Basingstoke
3rd XV 12 vs. Chinnor 4th XV 0
Saturday 1st September 2007
Friendly
Chinnor IV’s started their
2007/8 campaign away to Basingstoke this week, under the stern gaze of
Captain Gordon “Voldemort” Fennel. For many today the games hard tackles
were enough to shake loose the rust of the summer break.
Basingstoke were short and
unable to field a front row, up steps Rob “Mole” Hill to immediately defect
to the other side, unconcerned that he had reassigned himself to virgin
status for tour in doing so.
The eagerly anticipated whistle
for the first game blew, and Chinnor were off. Wary of the Basingstoke backs
Chinnor kept the game close, probing the opposition forwards at every
opportunity. The first score came after 10 minutes from Basingstoke,
following a scrum on the Chinnor 10m line, Basingstoke ran the ball right,
their backs looping to create an overlap allowing their winger to touch down
in the corner, 5-0.
Unperturbed Chinnor came
straight back and put Basingstoke under pressure from the restart. Despite
this Chinnor soon found themselves 10m out from their own line defending a
series of scrums. Chinnor would win one, then Basingstoke, until 5 scrums
were held, and Chinnor were finally able to clear their lines. Conceding a
penalty Basingstoke found themselves defending a lineout near their 10m
line. Chinnor gathered through Mike “Harry Potter” Bambrook, and combining
with Rob “Roy” McCLachlan, John “Cinderella” Moinhahan, “Mad” Mike Neuman,
Terry “And June” Chappell, and Mike “Sippy” Hughes formed the Chinnor
mauling machine and drove forward. With the line ever nearer, and
“Voldemort” controlling the ball at the back, the line appeared, “Voldemort”
touched down only to be judged knocked on by the referee.
Basingstoke’s second try came
through an attack on the right, Max “imum” Williams tackled well, the ball
spilled and Alex “Que?” Cininas ran on for Chinnor. Combining with
“BishBashBosh” Bishop who chipped over the Basingstoke fullback, who then
rolled away and behind the Chinnor players, collected the ball and offloaded
to his wing forward to run in their try against the run of play, 12-0.
The second half saw a few
changes with Gavin “Gone in 40 minutes” on for Pete “Still can’t believe
he’s a vet” McDermott, Mark “Coxy” Cox on for “Cininas” and Tim “Gr Gr”
Granville on for Rob “Roy”. Chinnors advantage lay in their dominant pack,
again they camped 10m from the Basingstoke line, with scrum after scrum,
only to come away empty handed. Wary of their dominance, Basingstoke opted
for uncontested scrums, Chinnor adapted their game to take advantage of
their penetrating mauling .
Once out of the pack Basingstoke
were quick to close down Chinnor, so much so that Rob “Andrew” Atkin was
unable to sell any of his usual dummies and came away with a full basket.
Chinnor continued their varied game, winning the second half, their
determination shown by “Sippy” Hughes rising to the occasion, and in
fighting form took on all comers. “BishBashBosh” tackled well as ever, Andy
“Not related” Heley delivering well from 9 despite a recent cooking injury.
The final whistle blew, and Chinnor had to accept defeat. A friendly this
week that will prove invaluable in the coming weeks. Man of the match was
“Mad” Mike Neuman for his unceremonious mullering of his opposite number,
Rob “Mole” hill the defector, while Mare of the match was Rob “Andrew” Atkin
for not selling any dummies this week.
Chinnor IV’s would like to
welcome back all their readers and fans for the new season, and look forward
to seeing them soon.
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