Grove 3rd XV
16 vs. Chinnor 4th XV 20
Saturday 5th January 2008
Friendly
Chinnor continued their 2008
league campaign away to Grove this week. A relaxed start right from the team
meet as Christmas was still in the air. Captain for the day was Shane
“Little Cook” Ellis in his last game for Chinnor for some time, before
exploring the southern hemisphere.
Chinnor showed their intentions
from the kick off. A neat take by Mike “Harry Potter” Bambrook, who then
formed a ruck straight away. Johnny “Previn” Williams span the ball out to
Rob “Andrew” Atkin at 10, who cleared downfield. The Grove fullback fumbled
and quick as a flash, Pete “Give ‘em” Elson picked up, transfixed the
defence and touched down in the corner. 0-5. An ideal start for Chinnor.
It what seemed only minutes
later following a restart, the ball was span out again by Johnny “Previn” on
to Rob “Andrew”, then to the in season “Good Will” Dickinson who gifted a
pass to Pete “Give ‘em” Elson, who again left the defence for dead. 0-10.
With these two early scores Chinnor relaxed a little too much which Grove
took advantage of. Working their way into the Chinnor half, Grove broke from
the back of a ruck, and using their big forwards drove on to touch down near
the Chinnor posts, 7-10.
The game started to warm up as
both sides tested the other’s defences. With possession Chinnor looked
dangerous, and another sortie up field showed this. A large maul formed near
the Grove line. The Chinnor massive edged ever nearer as Johnny “Previn”
Orchestrated play. As the ball was released by the ever present Mike
“Thunderclap” Neuman, “Previn” picked off the top and touched down for
another 5 points, 7-15. Play ebbed and flowed until Grove were awarded a
penalty near the Chinnor 22 following indiscretion on the ground. They
converted well to take the score to 10-15 at half time.
Starting the second half
injected with a special insertion team, Chinnor were now filed with Vim and
Gusto. On were “Shoes” Halson and Steve “Mrs” Bridges for Dave “Fireball”
Hanlon and Mike “Sippy’ Hughes (off with a sprained toe). Grove upped their
work rate and forced Chinnor into conceding two penalties. Both were
converted to give Grove the lead for the first time in the game. 16-15.
The last 20 minutes saw Chinnor
tighten their game. On for “Thunderclap” Neuman was injured skipper, Gordon
“Voldemort” Fennel who was soon thundering down the line. But determined to
close this chapter on his playing career with Chinnor on a high note, Shane
“Little” Cook Ellis raised his side from fullback, pulling them altogether
for one final big push. A position right up his alley “Little Cook” showed
his mettle with scything runs gaining valuable yards each time.
With this new determination
Chinnor were not going to lie down in the wet conditions. Andy “Moaning
Mertyle” Healey took a pass at speed to dive for the line only to be held up
by Grove’s tenacious 9. The resulting scrum saw Adam “Fang” Woodliffe pick
from 8, set-up a ruck, the ball was span out to “Good Will” Dickinson who
lofted a pass out to Pete “Shakespeare” McDermott, who with his reliable
netball style scooped the ball and out sprinted the defence to touch down.
20-16. Minutes later Johnny “Previn” cleared to touch for the final whistle
that was sweet music to his hears.
Chinnor IV’s have been honoured
to have Shane play with them during this season, and wish him all the best
for his new adventures. Many fantastic nights at the Mole And Chicken have
been enjoyed by Chinnor over the years, and will not be equalled easily.
Scorers:
Tries: Pete "Give 'em" Elson (2), Johnny "Previn" Williams,
Pete "Shakespeare" McDermott
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