The IV’s travelled to Witney again this week in a rearranged league fixture. A bright, breezy day greeted them as Captain for the day, and possible future Captain, Will “Getya” Dickinson led the team on to the pitch. “Getya” Dickinson stood in for “Voldemort” who was reportedly busy finding himself in Brighton.

The IV’s faced a changed side from the last encounter, who in their brand new shirts looked the business, but would they pull the wool over Chinnor’s eyes? Only the next 80 minutes would tell.

Chinnor started well, but a momentary lapse of concentration allowed the opposition fullback to run through the first line of defence then arc wide to touch down in the corner, 7-0.
Guilty of still being on the bus, Chinnor fought back. The pack led by Steve “Mrs” Bridges soon worked their way up field. Further pressure and good rucking saw the visitors awarded a penalty. Showing he had his kicking boots on, “Getya” Dickinson pulled back 3 points for Chinnor.

Surprisingly, the visitors really started to gel early on. “Coxy” Cox was all over the place on the wing, and solid work by Mike “Assistant to the Assistant” Newman with Georgina “Louise” White gave good possession. Aided further by “Harry Potter” Bambrook they formed a ruck just inside Witneys 10m. “Shoes” picked up, ran right, handed off then piled over the line to give Chinnor the lead, 10-7.

The visitors then suffered their first injury, as new face Ben “Amelia-Mercedes” Rowe had to go off with a bruised knee. This allowed one of the Williams sisters, Gavin “Just Married” Williams on after a short break.

The reshuffle saw “Getya” at 10 and soon putting boot to ball to allow Chinnor to play in Witney’s territory. More attacking pressure produced another penalty. A quick tap from Johnny “Previn” Williams (another sister) and the ball was out to “Mrs” Bridges. An exceptionally decisive and aggressive break by the Chinnor No. 8 (in his own words) was just held up 5m out. A pop to the immovable John “Tin” Cann saw the prop burst through and touch down in a Spider like stretching movement, 7-15. A move, his counterpart, Terry “And June” Chappell would have been proud of.

Just before the break, Chinnor’s second injury occurred to their most precious player, Johnny “Previn” Williams. A suspected dislocated shoulder allowed new face Rupert “Biggin” Hill on for the first time at 9.

Facing the wind after the break may have dented the visitor’s confidence as a few minutes in, another bout of tackle shyness caught hold after an adjacent clearance from Chinnor.
Running back Witney slipped tackles to touch down under the posts, 14-15, game on.

Despite this set back, Chinnor forced play again into Witney’s half. A Witney scrum saw the ball passed out only to be intercepted by possible future Captain “Getya” Dickinson, who then jinked and wrong footed the Witney fullback to extend Chinnor’s lead once more.14-20.

The minutes ticked down, the Chinnor attacks never relented. The third Williams sister, Chris “Critter” Williams penetrating at every chance with James “Rosemary” Connolly in support.

Yet another attack formed a Chinnor ruck just yards out. Sensing the game going out of reach Witney did all they could to repel this. “Biggin” Hill passed out left with the ball reaching “Potter”, who with surprising agility ran left and touched down.
The IV team legends first try was unfortunately disallowed, as official for the day Stan “Ken” Barlow adjudged himself in the way and blocking the defence.

Witney rallied for one last attack. A breakdown saw one large forward break inside and up field. The large forward was met by one not so large fullback in the form of “Shakespeare” McDermott who forced a knock on in the tackle. The resulting scrum saw the ball cleared to touch and the game in the bag for Chinnor.

A game described as one with moments of shape and structure interspersed with moments of not. The IV’s travel to High Wycombe this week.