A great performance by our lads saw them beat Bicester in a competitive XV a side fixture for the first time.

The boys were definitely up for today's game, none more so than Henry against his old club. It was Bicester though who had the early pressure and it was only a monster tackle by Guy on the try line that prevented Bicester from taking the lead inside the first minute. For much of the first half things were pretty even, with both sides enjoying possession in attacking positions. However, Chinnor were pinged several times for being offside at the breakdown giving Bicester two opportunities for three points, which were accepted with aplomb. Shortly before half time Bicester scored their only try of the game when they shoved over to take a lead of 11-0 into the interval.

Down on the scoreboard, but not outplayed and not disheartened, Chinnor really came out fighting in the second half. Tommy, Henry and Guy made tackle after tackle; Dan, who had a great game at scrum half, was distributing the ball well behind the scrum, and Nic (who played most of the game with a probably broken finger), Max, Henry and Ollie were commanding at the back. Tom Hook also made a difference when he came on at fly-half. They had to be patient though, and with Bicester defending resolutely, it took a while for the breakthrough to come. It eventually came when Guy made ground from the base of the scrum and recycled for Henry to score between the posts. Ollie converted to close the gap to 11-7. With their tails up now Chinnor soon took the lead when Nic raced down the wing to score in the corner and Ollie converted superbly from the angle. Bicester rallied but, as the clock ran down, never really threatened. Indeed, it was Chinnor who looked the more likely to score, and score they did when Cam intercepted a pass and hared away to score in the final play. The conversion proved elusive, but an 11-19 win was more than satisfactory.

Well done lads, and thanks to Bicester for their grace in defeat. The boot has been on the other foot often enough, but it feels good to get the monkey off our backs at last.

Although I don't yet have the result from the Oxford vs. Banbury game that should have been played today the position in the U15s league division one is interesting, with nobody able to hold on to a 100% record. The table will be on the club's website once I have this result, but it's likely to be close at the top with each of Bicester, Chinnor, Oxford and Wallingford in contention. Should make for some interesting encounters and biting of nails in the new year.