Chinnor, almost blown away by Hartpury College in the first half, staged a remarkable comeback late in the second half to almost steal victory but eventually went down 39-47.

Hartpury started the match at electric pace, scoring in the first minute as Woodburn touched down for the students. Millett’s sixth minute penalty goal brought the score back to 3-5. Chinnor then went into the lead in the 13th minute when some smart midfield work by Fielding led to his first try of the match. Millett's conversion put Chinnor ahead for the only time in the match 10-5.

The college then cranked up the pace and power and the tries began to flow. Reynolds received a quick throw in by his own corner flag and then raced diagonally to the opposite corner to touch down for Hartpury's second try. The crowd were upset as the touch finder, at the start of the move, was kicked back by a college coach thus making the quick throw-in illegal. However the score stood and Burns‘ conversion put the students 12-10 ahead. Pitchford added the third and Jaike Carter, a former Chinnor player, scored the bonus point try on the 26th minute. All were converted by Burns to give the students a 26-10 lead. Millett’s penalty goal on the 29th minute brought short respite for the home side but Haile, with some ferocious handoffs, touched down on half time. Burns added the extras to give Hartpury a 33-13 lead.

The medicine was repeated just three minutes into the second half when Chesters scored try number six. Burns added the extras for a 40-13 lead. With the home support fearing a half-century for the visitors with 36 minutes left to play, Chinnor decided to up their pace and power to match that of their visitors. Gilbert went over on the 53rd minute, followed by Marston in the 61st minute - both converted by Millett. Haile came back with a converted try to make the match score 27-47. Corpe then joined the try scorers on 67 minutes and Fielding, with his second on 74 minutes now had the away support constantly checking their watches. Millett’s conversion brought the score to 39-47 with six minutes to play. Chinnor powered into the students 22 and looked to have created a scoring opportunity when the ball was lost forward. The referee called all back for a midfield penalty to Chinnor. A successful kick would have given the home side a second losing bonus point but the attempt went wide and the match finished 39-47 to Hartpury College.

After a disastrous first half, Chinnor threw off their fear and with a glorious 20 minutes at the end of the match which almost snatched victory from certain defeat. Some more robust tackling and better handling of handoffs would certainly have given Chinnor victory. Fielding stood out for the home side and the students’ inclusion of the powerful Terry Fanolua, the long time Gloucester centre and Shed hero, was quite significant. The key difference between the sides for the first 60 minutes was the absolute pace and precision of the visitors when they had the ball – most admirable.

Scorers:
Chinnor: Fielding 2T; Gilbert T; Marston T; Corpe T; Millett 4C, 2PG
Hartpury College: Woodburn T, Reynolds T, Pitchford T, Carter T, Haile 2T, Chesters T; Burns 6C

Chinnor team:
Matt Mountford, Sam Portland, Leo Fielding, Matt Goode, Will Millett, James Cathcart, Frank Jones, Nathaniel Tichard-Jones, Edward Vickers, Tom Whelan, Liam Gilbert, Tom Mowbray, Andrew Tibbatts, Macsen Williams, Oscar Hirsky-Douglas

Replacements: Joe Winpenny, Ian Stock, Adam Hastings, Sam Angell, Tristan Corpe