Chinnor Under 15 take league title in the final game of the season!

MATCH PLAYED -March 25, 2010- Oxford RFC 0 vs Chinnor RFC 38 – March report by Mark Carter.

THE Chinnor Under 15s rugby squad knew before this match what a tall order it was to beat Oxford by a clear 34 points but the boys needed no additional motivation. They knew exactly what they had to do, and set about doing it from the first whistle and did not stop until the last. The skill, passion, fitness, commitment, camaraderie and, above all, the supreme intelligence, was fantastic. The boys played as a team, played for each other, and came out with what they wanted against an Oxford side who by no means threw in the towel.

For once, Chinnor dominated the early territory and possession. Playing with the wind in the first half, the forwards set up a strong platform for Henry Gayler to plough through the middle of the Oxford defence and score under the posts to settle the nerves with an early score. George Grose, who influenced the game with composure tonight at ten, stroked the ball through the sticks to claim the extras. Shortly afterwards the lead was extended when Nic Barker scampered down the right wing to score, but the angle was too tight for the conversion to succeed.

Our third almost came when Ollie Wingfield burst through and evaded several tackles, only to be held up on the line by a superb covering tackle but the try did eventually come when George English burst through to score and George G added the conversion to bring the score to 0-19.

And thus to half time, and to half-way there in a match Chinnor were totally dominating in terms of territory and possession despite being under huge pressure at the scrum, an area where Oxford were clearly on top.

To their huge credit Oxford did not hang their heads and give in. They came out fighting in the second half and enjoyed their first spell of pressure inside the Chinnor twenty-two. But the Chinnor defence held firm and, after a tense few minutes, the pressure was relieved in the best possible way. Guy Carter flicked the ball through his legs to Lewis Aitken, who had a wonderful game, who released Ollie; Ollie then ran from inside our own dead ball area to score at the other end. George G converted: 0 – 26, the bonus point secured, and edging closer.

But Oxford came back again and showed amazing spirit. Their forwards battered our defence but could find no way through. Wave after wave of Oxford attack was repelled in what was becoming a classic. The nerves of the Chinnor support were frayed, but there was time, there was hope. The boys had it all under control. The breakthrough came after a strong run from Cam Harvey was ended by a thumping covering tackle by Oxford’s fullback and then a line out steal allowed George E to grab his second of the night. With five minutes left the conversion was hastily struck and just missed: 0-31, and 3 points more needed.

Still Oxford came at us, but a knock on gave us a scrum, which we won, kicked downfield, and eventually won a penalty on the twenty-two. A tap and go and Henry took the ball and ran at the posts like a train. There was no stopping him as he bludgeoned his way to the line for his second and the decisive score. The Chinnor lads erupted in glee but George kept his nerve to slot the kick and give us a lead of 0-38. With the six try lead established, the game ended there.

For the record, the Chinnor team tonight was:
Rory O Connor; Tommy Evans; George English; Jack Pearce; Josh Wade (sub: Dom Bradbrook Taylor, HT); Rob Gascoyne; Connor Green; Guy Carter; Lewis Aitken; George Grose; Nic Barker; Henry Gayler; Ollie Wingfield; Joe Baldwin (sub: Cam Harvey, 2nd half); Max Judge. Subs not used: Jack Shiels; Barnie Matthews; Josh Entwhistle; Ross Bunsell; Dan Cundy.

Thanks also to Ieuan Mainwaring, Connor Wheeler, Lewis Cook and Tom Hook and Dougie Haynes for coming to support, and to Matt Faulkener and Cam Leff too, who could not be there tonight. These lads have played their part on the pitch throughout the course of the season but played an equally big part off it tonight.

We should also thank our hosts, tonight, Oxford, who gave it everything despite missing a number of players, and who showed exceptional good grace in defeat. Oxford will now go forward to a play off against either Quins or Henley to retain their first division status. We send them our best wishes for that game.

We also take our hats off to Wallingford, who led the table all season and who were pipped tonight by the slenderest of margins. Everyone at Chinnor salutes your achievements this season. We have been neck and neck all the way and it has made for an exciting race. We can only look forward to more of the same next season. Bring it on!

Boys, we are all very proud of you. Well done on a fantastic game tonight, and on a fantastic season. You did it the hard way, but the satisfaction is huge. Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

We will give everyone, not just those who featured tonight but everyone who has played in the league this season, their medals at a presentation that we plan to have at the Club on Sunday 18 April.

Well done boys!