Without ever hitting top gear, Chinnor comfortably saw off Cheltenham by 38 points to 15, scoring six tries in the process and a valuable bonus point.

Chinnor started brightly with their first try a winger’s special from fleet footed Pip Seymour. Straight from the restart, Chinnor worked the ball to number 8 Alex Fan who, with surprising pace, sped along the tram lines to dot down in the corner. Cathcart converted and with 12 minutes on the clock, Chinnor were 12-0 ahead.

Cheltenham were next to score with an unconverted try from Richard Morris on the 17th minute, after a mix up in the Chinnor midfield. Two minutes later, Chinnor’s scrum half Prescott fielded an intended touch finder about 12 metres inside the Cheltenham half. Threading an intricate line through Cheltenham’s massed ranks, Prescott’s speed saw him dot down Chinnor’s third try under the posts leaving Cathcart an easy conversion. Chinnor’s fourth and bonus try came from a forward drive with Cawston grounding the ball for the home side. With Cathcart’s conversion, Chinnor now led 26-5.

The next 10 minutes belonged to Cheltenham with a second try from Morris, converted by Mike Wilcox who shortly afterwards slotted a penalty goal for the Tigers as the half time whistle sounded for a 26-15 lead to Chinnor.

The second half proved to be a little less frenetic than the first half, with the Chinnor defence preventing Cheltenham scoring further. Chinnor’s influential centre Matt Goode had to be replaced at the start of the first half, after failing to shake off the effects of an off-the-ball incident of foul play. Chinnor’s fifth try was from Harry Jackman who shortly afterwards had to leave the pitch with an ankle injury. Cathcart’s conversion gave Chinnor a 33-15 lead. Ian Stock was then credited with Chinnor’s sixth try as the home pack began to press the visitor’s line. The introduction of Whelan for Stock shortly afterwards then increased the pain for the Tigers as the match reached its conclusion with a 38-15 victory for Chinnor.

Cheltenham must be credited for their never say die attitude and willingness to attack at pace at every opportunity.

Chinnor will be disappointed at the two breaches in their usually reliable defence but will be pleased to have scored six tries with a gear to spare. The forced replacements in the second half seemed to disrupt Chinnor’s poise although the new players contributed well with Devine busy on the deck and imperious at the line out. Seymour was threatening throughout and back rowers, Hastings and Fan, had influential matches for Chinnor whose tight five were very solid in all that they did.

Scorers:
Chinnor: Seymour T; Fan T; Prescott T; Cawston T; Jackman T; Stock T; Cathcart 4C
Cheltenham: Morris 2T; Wilcox T, PG