U13’s host a powerful Witney squad.

With only a few players on World Cup watching duty our U13’s sizable squad hosted Witney at Kingsey Road. With 35 players donning the black and white match day jerseys the challenge was to give everyone some decent match time and compete with a Witney team full of power and guile.

Witney’s squad of 21 meant our Blue and Red teams took it in turn to play the one Witney team, whilst a Barbarians - mixed Chinnor and Witney - match went ahead simultaneously on the adjacent pitch.

The Blue team were up first and amazingly showed no signs of Rugby World Cup sleep deprivation. The forwards, running hard from the first whistle returned the kick-off straight back into Witney territory, with Morris and Mulholland brushing off tackles and making good ground. Fast ball at the breakdown, straight running and accurate passing meant Chinnor spent a sustained period in the Witney half resulting in a well worked try by Phillips quickly followed by another from Golding. Vaughan marshalled the back-line and kept causing problems for the Witney defence with Taylor, Butler and Parkin all coming close. Witney’s solid scrum and pacey back three ensured there was always a threat but the Chinnor wings and full-back ran everything back, combining well to make some vital yards. Two more tries from Vaughan and Hayden ensured Chinnor finished the half with a commanding lead. Chinnor up by four tries to nil. The stand-out feature was the improved communication, support play and sheer hard-work from a team that are starting to gel and enjoying fast attacking running rugby.

The second-half saw the Red team face up to a Witney side with several personnel and positional changes. These tweaks and some wayward kicking from Chinnor presented Witney with several chances to capitalise. They did this with great aplomb, scoring three quick-fire tries from just inside the Chinnor half. A bit shell-shocked, it was time for the Reds to re-group, keep possession and up the work-rate. With Bailey, Riley, Kampa and Moody running powerfully and off-loading the ball to supporting players, Chinnor played the last ten minutes in the Witney half and started a fight back. The reward was two tries in quick succession to finish the half on a more positive note. Unfortunately it was a case of a little too late. So the second half went to Witney, three tries to two.

Overall, a 30-17 victory for Chinnor against an improving and talented Witney squad. Congratulations to both sides who were a credit to their clubs, on the pitch and at the post-match lunch.

Special mention to Josh Alexander for leading out the All Blacks with his new best mate Richie McCaw.