Playing throughout in a constant downpour and on a surface reminiscent of chocolate mousse, Chinnor had a fright down at Barnstaple before eventually running out 33-21 winners.

Some seven minutes after the start, Barnstaple centre Simon Watkins charged down a lazy Chinnor kick to find himself in acres of space and with a slow trot to the Chinnor posts. With the conversion from Tuhakaraina, Barnstaple led 7-0 in even time. A few minutes later, Barnstaple sliced through the Chinnor midfield and Watkins bagged Barum’s second try, duly converted by Tuhakaraina.

Chinnor were clearly finding the conditions difficult to deal with but on their first visit to the opposition 22, they were awarded a penalty. This was quickly taken and two passes found Winpenny in space in the corner to dot down to open Chinnor's account with 18 minutes played. Chinnor seemed to be finally getting into the game when a driven maul of some 30 metres saw Pickett score Chinnor's second try, duly converted by Cathcart to make the score 14-12 to Barnstaple.

On the 31st minute, Cathcart converted a penalty goal attempt to give Chinnor their first lead in the match 14-15. Desperate to go in ahead at half-time, Barum attacked again at pace through midfield, releasing Mark Galliford to score their third try. As the conversion flew over, the referee blew for half time with Barnstaple now 21-15 ahead.

Barnstaple came out full of running in the second half and only a number of last-ditch tackles stopped them from scoring early on. Playing in the only part of the pitch to afford grip, the Chinnor scrum started to push their opponents nearer and nearer their own line when Barnstaple scrum-half Ian Wilson cynically kicked the ball out of the scrum. Referee Jonathan Healey did not hesitate to award a penalty try which was converted by Cathcart. Chinnor now led 22-21.

Barnstaple did not give up their attacking intentions and two crossfield kicks nearly led to tries for the North Devon outfit. However, Cathcart was the next to score converting a penalty to give Chinnor a 25-21 lead. Barnstaple continued to mount wave after wave of attack only to be repulsed by the Chinnor defence. On the 69th minute, Chinnor managed to turn the ball on their own 22. The ball was worked to Stoop who cleverly punted the ball deep into the Barnstaple corner. Three Chinnor backs harried the luckless Barnstaple full-back and Chinnor open side Williams ripped the ball and dived over to score Chinnor's fourth try of the day. Barnstaple would not lie down and looked certain for a try when the referee called a forward pass which seemed harsh. Cathcart concluded Chinnor's scoring in the 73rd minute with a penalty goal to leave the final score 33-21 in Chinnor's favour.

This was a nightmare start for Chinnor with two tries scored very quickly as they struggled to come to terms with the very difficult conditions. However, the Chinnor pack began to show dominance with the back row particularly industrious. This, coupled with the sensible kicking game of Cathcart and Stoop, was converted to a winning match plan with Barnstaple failing to score a single point in the second half.

Chinnor team: Wallace, Serrano (Shiel 56), Hewitt, Stoop, Williams R, Cathcart, Prescott, Winpenny, Webster, Pickett (Stock 43), Hutchings, Jackman, Gilbert, Williams M, Mowbray (Hastings 73).
Reps: Stock, Hastings, Shiel.