Chinnor 4th
XV 72 vs. Grove 3rd XV 17
Saturday 3rd November 2007
Berks/Bucks & Oxon Division 2 South
Chinnor IV’s took to the pitch this week under an overcast
sky, with little wind. Ideal conditions for the best of games. Wary from
last weeks loaded fixture, Chinnor were slow to start but started to
dominate nevertheless.
As their confidence grew, Chinnor were awarded a scrum inside
Grove’s 22. Indiscretion saw Grove concede a penalty. A quick tap enabled
“Voldemort” to power through near the posts.
Pleased with the start, but ever vigilant, Chinnor started to
warm up. Recycling the ball well, John “Youknowhe” Cann broke the line on
Grove’s 10m. Caught short he off loaded to John “Previn” Williams, who broke
left and touched down in the corner.
Growing ever more in confidence, the Chinnor pack started to
give good possession to their backs. The ever instrumental Richard “Jabba
the” Hutt, Tony ”Arfur” Daley, John “Half a” Pound and “Yeknowhe” not only
held their ground, but started to nudge the Grove pack giving Mike “Sippy”
Hughes the chance to secure the ball.
Another such scrum saw the ball span out to Rob “Andrew”
Atkin, unable to throw a dummy he unleashed the backs with a “Khyber” ball
for Rupert “The Bear” Turnball. Who jinxed through the first line, was
tackled, off loaded to “Andrew” to go over the line. Picking up the pace,
Chinnor now capitalised with their slick backs. One such move saw Jamie “Umm
Betty” Spencer draw his man, spin left to Mark “Hedwig” Cox who stepped
inside one defender, performed a pirouette, then sprinted for the posts.
Grove had been simmering, but now started to boil. Playing
the short ball they rucked their way into the Chinnor 22. Meeting stout
defence they were unable to score on this occasion, but in keeping the
attackers out, Mike “Hoppalong” Neuman suffered what at first appeared to be
a serious injury. At the same time a pig was heard squealing in the adjacent
field. Fortunately after a few minutes Hoppalong recovered to the tune of
“It’s a miracle” and the squealing stopped. A nervous time for all.
The whistle for half time went, and “Voldemort” was able to
make use of his strong bench. Fresh from detention “Potter” was on for
“Daley”, Steve “Jeff” Bridges for “Hoppalong” , and Matt “Billy Eliott”
Locke on for “Sippy”. A decision that would change the run of play.
Chinnor took the pressure off momentarily and Grove took the
advantage to get on the scoreboard. Guilty of ball watching, firm words
followed and Chinnor refocused. A line out on the Grove 22 was collected by
“Jabba” who drove on. “Half a” Pound cleared up, “Potter” collected from the
perfectly formed wedge to go over for another 5 points. “BishBashBosh”,
finding his kicking boots added the conversion.
With the play staying on Chinnor’s right, another breakdown
found the ball span right to Pete “Shakepeare” McDermott at speed. Repelling
his first attacker he cut a neat line to his opposite man, handed off and at
the same time dived for the line, Lewsey style for 5 points.
Chinnor continued their well-orchestrated play, Grove scored
again, but could not make any inroads on the Chinnor score. Some very good
performances today, particularly from Mike “Boo” Bailey on the flank,
“Previn” defending well at 9, Rupert “The Bear” at 12 pivotal for the backs
and forwards. From the touchline there was a lot of quick ball, few mistakes
that were cleared up quickly. Chinnor put in a solid performance to keep
them on the league campaign.
Scorers:
Tries: Gordon “Voldmort” Fennell, John “Previn” Williams, Rob
“Andrew” Atkin, Mark “Hedwig” Cox (3), Steve “Beau” Bridges, James “Um
Betty”, Pete “Shakespeare” McDermott, Mike “Harry Potter” Bambrook, John
“Youknowhe” Cann, Ben “BishBashBosh” Bishop
Conversions: Ben “BishBashBosh” Bishop (6)
Chinnor Forum | Chinnor in the news | 1st XV | Other Senior Teams | Juniors & Chicks | Minis | Past Seasons archives | Touchline Society | Fun stuff | Club information
|
