Saturday the 12th of December witnessed the Chinnor Wildboys play an improving Amersham & Chiltern side.
With the looming 2nd match against Bracknell 2s in the New Year the Wildboys were keen to keep their strong dominance in this league with a solid performance against a side who have been demonstrating their talent with some big wins of their own.
The Wildboys had another wild side out, with selection becoming a looming task for captain George ‘Thud Butt’ White every week. The wind whirling, and the Wildboys wary the kick off saw an ever reliable Wild Bill surprisingly drop the ball, which gave Amersham & Chiltern their first scrum in a solid position. It became evident that this is where Amersham & Chiltern were strong, and Chinnor just had to absorb the pressure. It was at this point that Amersham & Chiltern’s dangerous attack was cut down with some solid defence by the Wildboys centres, and Chinnor had earned themselves a penalty. With a kick to touch, Amersham & Chiltern were keen to take possession back, and with that they kicked deep down near Chinnor’s try line, leaving Guy Hackshaw and Jayson Abbott to pick up the pieces. With the pressure building on them, Jayson Abbott severely sliced his clearing kick which resulted in the ball going backwards, and Amersham & Chiltern pouncing on this early opportunity to score first. 5 – 0.
The Wildboys had some wild words under the sticks, and came back out firing. With some solid work around the breakdowns, the ball got put through the hands and found the try scoring machine Adam Draper. As ever, his strong darting run saw him under the sticks and Chinnor were straight back in it. 5 – 5.
Kick off this time saw Wild Bill learn from his previous mistake and collect the ball strongly before handing to George Hope to take the hit up. With some strong phases again, the ball was spun out to Rob Nichols who immediately spotted a gap. With his signature show and go, he was passed his opposite number with support coming in forms of Adam Draper and Jayson Abbott. The pop pass to Adam Draper saw him gain 20 metres before it came back to Rob Nichols, who looked like to be under for Chinnor’s 2nd before being pulled up 5 metres short. With some patient play, and some very strong rucking by the Wild Boys, Max Williams trucked over for a great team try - converted successfully by Bomber. 12 – 5.
Amersham & Chilterns response was good, and they bagged themselves a much needed try, using the full width of the pitch. 12 – 10. Chinnor however were soon back in the red zone, and a great line coming in from George Culbert saw him slide around the outside and bag Chinnor’s 3rd. 17 - 10
With the Wildboys back in the driving seat, their typical game plan started to flourish, with some solid defence work by Jon Goodson, Tom Warner and Ben Wilkinson and some solid ground gained by the elusive backs Chinnor felt another try was imminent. This opportunity came when Adam Draper broke the line with only 1 man to beat and George Culbert in support… Surely a simple draw and give would award Chinnor with their 4th try –Adam Draper decided to take the contact, but more importantly got the try, his 2nd of the game. 22 - 10.
In the 2nd half Chinnor were still feeling the pressure from Amersham & Chilterns scrummaging and a strong try came from them which made the scores 22 – 17. With some tight play around the park, and a pressuring Amersham & Chiltern side the captain made the decision to bring some fresh legs on. Dane White for Tom Warner, an injured Tom White for Elliot Bevan, and Ryan Collins coming on the wing. With these fresh legs, and a slightly tiring Amersham & Chiltern pack the scrum started to take hold, and some better ball came from it with Max Williams often picking and going, and making some substantial ground. The Wildboys last try came from George Hope who secured the game for them, which was also converted to finalise the score at 29 – 17.
One more game before the Christmas break against Oxford should see the Wildboys finish in a strong position looking into 2016.

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Xoxo
Gossip Girl

Man of the Match: George Hope
Mare of the Match: Jayson Abbott
Tries: A.Draper (2), M.Williams, G.Culbert, G.Hope
Convs: Bomber (2)