Bright Start For Chinnor Minis

Beaconsfield RFC were Chinnor Minis first opponents since Christmas and were welcomed with brilliant sunshine to play three matches against the Under 12 squad. The squad seemed to forget about their traditional slow start and a great offload by Ross Bunsell led to Dominic Bradbrook Taylor scoring promptly in the first match, followed by three more tries in the first half from Ross, Ollie Wingfield and Lewis ?Mini? Aitken.
Immediately after the break there was a period of sustained pressure from the Beaconsfield boys which led to two tries in quick succession. Chinnor pulled themselves back together though and Ollie added one more try to his total, leaving the final score at 25-10.
A quick change of personnel and the second match was underway and again Dominic BT was quick to score the first try. The match was much more competitive though and there were no more points scored in the first half. Nic Barker and Adam Isherwood scored immediately after the break and the final score of the match went to Ben Robinson (made by a great charge down from Dom.)
The final match was tough on the small Beaconsfield squad and tiredness made the game somewhat frustrating for them. There was plenty of niggling in the scrum from both sides but Ollie Wingfield scored again early on followed by the now infamous wedge try from prop Guy Carter. There was a superb hat trick from Ross Bunsell and Rob Gascoyne broke through for a try as did Hamish Chalmers. The Beaconsfield spirit should be praised however as they hung on to the bitter end and managed to score twice before the final whistle. Final score 35-10.

Chinnor Under 10s appeared sluggish from the whistle, perhaps because they had not come up against genuine opposition since before the holidays. Beaconsfield slipped a try past within the first minute of the game, throwing down the gauntlet to which Chinnor responded enthusiastically. Matthew Smith then powered through the opposition to score a try from a Chinnor penalty. Thomas Strathdee had a spectacular run, ending just short of the line, and Liam Evans and Charlie Krabbe showed real teamwork against a tough opposition. A high tackle by Beaconsfield gave Iestyn James the chance to capitalise on the ensuing penalty, touching down Chinnor?s second try. After a half-time talk about playing within the rules (following a certain amount of aggressive play from both sides), Ben Chapman and Matthew started the second half with a series of crunching tackles, and Charlie Proctor and Dominic Whaler got in a couple of nimble runs. Chinnor?s defense was hard pressed, but managed to hold Beaconsfield off from scoring again, ending in a hard fought 10 ? 5 victory.

Grey Alvey and the other forwards showed impressive power in the scrum from the beginning of the second match, giving Sam Edwards the chance to move the ball close enough to the line for Thomas Strathdee to take it over for the first try. Superb tackling and driving by Iestyn, Liam and Thomas resulted in Harry Lowe scoring a well-deserved second. James Millett took the opportunity for a superb sprint to open the second half of the match. Chinnor then gained possession from the scrum before being forced out close to Beaconsfield?s line. Iestyn captured the ball from the line out and scattered the opposition for the third try, bringing the match to a 15 ? 0 win.
The Beaconsfield coach was overheard telling his squad they had played against a ?cracking team? ? tell us something we don?t already know!