Chinnor came away from Lady Bay with a deserved 5-point win in a crucial head to head with a fellow play off rival. The Archers had been in good form and were looking to extend their winning run to the longest since 2022 but they were hit by a highly emotionally charged Chinnor who dominated the match for large periods with a clinical performance.
Chinnor came out of the blocks with real intent and looked to attack early but it was Nottingham who struck first after a clearing kick bounced off a Chinnor player into the grateful arms of Green who linked with the prolific Cherry who stormed over close to the posts, 7-0 after 4 minutes.

Chinnor took this in their stride and began a long period of intense pressure deep in the Archers territory. On a couple of occasions Chinnor were adjudged held up over the line only to return the clearing kicks with interest and battle away again.

Nottingham’s determined resistance was finally broken after a superb interchange of passes from Nick Smith and Sam Hanks saw Hanks dragged down inches from the line, it was big Ramaz who proved unstoppable from the ensuing ruck and with a Nathan Chamberlain conversion Chinnor were back on terms, 7-7 after 23 minutes.

Like a London bus it only took another minute for Chinnor to take the lead, this time after a clever lineout move Luke Carter escaped down the blind and linked with Will Cave. The final surge came from Scott Hall who took a couple of would-be tacklers and erstwhile team mates over with him with a clever finish, 7-12 when the conversion against the wind hit the post. Indeed Chinnor would have been well pleased with their efforts as the blustery wind was against them and they had managed to mostly deny Nottingham possession and field position.

The Archers did look dangerous when they went through the phases and some indiscipline gave them an attacking platform from a driving lineout where Cherry got his second and drew level on the half hour, 12-12, Chinnor managed to control the remaining 10 minutes and headed to the sheds with the prospect of playing with the conditions in the second half.

Chinnor showed their growing maturity and game management in the second stanza as they immediately established themselves in Archer’s 22. A series of attacking phases saw Carter look for the snipe and expertly draw the cover defence before putting a rampaging Cave through a gap on a superb line to score under the posts, 12-19.

Chinnor continued to dominate the exchanges based on a superb forward display as they overpowered their opposition in the tight and forced them into multiple transgressions. A superb Smith 50/22 put them in control and from a five-yard scrum a well-executed midfield move put Hanks into space for him to canter in and increase the lead to 2 scores, 12-26.

The Archers did strike back on 70 minutes with a Myall try to put the match back in the melting pot but again Chinnor’s maturity shone through as they managed the threat well and kept Nottingham at arm’s length. Alun Walker looked to have put the game beyond doubt when a lineout maul careered towards the line at pace only for the referee to adjudicate a truck and trailer offence. It was Nick Smith who played the match with a broken hand who put an end to proceedings as he punted to touch for his side.

Nick Easter “Very pleasing win at a difficult place to come away with 5 points. The boys were massively fired up after an emotional week and played perfectly on the right side of that emotion. We are growing in our game management and control “
Chinnor- Rukhadze, Moore, Hardwick, Campbell, Brockschmidt, Dugmore, Cave, Hall, Carter ©, Chamberlain, Goss, Watson, Hanks, Hughes, Smith
Replacements- Bezudenhoit Porter, Walker, Ryan, Mains, Pascoe, Bourton, Owsley
Tries- Rukhadze, Hall, Cave, Hanks
Cons- Chamberlain x3