On the 10th of December 2016, Chinnor Wildboys paid a visit to the newly refurbished Aylesbury Rugby Club to face them for the first time this season. On the same day in 1684, Sir Isaac Newton’s theories on the laws of gravity were read to the Royal Society, fitting that 332 years later the Wildboys were brought back down to earth with a thud.
With rain falling and the pitch sodden underfoot, the referee blew his whistle to signal the start of the game. The ball was pitched into the air towards the Chinnor pack, the ball being expertly collected by Ollie Jackson and the fixture began. The first ten minutes were an instant shock to the Wildboys, the Aylesbury pack were quick off the mark to make their tackles and limited the time and the space that the Wildboys have been afforded in previous fixtures this season. That along with the fact the Wildboys’ pack could not seem to get their heads around the referee’s interpretation of the ‘back foot’ meant that Chinnor were pinned back in their own half through a combination of a strong Aylesbury team and negligence from the Chinnor forwards. Before long Aylesbury capitalised on their early dominance and a penalty put them 3 points up.
A few words amongst themselves saw the Wildboys restart the game with a sense of willing, hard work from the forwards shone through, allowing the Wildboys backs to get the ball through the hands out to James Way who touched down for the first try of the game. The conversion was narrowly missed by Elliot ‘Swiss Tony’ Bevan leaving the score at 3-5.
Aylesbury did not let their heads drop at this setback and knew that they had a foothold in this game that could result in the first defeat of the season for the Wildboys. The pitch was becoming a quagmire and this suited the Aylesbury game play more so than Chinnor’s. Before long the Wildboys were threatened with a team yellow for persistently being offside and were again pinned back in their own half, this time Aylesbury capitalised with greater effect and touched down for their first of the day, which was in turn converted, 10-5.
This is how the score remained at half time, and the discussions were clear amongst the Wildboys, they needed to start playing rugby suited to the conditions or they were going to be suffering a loss. Instantly this mantra was visible, the discipline was greatly improved and the likes of Jon Goodson, George White and Max Williams were putting in a shift in the forwards, with big tackles from George Hope and Tom White. In turn Adam Draper and Jon Down were returning the favour in the backs, with George Mahendron and Rob Nichols marshalling the game well. This renewed vigour paid off and before long Max Williams picked up a loose ball and was charging over the tryline, the resulting conversion was well struck by Elliot Bevan to put the score at 10-12.
Once again Aylesbury pushed back and as the ball was going through the hands of the backs, Adam Draper nearly killed a man. He did put the player down with some care, however a melee ensued. During the fracas, the Aylesbury number 5 decided to start punching Max Wood in the face, it can only be assumed he was jealous of his good looks. As the referee took control of the situation, he set Adam to the sin bin and showed the offending Aylesbury player a red card.
With both teams down to 14 players, Aylesbury were again attacking, once again the discipline of the Wildboys slipped and Aylesbury edged themselves back in the lead with a converted penalty 13-12. With only 10 minutes remaining Chinnor were awarded a penalty just beyond the 22. There were calls from Benny Rowe on the touchline to kick for posts, but captain George White was aware that although putting the Wildboys in front, it would leave the score line still worryingly close. He instead opted for a crash ball and his decision paid off as soon after Tom White was diving over the line for what turned out to be the match winning try. Elliot Bevan once again converted, putting the score at 13-19 in favour of the Wildboys.
There was still work to do for the Chinnor team and they were forced to defend stoically for the final minutes of the game. As the referee ended the game there was a sense of relief from the Wildboys and a sense of longing for a well-earned John Smiths. This fixture was an awakening for the Chinnor team and showed them that they had much to work on if they were to remain at the top of the table. However, it also showed the determination amongst the Wildboys as they continued to bounce back and take the victory. Man of the match this week was awarded to Max Williams, who seemed to be everywhere on the pitch. Mare of the match was awarded to Adam Draper for being sent to the Sin Bin.
Unfortunately the final fixture of the year for the Wildboys has had to be rescheduled, so until 2017, keep it wild…
You know you love me
Gossip Girl
xoxoxo

Man of the Match: Max Williams
Mare of the Match: Adam Draper
Tries: J.Way, M.Williams, T.White
Conv: E.Bevan (2)