Ken Vaughan writes ...

Yet another bitter pill to swallow for the Chinnor team. Leading 14 pts to 13, and well into injury time, a scrum 5 metres out from the Chinnor line settled the game. With second rower Harry Jackman nursing an injured shoulder and prop James Eckert feeling his ribs, Ding’s took full advantage and with influential No.8 Michael Panoho calling the shots they shunted Chinnor backwards to their line. With the referee adjudging that Chinnor had broken their binding he awarded Ding's a penalty try which gave the visitors game set and match. Just prior to this, Chinnor had defended courageously but unfortunately lost a strike against the head which allowed a Ding’s put in for the deciding scrummage.

Chinnor juggled their three-quarter line which saw Richard Williams move onto the wing, Trevor Powell coming back into the centre and Toby Prescott starting in his favoured scrum half spot. With both Sam Black and Duncan Williams unavailable, Harry Jackman moved into the second row and Adam Hastings started at No.6.with the two Wasps Academy players Bob Baker and Thomas Shiel on the bench.

Chinnor lost the toss and were asked to play with the wind. They were first on the score sheet by virtue of a well struck penalty by Ben Hewitt in the 4th. minute of play. A try by the away side’s Richard Jenkins, following the referee’s reversal of his original decision to award Chinnor a penalty, put Ding’s in the lead. The reversal came as a result of one of the assistant referees indicating foul play by David Jackson who was yellow carded. The conversion by Adam Westall from near the touchline and into the wind only rubbed salt into what already had appeared to be rough justice from a Chinnor standpoint. However, another well struck penalty from Ben Hewitt and well worked try with Alex Wallace providing the final pass for James Serrano to touch down gave Chinnor an interval lead by just 4 points.

Chinnor started the second half in a positive manner, camping themselves inside the opposition 22 metre line. Their only reward for this period of sustained pressure was another penalty from the boot of Ben Hewitt to extend the lead. A silly piece of indiscipline in that Chinnor ran the ball from a penalty instead of slowing things down and booting the ball into touch, resulted in the ball carrier isolating himself, holding onto the ball and gifting the prolific Westall an easy three points. What had been a Chinnor advantage some seconds earlier had rebounded in spades. Then Panoho was sin binned for felling David Jackson with a cleaving uppercut, the difference between red and yellow must have been marginal, and with 10 minutes remaining the picture looked distinctly rosy for Chinnor as it appeared that it would be touch and go for him to be back on the park at the final whistle. In fact he was on for 12 minutes in the elongated second half. The remaining minutes were spent near the Chinnor line. With almost everyone wishing the whistle to blow to give Chinnor the win, it did, but not to signal full-time instead it indicated the penalty try and the rest as they say is history.

To say that the changing room was "down" after the game puts it mildly. The Chinnor lads were devastated as they thought they had victory within their grasp. Once again it was not to be. They know they have the technical nous to be there or thereabouts. It’s the concentration at key periods in the game that has to be tightened. Pretty much mind over matter.

Video can be found at https://www.pitchero.com/clubs/chinnor/?section=videos_photos_view&video_id=1203