LUC Jeannot was full of praise for the way Chinnor dug deep to beat Blackheath 17-15 on the opening day of the season.

Tries from prop Tom Fidler and No 8 Ofisa Treviranus helped the side kick-off their National League 1 campaign with an impressive away victory.

Blackheath set up a nervy finish, closing to within two points with nine minutes to go, but Chinnor showed great character to see the game out.

Prop Jeannot was one of ten players in the starting XV making their debut at Well Hall.

While the side are still at least a few weeks away from becoming a well-oiled cohesive unit, director of rugby Matt Williams had called on the squad to win ugly.

And South African-born Jeannot was pleased with the way Chinnor started their season.
He said: “It was good - it was a tough performance.

“Coming to a place like Blackheath is never easy and a lot of stuff didn’t go right for us, but the heart the lads showed was class.

“We dug in, and got a great win, which is what National 1 is all about.”

Jeannot added: “It’s a long year and like Matt said, you don’t define your season in the first game, but getting a big away win at a place like Blackheath sets a precedent and it tells the rest of the league what we’re about.”

Chinnor now turn their attention to an equally tough away game at Richmond on Saturday.

The south-west London side started their season with an impressive 40-37 win at Darlington Mowden Park.