Pace proves too much for Chinnor’s opposition

IN this one sided match, Chinnor RFC scored 12 tries to overcome Barnstaple 76-5 and move themselves to second in the table.

Straight from the start, Chinnor went on the attack and scored, through Burns, on the second minute. The scores then came at regular intervals as Barnstaple struggled to get into the match. A break by Burns saw Armitage in for Chinnor’s second. Lamont was next from wide out. Barnstaple then incurred the ref’s displeasure when a illegal interference too many saw Barnstaple’s Hilton into the bin and a penalty try to Chinnor. A rolling maul led to CJ Osazuwa’s try. The last few minutes saw intense Barnstaple pressure and their hearts sank when Chinnor overturned the ball and ran the length of the field to see Armitage dot down his second. With Hopkin converting all but one of the tries, Chinnor went in 40-0.

Barnstaple came out blazing for the second half and some sharp play in the 41st minute saw No 8 Ben Hilton dot down for their first, and last, score of the day. Normal service was resumed somewhat bizarrely. Fatialofa’s pass was intercepted on the Barum 5m line. Chasing back, Fatialofa then intercepted a Barum pass to quickly reverse direction and over the Barnstaple line for Chinnor’s seventh try. Lamont then scorched down the tramlines for the eighth try. The conversion attempt then became the talking point of the day. Everyone, save the officials, saw the kick sail clearly between the posts to keep the score at 55-5. Time for Danny Barnes to step up. A 16 phase play from 22 to 22 saw classy passing to see Barnes in for Chinnor’s ninth. Barnes then fiercely tackled a Barum attempted run out and picked up the dislodged ball for an easy try. Another piece of gliding back play saw Barnes in for his hat trick try. On the final whistle, Hopkin found the hole he had been seeking all match for Chinnor’s twelfth and final try.

It is usually hard to draw any inferences from such a one sided match. Barnstaple appeared to be outdone by the pace of the match. When they upped the pace, at the very start of the second half, they found reward.

Chinnor , with their all enveloping defence, gave the Devon boys little breathing space to do much at all. Frank Jones’ rapid service set the backs running all day to run in nine of the tries scored on the day. Armitage, as always, was bustling and bruising but Danny Barnes hit a 15 minute purple patch in the second half to score a hat trick and do much else, besides being awarded Man of the Match.
The latter stages of the match saw players rotate through various positions with Frank Jones playing in three different places and Jamie Townsend in four! The scrum contest was even but the Chinnor pack had the advantage in all the hand to hand stuff with the strength of Hannay and Osazuwa always evident. Burns surely collected every ball put in the air and an honourable mention to Bertie Hopkin who tried all day to find a gap in the Barum defence and was finally successful just as the referee put whistle to mouth to end the day.

Teams

Chinnor
Kieran Goss, Danny Barnes, Bevon Armitage, Junior Fatialofa, Henry Lamont, Bertie Hopkin, Frank Jones, Tom Price, Jon Phipps, Jay Tyack, Nathan Hannay, CJ Osazuwa, Richard Thorpe, George Messum, Tom Burns

Interchanges: Ricky Cano, Mark Darlington, Jamie Townsend, Sam Miller, Greg Goodfellow

Barnstaple
Will Topps, Linford Brock, Jake Murphy, Ryan Carter, Ryan Lee, Steve Perry, James Bath, Mark Berry, Ash Crouch, Kevin Angell, Oli Mason, Adam Lloyd, Matt Hague, Nat Bayet, Ben Hilton

Interchanges: Rob Dugard, Paul Thomas, Tom Dunbavin, Luke Berry, Tom Clark

Scorers

Chinnor
Tries (time): Burns (2), Armitage (5, 40), Lamont (9, 49), Penalty (18), Osazuwa (26), Fatialofa (47), Barnes (60, 72, 75), Hopkin (79)
Conversions (time): Hopkin (3, 6, 19, 28, 40, 61, 73, 76)
Penalty Goals (time):

Barnstaple
Tries (time): Hilton (41)
Conversions (time):
Penalty Goals (time):

Referee: Calum Howard
Attendance: 271
Half time score: 40-0
Full time score: 76-5
Star man: Danny Barnes (Chinnor)

SOURCE: Contributed