Chinnor produced a scintillating second half performance of power and pace to score 36 unanswered points and come away with 5 points at Cambridge on Saturday. The opening 40 minutes saw both teams go at each other hard in a thrilling manner as the initiative seemed to swing from one side to another in the frenzied action. Ultimately it was Chinnor’s ability to sustain their pace and intensity combined with a big impact from the bench that saw them come away with the spoils.
The match started at a break neck speed when after the first of many Cameron Rafferty carries Sam Hanks got on the end of a passing move and smartly finished against his old club, 0-5.

Chinnor attacked immediately from the restart and this time it was James Bourton’s turn to make excellent ground before Toby Cousins out stripped the defence with a composed finish, Nathan Chamberlain converted for a 0-12 lead. It was to prove a fruitful day for Chamberlain who eventually ended up with a tally of 15 points, showing his all-court game off the tee and through his passing and running.

The blood and sand hit back on 14 minutes through a George Timpson try, breaking through the middle of the ruck and charging over unopposed. Chinnor unfortunately also lost George Stokes to injury who was replaced by Monty Loggenberg, who enjoyed a superb debut appearance. Cambridge was making the most of Chinnor’s indiscipline and again kicked to the corner from a penalty on halfway. It was hooker Doorey Palmer who eventually crashed over, and the Anand conversion tied things up at 12 all after 18 breathless minutes.

Next it was Chinnor’s turn to take advantage of a penalty and kick deep into territory. Some quick lineout ball and drive saw Luke Thompson in the vanguard to expertly dot down, 12-19. Cambridge narrowed the lead just before half time with a close-range penalty when maybe a roll of the dice and an option of lineout or scrum would have been the call, 15-19.

Chinnor started the second 40 with precision as a superb catch and drive saw the lively Kai Owen crash over to extend the lead to 2 scores and when Chamberlain increased that to 15-27 Chinnor looked well on top. This forward dominance was further strengthened with a fresh bench and Chinnor were now playing with imagination and freedom. A magnificent show and go from Bourton took play deep into the 22 and as Cambridge ran out of defensive numbers Alun Walker took an excellent line to dot down, 15-34.

Cambridge still had a sniff of gaining some bonus points and the game could have swung back in their favour after a dangerous backs move saw them 3 on 1 with Nick Smith 15 metres from the line. Smith showed his game savvy, took the gamble and miraculously intercepted the scoring pass and immediately kicked long, deep into Cambridge’s 22. Unfortunately, Currie knocked the ball on under his posts and what could easily have been 22-34 with 20 minutes to play was 15-41 after a trademark Luke Carter snipe and score. Chinnor then reinforced their superiority with a Bourton masterclass first weaving through the middle to score under the posts and then taking a lovely offload from Morgan Passman to finish off the try fest, both converted by Chamberlain.
An excellent all-round performance against a side who had showed real promise away at Bedford the previous week. Again, the set piece was extremely secure and the backrow and midfield all played extremely effectively.

Richie Williams “It obviously meant a lot to me and Sam Hanks to come back to Cambridge and perform so effectively. The gameplan was executed extremely well and there was standout performance across the park. We have a huge few weeks against the top 4 so we’ll continue to work hard and throw some shots. “

Chinnor- Owen, Thompson, Bezuidenhout, Campbell, Hall, Dugmore ©, Stokes, Rafferty, Pascoe, Chamberlain, Owsley, Bourton, Hanks, Cousins, Smith
Replacements- Rukhadze, Hardwick, Walker, Cooke, Loggenberg, Carter, Passman, Watson

Tries- Hanks, Cousins, Thompson, Bourton x2, Walker, Owen, Carter
Cons- Chamberlain x6
Pens- Chamberlain

Report - John Vaughan
Photo credit - David Howlett