Chinnor kick off Witney probe a couple of times before their capable #10 kicks a well-judged speculative punt. Gathered by Eddie C at full back and taken up the pitch... Possession traded a little, but some good early tackles from Magnus P, Rich B and Harry R. Then a penalty is given away and it takes some good work by Josh E at fly half to clear the lines.

It was mostly Witney who pressured with their strong forwards carrying time and time again. The were strong in the scrum too, but Chinnor looked good threatening with ball in hand. A clever grubber from #15 would have set up a score, but went a little long. Josh A at #9 was distributing well when Witney tackled high. Chinnor were going forward but a team mate crossed in front of a marauding Archie D, which set the home side back. With possession won back, Josh A set up winger Tom W, who wisely popped it back for the scrum half to open the scoring. 5.0.

Chinnor had the edge at the lineout with Rich B doing most of the work in the air. The windy conditions weren't helping anyone and before they knew it, Chinnor were on their 22 and having to clear again. Fortunately they secured a penalty and with no advantage coming, they came back to 10m within their own half. A tap and go, then through several sets of hands for a well-timed pass from Ollie J (at #6) to Tom W who put on the afterburners on to outrun two defenders and score in the corner. 10-0.

Then play slowed a little. Props Shaun B and Adam M, along with captain Tom F (playing at #8), joined the other forwards in securing or clearing out rucks. Witney went down temporarily to 14 players for a high / no-arms tackle, but the home side couldn't capitalise on this. Centres Josh R and Toby C were working hard, but both team's defence was good and there was not much action on either wing.

The second half saw Dan M on at scrum half, Jude H on for Joe C on the wing, Sam G on for Magnus P in the engine room and Harry B and Louis A on in the front row. At fullback Chris B came on for Eddie C and Dylan T took Josh R's place at outside centre. The wind was still up!

A good pairing of Josh E at #10 and Jude H on the wing saw inroads into Witney's half, but not a score. Then it was back to Witney pressure which had to be soaked up. Then a break when Dylan T turned the ball over and Tom W ran a line through the middle of the defence and ran 40 yards to score under the posts. 17-0.

Another good inroad into Witney's half from the combination of #8, #12 and #13, all fed from the scrum half but stopped again by Witney. Then it was back to the visitors to apply the pressure. Chinnor temporarily went down to 14 players for despite the incredible workrate, Chinnor's #8 was judged to have cleared a ruck from the side. Witney's pressure told and they went over the whitewash. 17-7.

Chinnor came back with some good play, but good defence resulted in a knock on. When they regained possession, Witney's speedy defence won them a penalty for holding on. Under pressure, Jude H tracked back to gather a kick that was perilously close to the try line and managed to jink his way up to the 22. Chinnor worked their way to the other end of the pitch but were penalised for knowing better than the referee.

Play ebbed and flowed, with players tiring a little. Then Chinnor's fly half passed out to the fullback who backed himself, running through two defenders and fending off his opposite number to score. 22-7. Play then settled again - a lot of pick and go from the visitors, both sides knocking on at times and slightly scrappy contests. The hosts then got lucky, with Chris B taking a quick penalty to score against a napping Witney. 29-7.

Witney were not out by any means and came back quickly to score a well worked try from their forwards. 29-14. With only minutes to go, it was all Witney again and they worked themsleves into Chinnor's 22. Chinnor were lucky not be penalised for a late tackle and managed to hold off what looked like the inevitable until they stole possession and kicked for touch....

Chinnor worked hard for their win against a bigger, stronger pack and some good interplay between backs and forwards. The penalty count was higher than it could have been and there is some more work to do on structure. But that is for another day - the Chinnor squad will be pleased with their efforts and result.

Referee: Mr Dan Shotton OSRFR
Photos: David Metcalf
Report: Alex Bond

Attendance: 79