Over that time, Benji won 179 First XV caps, scoring 32 tries including those memorable and crucial five points against Sedgley Park in the National 2 play-off. He has been our Club Captain, most recently First XV skipper, and shown true passion and love for Chinnor, his teammates and our members since day one.

Unfortunately, injury has led the 33-year-old to make this decision ahead of the 2023/24 season, with ligament damage to his ankle still causing issues, while he sustained a broken elbow and tricep rupture while winning a crucial turnover in our win over Cinderford back in March – that proved to be his final act in a Chinnor jersey and perhaps typifies Benji, who always put his body on the line for the cause.

“I’ve always wanted to commit to the highest possible level I can for Chinnor,” he said. “I think it’s also important to train and lead by example, and it’s got to the point with my injuries that I couldn’t do that and I was in a lot of pain. I’ve been told outside of rugby that if I do want to play again, I need to have further surgery and after the rough injuries I’ve had, I wasn’t willing to go through that agony from a mental and physical perspective - watching your best mates train and play all the time and you’re just rehabbing, it’s hard. It’s an unfortunate decision, but the right decision.”

Manning continued: “The thing keeping me here on a personal level was achieving 200 caps and that would have been a huge honour. I was always going to retire at the end of the season anyway and when I realised that wasn’t a realistic goal, I thought for the sake of 10 games, potential surgery and further injury, the time was now.

“I’m a big believer in leaving the Club in a better place than I found it and I think I can safely say I have done that – it’s a nice memento for me. I have got huge admiration for what Nick Easter, Craig Hampson, Jordan Turner-Hall and the rest of the team are putting in place at the moment. I think we’re set for a great season ahead, but I didn’t want to string it along and take up a squad place. I wanted to manage expectations and making my decision on retirement before the season started, they deserved that.”

Manning, who has also featured at lock over the years, made his Chinnor debut nine years ago as our First XV took on Dings Crusaders at Kingsey Road in National 2 South, and that features among his highlights in a black and white jersey.

“I actually started at 7 in that game and we got the win,” he said. “There have also been a few great games against Henley Hawks over the years. Certainly, the promotion game against Sedgley Park will stick in my memory - more for the win than my try obviously. We went on a big journey that year, we had to overcome a lot as a group and it just showed how tight we were as a squad.

“Towards the later years, we also had the Friday Night Lights games against Rams, those big home wins against Rosslyn Park, and the long journeys to Plymouth Albion. Most of all, though, I loved just getting to play with mates who came back to the Club. I wanted to drive a culture where you see boys trying to make it and unfortunately if they didn’t, they would want to come back to Chinnor. That’s something I’m really proud of, creating that environment and that’s what a rugby club is all about.”

He added: “I want to thank every single player I have played with for giving me some amazing memories - from the likes of Junior Fatialofa, Ed Keohane and Frank Jones, to the Dancer brothers era, to Jack Ramshaw and George Oliver, to finishing with Fred Tuilagi, Willie Ryan, Kieran Goss, Luke Carter, Nick Smith and Jason Worrall.

“Every coach I have had, thank you for continuing to develop me and getting me to a place where I am pretty content with my career. I hope I’ve been a good captain, good teammate and a good mate off the pitch, and if I have got at least one player who says that, as far as I am concerned that is career achieved and thanks very much."

“I would also like to say a big thank you to Simon Vickers. The reason I’ve got to enjoy so many great memories is because of the board, in particular Simon who has helped us grow as a team and a Club.”

Benji is a popular player among our Chinnor Family and can be regularly seen talking to members before and after games, with his passion for the Club evident both on and off the field.

“You’ve got to remember those guys give up their weekends to support you,” said Benji. “They’re there for you. You’ve got to have a pint and a chat with them, because they will make you feel a million dollars every single time.

“That’s one of the big things about pulling on that jersey - you are playing for a community and they enjoy seeing you win. The likes of Puddy, if you got a good game from him then you knew you had played well and it’s things like that. You’ve got to remember those guys played for the Club, it’s about their legacy as well and you’ve got to have respect for them.”

Simon Vickers commented - "Benji represents the very best of what the Club stands for - I have seen over many seasons his commitment and passion grow and he has done his very best to pass that on to the squad. Despite his no quarters stance on the pitch he has shown great caring and compassion off it and developed as an individual massively. As a role model and inspiration you could not hope for more. And as to that barn-storming try against Sedgley park in the play offs in 2018 when he started his run up for the crash ball some 40 metres back and touched down in front of me, that was undoubtedly my best moment of my time at Chinnor and secured our spot in Nat 1. Go well Benji and we look forward to your continuing presence and influence at Kingsey Road."

As the new National 1 season begins at home to Darlington Mowden Park this weekend, Benji hopes you will be at Kingsey Road on Saturday as the boys look to start the campaign in style.

He said: “Please get down and support the boys. This could become one of those seasons and I’m looking forward to watching.

“I’m definitely happy that my last game was a win at home against Cinderford, and we finally broke that curse.

“What does Chinnor mean to me in one word?

"Home.”

Credit - Jack Johnson