On the 30th of September 2011, Duran Duran played a gig in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Café, little did they know what influence they would have over a small village rugby team, now called the Chinnor Wildboys, who were running onto Witney turf exactly 6 years later.
With a few injuries and last minute drop outs, some would think that the squad would suffer, however with some returning players and just generally being wild, unsurprisingly the squad looked as strong as ever. The main hit to the team would be Captain George White, who unfortunately has got a really hurty knee, so he was working hard on keeping his Guinness cold on the side of the pitch. The Wildboys welcomed back a friendly face into the Chinnor fold, however this would be his debut for the Wildboys so Thad Cooper was no doubt feeling extremely nervous as he stepped out. Nicholas Harrison was replacing the captain at hooker position, and Rob Nichols was beginning his first game of the season back in at 10, albeit with his winter weight firmly set in. Brother Tom White would be stepping in as captain to lead the Wildboys out onto the pitch for the first time this season.
The Wildboys kicked off and almost instantly a thundering hit came in from George Hope who set the pace for the match. This was followed by some solid defence, which left Witney no option but to kick themselves out of their half.

The first points of the game were awarded to Witney who slotted a penalty after some poor discipline by the Wildboys. However this was shortly followed with a great try by Jayson Abbott, however the conversion was pushed slightly wide. Another phase of poor discipline cost the Wildboys another penalty making the score 6-5.
The Wildboys then started to get into their stride a little more and were making some good ground. The forwards worked hard around the breakdown to secure the ball and were awarded for their efforts when Sam Ludgate bowled over for the 2nd try of the game. This was again missed by struggling Peter Way making the score 6-10. This lead was put under pressure again when the Wildboys gave away another penalty within striking distance of the Witney’s 10 boot, making the score 9-10. Just before half time Dave Kimber powered over for his first of the Wildboys season, however again the conversion was missed, and the Wildboys lead 9-15 at the break.

With some stern words spoken at half time the Wildboys came out looking to take control of the game. However, with some miscommunication between Jayson Abbott and Rob Nichols Witney’s 12 broke the line, and scored Witney’s first of the game, and this was calmly converted making the score 16-15. This seemed to energise the Wildboys as following that poor play Witney struggled to get their hands on the ball. The 2nd half saw Adam Draper and Guy Hackshaw score their firsts of the game with 1 of them being converted.

With 15 mins to go, the Wildboys were on the attack again down the blindside, and instead of passing the ball along the hands, out of practise Rob Nichols decided to go for a chip and chase. This was collected by the Witney fullback who put his hand up signalling a mark. However, the ref called play on as he did not believe he actually heard him call it. The offending fullback then decided to say what he thought about the referees decision and was shown a red card for his trouble.
Not long after did Tom Rackstraw find himself having a card in front of his face, but this time it was a yellow. A disgruntled Witney supported applauded the decision which somewhat rattled George Hope’s other half who felt it was necessary to remind the supporter what the score was (16-34). A Witney player then quipped a witty yet appropriate remark and was awarded with Faye’s mature reply, ‘your mum’.

The last try of the game was a beauty. The Wildboys kicked long out of their own 22, as Witney had been adding some pressure due to the recent yellow card, and with the missing fullback - Witney’s wingers had to cover. They were put under some hard pressure by chasers Adam Draper and Rob Nichols which forced them to kick the ball away. This was collected by Ryan Volbrecht, who made some space for supporting fullback Guy Hackshaw who then had a leg race to the line. It looked as if he was going to be held up in mid-air, however out of nowhere he managed to get the ball free and reach down and place the ball in the corner of the dead ball area.
This was slotted by Thad Copper (off the ground) to make the final score 16-34.

There was a lot of decent performances this week, with Tom Rackstraw, Thad Cooper, Nicholas Harrison, and Harry Franklin all getting votes for Man of the Match. But undeniably there was one clear winner for this week, Mr Guy Hackshaw, who had put in a great performance and scored some rather good tries.
Mare of Match was slightly harder as there had been a couple of standout moments in the game. Both Harry Hillier and Adam Draper had attempted to take quick tap and goes, when the Wildboys were awarded penalties. Both subsequently dropped the ball which gave them both great embarrassment. Mare of the Match for this week however was awarded to Adam Draper as he had also thrown a rather horrible pass which would have been a guaranteed try.

Gossip Girl would also like to take this moment to congratulate a fellow Wildboy.
Mr Harry Hillier and his darling wife welcomed Idris Robert Hillier to the world this week and we wish them all the very best.

Next week sees the Wildboys host rivals Henley, which will prove to be a fiercely fought affair. Until then, keep it Wild…

You know you love me
Gossip Girl
xoxo

Man of the Match: Guy Hackshaw
Mare of the Match: Adam Draper
Tries: J. Abbott, S. Ludgate, D. Kimber, A. Draper, G. Hackshaw (2)
Conv: J. Way, T. Cooper