On a misty, cold Sunday lunchtime, the queues of cars and busses were as far as the eye could see, just to watch this anticipated colts rugby battle between Bicester and Chinnor. The excitement was too much for some so they diverted into Bicester Village !!!

13.30pm and Chinnor kick off, a good chase and Will F forces Bicester to fumble into touch, line out to Chinnor. This good start is foiled as the line out is intercepted and Bicester put boot to ball and clear their lines.

A strong and big Bicester pack showed their gameplay early on, getting the ball to their man-mountain No22 to see if the Chinnor boys could stop him. For the one and only time in the first half we didn’t stop him early in his stride, he punched a hole in the Chinnor defence and a quick recycle and Bicester’s No12 was in under the posts, easy conversion, 7-0.

A quick chat from the Chinnor coaches and our boys re-grouped. Then, encouraged by Sam G's crunching tackle on No22, showing he was stoppable, then the Chinnor boys won a scrum against the head, we were up for it. Sam T at scrum half spun the ball out and Chinnor were on the move, only to be stopped by a great saving tackle, knock on and turnover.

Bicester forced their way up to halfway, but Chinnor gave no more ground , Bicester kicked long and high, the ball gathered by Dan M at full back, a sidestep and run got Chinnor back into the Bicester half, slow support play and Bicester had the ball, they moved it well and Chinnor were penalised, this gave away a kickable penalty, which was duly converted, 10-0.

From the kick off Chinnor won the ball back from a Bicester knock on, another strong scrum and a blindside pick and go had Chinnor on the Bicester try line. Some great attacking phases couldn’t break through the defence, a long clearing kick to halfway, and Bicester could breath again. Line out lost and within seconds another penalty gave Bicester 3 more easy points. 13-0.

Bicester were having no luck breaking through, Adam M, Owen B, Finn S, Ed M and Shaun B built a defensive wall that could have kept Genghis Khan out !!! Then, to both sides amazement, the referee decided that a great tackle from George L was a shoulder charge and gave Bicester a penalty and another easy 3 points, 16-0.

The next few minutes turned into a midfield battle, with the Chinnor boys starting to believe in themselves. The pre-match scrum, tackling and set play coaching started to pay off as we were winning all the scrums, we started breaking tackles and turning the ball over.

Half time 16-0.

Bicester kick off, Chinnor catch, pass and kick to touch, the simple things done well. Chinnor win the line out and you can see their confidence growing, Magnus P quickly clearing the ruck, George L and Ollie J combining well to release a marauding Rosco P, in off his wing, cheered on by his GGR cheerleaders!

Chinnor were now attacking with confidence, running the ball well, moving the Bicester pack around the park. Louis A made a break for Archie B-G, playing at fly half, to take over and only a last ditch tackle forced an unfortunate knock on.

A long kick clear and Chinnor had to start all over again, Dan M made another good run supported by Ed M, Josh R and Alfie C. The ball was passed beautifully along the full width of the pitch for Archie B-G to score a try in the corner, a brilliant, in off the crossbar conversion by Alfie C. 16-7.

From the kickoff, the Chinnor strongman, Finn A got a knock in the unmentionables and had to go off. Now it was all Chinnor, Harry J, George L, Ollie J and the clever Alfie C were immense, moving the ball quickly and seeing the bigger Bicester team tiring. This forced a high tackle and yellow card for the Bicester No3.

A clever kick to the corner, a perfect leap from Magnus P in the line out and Chinnor spun the ball wide again, “TRY CHINNOR”…..No, the T.M.O said it was a knocked on!!!!

Chinnor were really on top now, but a quick breakout and a couple of missed tackles, put Chinnor on the defensive, a contentious decision from the referee gave Bicester the chance to kick to the corner. This gave the Bicester coaches a chance to make a clever tactical move, they put the big No22 back onto the pitch, they secured the line out and he was unstoppable from 1 yard. Conversion missed, 21-7.

The Chinnor heads didn’t go down, they just lined up and following Harry J’s example got on with playing some lovely quick rugby. Another attack down the left wing and Chinnor were on the Bicester try line, phase after phase, attack against defence. Ed M, Dan M and Alfie C were all stopped just short of the line, then George L forced his way over for a well deserved try. Conversion missed 21-12.

We may have lost this game but the boys, coaches and supporters did Chinnor RFC proud.

Match report - Louisa Morris + David Metcalf
Photos - David Metcalf