On a warm and sunny October afternoon, Chinnor recorded their highest ever victory over local rivals Oxford Harlequins scoring 10 tries in a 66-3 rout.

With Tom Gray and Alex Waddingham unavailable through injury, Nick Harrison came in at open side flanker and Henry Colver on the left wing.

The first score of the match came for Chinnor in the sixth minute when, from a scrum 20m in front of Quins’ posts, Cathcart delivered a short flat pass to Stoop who sliced through the defence on a cut back angle to score under the posts. With the conversion from Cathcart, Chinnor were up 7-0 on the seventh minute. The game then settled down for the next 20 minutes with both sides contesting well in the middle of the park.. On the 28th minute, from a short tap penalty Stoop ran out wide and then cut back to dance through the opposition to go under the posts for his second try. Improved by Cathcart, Chinnor now led 14-0. Just one minute later, Chinnor scored a technically perfect try with just two touches of the ball. Cathcart's cross field kick was perfectly judged for Seymour to gather on the full without breaking stride. As the full-back approached, Seymour chipped the ball into the dead ball area and skinned his opponent for the try and a 19-0 lead. Just on half-time, Chinnor scored their bonus try when from a scrum 20m out Goode blasted through the defence to score under the posts leaving Cathcart for the conversion and a half time lead of 26-0.

The second half was only minutes old when Stoop once again got onto the scoreboard. From a long Quins kick downfield, Gilbert returned the ball with pace. A quick pass to the rapid Colver progressed the ball to 30 metres from the Quins line. A sublime slip pass then saw Stoop, with electric acceleration, outstrip the defence for his hat-trick try. Cathcart again converted to make the Chinnor lead now 33-0. Just one minute later came the highlight of the match. From a Chinnor scrum just inside Quins half, scrum half Jones exchanged passes with Cathcart and then set the Chinnor backs running down the narrow side. Rapid and slick inter-passing released Seymour to score under the posts without a single Chinnor player being touched by an opposition hand. With the extras added by Cathcart, Chinnor were now 40-0 ahead.

Quins stayed in the match with their forwards competing well and eventually won a penalty in front of the Chinnor posts. Alex Stevenson for Quins took the penalty goal on offer to make the score 40-3. Chinnor's next score came from a driven lineout, Andrew Smith touching down for a try. Almost straight from the restart, Chinnor scored again when they pulled the play to the blind side to create a four on zero overlap. Goode scored under the posts and Cathcart converted to give Chinnor a 52-3 lead on the 68th minute. With ball turned over in the Chinnor 22, Stoop lead the break out and then slipped Chase in to outstrip the opposition for Chinnor's ninth try which was converted by Cathcart to give a 59-3 lead. With the match drawing to its close, Stoop again was the provider, this time for Gilbert, who strolled over for Chinnor's 10th try - again converted by Cathcart to give a final score of 66-3 to the boys from Thame.

This match showed why these teams are at different ends of the league table. Chinnor, unbeaten so far this season, compete well in the forwards and deny the opposition very much useful ball. However, on their own ball, Chinnor's backs are both electric and inventive. Stoop, in particular, was the architect of much good work from Chinnor's flying backs. Cathcart’s kicking, particularly the cross field kick for Seymour's first try, was of the highest order. Quins, on the other hand, found it almost impossible to defend against Chinnor's slick backs. Their forwards gave a good account of themselves and were solid in the set piece.

Scorers:
Chinnor: Stoop 3T; Seymour 2T; Goode 2T; Smith T; Chase T; Gilbert T: Cathcart 8C
Oxford Harlequins: Stevenson PG

Chinnor team:
Chase, Seymour (Williams 48), Goode, Stoop, Colver, Cathcart, Jones, Winpenny, Tattersall, Pickett (Whelan 60), Jackman, Smith, Mowbray, Harrison (Devine 69), Gilbert
Replacements: Whelan, Devine, Williams