nick Grimsdell was deemed to have killed the ball and was sin binned for ten minutes. This was a little harsh because he was in his own goal area and had actually held up the ball to stop the try, so Chinnor was were very unlucky. Hertford scored two further tries while Chinnor were down to fourteen men for ten minutes. Hertford scored again in the 10^th minute of injury time, and they certainly deserved to be the winners in a 52 points to 10 total.

At the end of the game the boys looked very tired and out of sorts and will have to focus more with their effort and attitude in the future if they hope to emulate last year’s outstanding performance.

The man of the match goes to Charlie McBeth who put in a usual dogged performance and harried everything that moved.

Scorers:
Tries: Martyn, O; Mohony
Penalties: White

Aylesbury 1st XV 0 vs. Chinnor 2nd XV 37
Saturday 2nd September 2006
Friendly

Chinnor seconds have started the new season as they finished last season making it two in a row, following their 54 to 5 win over Oxford 1^st last weekend. They followed it up this weekend by beating Aylesbury 1^st 37 to 0

Chinnor 2^nds line-up had 10 new players and only 7 from last years league winners’ team.

The game predictably was physical and hard.

Chinnor took control from the start but played into a very strong wind in the first half, they scored after 5 minutes with some good forward work and slick passing from the backs for left wing Matt Woodward to score in the corner. This was followed 20 minutes later by the same type of play but this time it was the turn of Adam White to score. The team were finding it difficult to gel with so many new players and suffered as a result from trying to make things happen and not playing as a unit, this cost them about 3 tries.

 The team were weakened considerably when both locks were sent off for stamping whilst trying to clear an Aylesbury player from the wrong side of ruck. Chinnor had to play the last ten minutes of the first half with 13 men. Aylesbury were unable to take advantage with outstanding defensive play by Chinnor and they finished the first half 10 points to Nil

The second half was much improved with the boys playing as a team. Tom Whelan scored a try after 5 minutes, which was converted by Danny Yeow, Ed Orchard then scored 15 minutes later, followed shortly after by Johan DeBruin after some great forward work.

Jamie Hiscock then ran in two great individual tries, but these could have been 5 or 6 because of the strength of the wind making good passing into forward passes.

Chinnor seconds finished the game 37 points to nil

All 17 players played well with very good performances by Johan DeBruin, Tom Whelan, Adam Beets and Jake Carter.

Man of the match: Johan DeBruin
Scorers:
Tries: Matt Woodward, Adam White, Tom Whelan, Ed Orchard, Johan De Bruin, Jamie Hiscock (2)
Conversions: Danny Yeow

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