On a crisp spring day, Chinnor maintained their ascendancy over local rivals Oxford Harlequins scoring eight tries in a 46-15 victory

Chinnor began brightly when, in the 4th minute, quick ball from a lineout was worked across the backs to allow Corpe to score easily wide out. The dose was repeated just three minutes later by the other winger Mark Chase whose pace and power got him over the line for Chinnor's second try and a match score of 10-0 to the visitors from Thame.

Chinnor flanker Harrison, highly influential throughout the match, took the ball at pace in midfield and timed his pass perfectly to Colver for a straight run to the line for Chinnor's third try and a lead of 15-0. Oxford Harlequins tried hard to breach the Chinnor defence and put together some attractive passages of play. However, the Chinnor defence was always on top.

In the 24th minute, open side flanker Alex Waddingham carried the ball strongly through Harlequins midfield and offloaded exquisitely to Stoop to slice through the home defence at an acute angle to score under the posts. With Cathcart's conversion, Chinnor now led by 22-0 with the addition of a bonus point.

Chinnor then lost a strike against the head but their tackling and rucking was sufficiently vigorous to win the ball back. Captain Joe Winpenny moved the ball quickly to the pacey Tristan Corpe who ran through the defence from half way to dot down under the posts for Chinnor's fifth try. Cathcart's improvement now gave Chinnor a 29-0 lead at half-time.

Oxford Harlequins started the better in the second half and just three minutes in, Quins centre Nutt intercepted a mid field pass to score under the posts. Matt Smith's conversion for Quins reduced the deficit to 29-7. Chinnor entered a wobbly phase committing a series of unforced errors. The first of which involved an accidental offside in front of the posts allowing Quins fly half Smith an easy penalty goal to reduce the lead to 29-10.

Chinnor were the next to score when Mark Chase, from an impossible position way out wide, determinedly managed to sidestep, push, barge and spin his way over the line in the corner to increase Chinnnor's lead to 34-10. On the 54th minute, Hopwood, replacing Frank Jones at scrum-half, came off the back of the scrum the wrong way around to feed Cathcart whose long miss pass found Chase in the tram lines on the halfway line. Chase’s straight line speed saw him score his hat-trick try in the corner to increase Chinnor's lead to 39-10. Quins came back with some strong play and looked certain to score under the posts but for Colver's scything tackle and ball recovery by Goode. Chinnor rode their luck until some magic play from Stoop. Gathering the ball in midfield, Stoop sliced through Quins defensive line, chipped the ball over the approaching full-back, gathered it on first bounce and touched down under the posts. Cathcart's conversion was a formality and Chinnor’s lead was now 46-10. Quins got the last score of the match when, from a driven lineout, Tongan flanker Viamounga scored in the corner for a final score of 46-15 to Chinnor.

Chinnor had an excellent first half, scoring every time a chance offered itself. However they were guilty of a loss of concentration for parts of the second half. Quins, to their credit, had plenty of possession but were thwarted by an impregnable Chinnor defence in which Harrison and Waddingham in the back row were abrasively effective. Stoop's invention, distribution and solo try were worthy of note as was Goode's muscular defence. The wingers were full of pace particularly Mark Chase whose hat-trick was of the highest order

Scorers:
Oxford Harlequins: Nutt T; Viamounga T; Smith C, PG
Chinnor: Chase 3T; Corpe 2T; Stoop 2T; Colver T; Cathcart 3C

Chinnor team:
Colver, Chase, Goode, Stoop, Corpe, Cathcart, Jones (Hopwood 50), Winpenny , Tattersall (Cawston 68), Pickett, Mowbray (Smith 50), Jackman, Harrison, Waddingham, Gilbert
Replacements: Cawston, Smith, Hopwood