A herculean effort by Chinnor’s forwards augmented by a sublime display from the returning George Worboys entertained an enthusiastic and vociferous crowd in some of the worst conditions witnessed at Kingsey Road. It was a great tribute to the nearly 1000 (fool) hardy souls who turned out to roar the home side on. For 65 minutes the pack put on a display of unrelenting ferocity and skill to put themselves in a strong position for a historic win. This was to be the first time Chinnor would have beaten a fully professional side, boasting many senior Internationals and Premiership players, after very narrow defeat to Coventry and Cornish Pirates. Playing with the benefit of the elements in the second half the boots of Carter and Feeney were keeping the visitors at arm’s length and the finishing line was in sight when a power cut brought proceedings to an early finish.

The game started with the visitors opting to take advantage of the elements in the first half. It was going to be tough work exiting against the wind which was looking like it would be worth 15 points at least. However Chinnor were having none of it and played at such a high tempo from the whistle that they forced many mistakes and indiscretions from the visitors. Worboys opened the scoring with a penalty, not easy in the conditions. Following some outstanding defensive kicking from Goss, Feeney and Carter Chinnor managed to lay siege to the Knights line, where they conceded several penalties. Chinnor decided against another lineout and the impressive Lines tapped and charged to the line, he was backed up by his front row buddy Rob Hardwick who plunged over for the opening score. A miraculous conversion followed as Worboys nailed the kick straight into the teeth of the gale. 10- 0. George was to enjoy a superlative match on his return, scoring 13 points and dictating play.
The visitors hit back after a series of drives eventually saw George Roberts cross and Chinnor reduced to 14 men with Epi in the bin for a cynical offside. 10-5.

Chinnor then extended the lead after a huge break from the physical Stokes was brought to an end by a high shot that was penalised with a yellow card. Worboys kicked another penalty to extend the lead to 13-5. At half time Chinnor would have been very pleased with the first stanza but as the conditions worsened it was evident that the Knights would be prepared to battle for the points.

The visitors opened the scoring in the second half with a penalty from Bennett to make a one score game with 30 minutes to go. 13-8. Chinnor forwards again upped the tempo with superb work from Hall and Dugmore, and Carter dictating proceedings at scrum half. Doncaster became desperate to break out and a hurried kick was charged down by Crowley. This week a charge down was not deemed to be a knock on and Worboys won the race to dot down. 18-8. Some petulance from Vainu put him in the bin and gave Chinnor a penalty from the restart. More Chinnor pressure saw Crowley go inches away from scoring and Chinnor seemed to be in control.
Doncaster broke out after some kicik and chase and a subtle cross kick from Bennett saw Kerr catch and dot down. 18-13.
With time ticking away Chinnor were holding on well and with Feeney’s boot they were always able to exit with aplomb when needed. However Darragh intervened and an epic contest, played with incredible passion and skill from both sides was brought to a premature end when a local power cut took the lights out at 68 minutes.

Nick Easter was pleased with the performance but ultimately disappointed that his heroic team were not given the opportunity to achieve the win they so richly deserved, “To go head to head with Doncaster and have the upper hand in many facets of the game is a great reflection on the whole squad. They continue to hit new heights and the sheer hard work and focus on improving week in, week out is what this squad is all about.”

We awaiting the final decision on whether the result stands.

Feeney, Crowley, Rokodrava, Hughes, Goss, Worboys, Carter, Ryan, Stokes, Dugmore, Hall, North, Hardwick, Walker, Lines
Replacements- Porter, Hoyt, Cave, Irving, Pascoe, Passman, Smith

Starman- Lines

Photo credit David Howlett