Category: Sports News

ANOTHER fantastic home win for the Chinnor seconds
13th Feb 2010 – Chinnor 30 vs 0 Redingensians;

CHINNOR Seconds have added the league leaders, Redingensians seconds to their list of impressive home game results this season. Redingensians have won 11 and drawn 1 out of their 14 league games this season and is a team that one should respect. Chinnor knew this was going to be a major challenge although Chinnor was the team that held them to a draw earlier in the season. With Chinnor?s back line made up mainly of Colts all under 18 it was to be a big challenge.

As usual, Chinnor started the game looking like they were stronger, and it wasn?t long before they were awarded a penalty, which was converted into points by Jack Green. The two teams soon found their rhythm and played very well with Chinnor having the advantage with the forwards. This allowed the backs to get a lot of good ball. Alex Woodhouse scored the first try with the support of the backs. Chinnor kept Redingensians under a lot of pressure with them defending the try line and Chinnor just kept driving them back. They were rewarded with a well-taken try by senior citizen Simon Matthews who is an inspiration to all young players and players in general at Chinnor. The try was converted by Jack Green followed by another successful penalty and Chinnor finished the half 18 points to nil.

The second half started with a more determined Redingensians taking the game to Chinnor, and the Chinnor forwards once again dominated the scrums as they had in the first half and weathered the storm. Chinnor lost young Tom Green due to a deliberate late tackle by the opposition scrumhalf, he left the field with a suspected dislocated shoulder. Fortunately the injury wasn?t as serious. Once again most of the game was played between the two twenty two metre lines exhibiting some real physical rugby from both sides. Chinnor again added the first points of the half with the forwards driving Ben Ramsdale over the try line. The dieing moments of the second half Chinnor produced a very well worked back line run allowing Guy Hackshaw the opportunity of scoring a great try. The game ended 30 points to 0 in Chinnor?s favour, another great win for the team.Both Baz Corpe cut eye and Ricky Hopwood concussion had to be replaced due to injuries, which we hope aren?t too serious. Chinnor played 6 colts this weekend, most of the colts played the full eighty minutes and showed great potential. They were a credit to Chinnor and the team.All 18 of the Chinnor team had good games with Tom Green and Ricky Hopwood standing out, but man of the match this week goes to Ricky Hopwood.

Tries ; Alex Woodhouse,simon Matthews,Ben Ramsdale and Guy Hackshaw.

Conv : Jack Green x 2

Pen ; Jack Green x 2

Walter McGuicken

Thame United 2, Didcot Reserves 2 – League game – 13/01/10; MATCH REPORT

THAME United?s quest for promotion suffered a setback on Saturday, at Wallingford, when they drew 2-2 with Didcot Town reserves, a team they really should have beaten.

Although United had the majority of ball possession, they were largely ineffective on front of the visitors’ goal and had to come back from behind twice to force a draw. With expectation raised after two excellent performances, this game will be viewed as two points lost rather than one point gained.

United controlled the opening exchanges but scoring chances were few. Perhaps the best chance of the half fell to Luke Rickets, after 20 minutes, but his 15-yard shot was wide. Thame keeper, Lee Orkney hardly touched the ball and it was 33 minutes before he made his first save. The visitors however grew in confidence and three minutes later, he was beaten by visiting striker Luke White from 12-yards. The home side came back in the final few minutes of the half, but seemed unable to play with the pace, creativity and width seen in recent performances. Pundits in the home crowd put this down to the fact that Thame?s goal scorer and maker, Aaron Rogers was playing in midfield, rather than up-front.

Thame came out fired up for the second half and besieged the visitor?s goal with the ball rarely crossing into United?s half. Their pressure was rewarded with an equaliser in the 60th minute. Ricketts took a free kick on the right which was met by Nick Rhodes at the far post with a strong header which the keeper got a hand to but could not prevent from crossing the line. Thame?s pressure continued with both Stuart Barr and Adam Rhodes going close, it seemed only a matter of time before their winner came. Against the run of play, however Didcot hit Thame with their second goal in the 72nd minute. They broke quickly on the right and the ball was crossed to the unmarked Harry Halls who finished well from 15-yards, giving Orkney no chance. Parity was restored with 8 minutes remaining when the ball was played from the left to Stuart Braun who finished clinically from close range. The final few minutes saw United continuing their onslaught against a packed defence, but the scores were even when the final whistle blew.

Thame United: Orkney, Newell (Jones), Meredith, Cowan, N. Rhodes (c), El-Kaissir, Barr, A. Rhodes, Braun, Rogers, Ricketts.

United are away to South Kilburn next Saturday 20th February. Their next home game is on Saturday 27th when Chalfont Wasps are the visitors.

LEAGUE CUP 3rd Round – February 07, 2010 – Prestwood Colts 0 Vs Thame Boys 4; MATCH REPORT (Contributed)

THAME travelled to Prestwood, top of Division 4 by a long way, early on Sunday, in search of a good win to provide some confidence to set the team on a good run in the league.

With a full squad to pick from, Gerald had a team all desperate to prove themselves and all keen to get a game after a long lay-off.

Thame started very brightly and piled on the pressure from the start which is encouraging given the slow starts we have had in the past. We have too often been afraid of shooting at goal and the first 15 minutes saw several shots on target from Thame. However, the early pressure failed to pay off until later in the first half.

With Alex KFC and Stuart working well up front together, Alex had a shot saved from a keeper who was about to have a busy day at the office. Stuart got put through also but just couldn?t outpace a reasonable defence. Thame should have taken the lead when Alex intercepted a poor kick from the keeper and sliced his shot wide having done all the hard work. The danger with all this pressure was a break from the opposition as we moved more players forward.

Bradley was having a strong game and made some good runs down the right side while Matthew was yet again providing a solid defence whilst putting some good balls through to attack. Cameron meanwhile was having a good game at the back providing some pace in defence.

The goal finally came when a good cross came in from Brad, and Alex was there to volley a well taken goal which saw Thame in at half time 1-0 up. The team were advised to not panic when in possession and half time saw Alex Ingle, Louie and Duncan come on. Taylor stayed on and was having a good game in midfield. Austin was moved to left back, Lewis had a rest as did Brad and Ollie.

Aiden had a quiet day but was still alert at all times and came out really well to snuff out any potential Prestwood attacks. Louie got involved right from the off with some strong tackling and it was only a matter of time before Thame extended their lead.

Alex KFC was a constant threat to Prestwood’s defence and took a well taken second of the day on the break. Alex Ingle could have added a third but shot wide and several other chances went begging as Thame surged forward looking to bury the game. George was strong as ever in defence and Cameron seemed to be everywhere, mopping up any danger. Max came on for Stuart and Ross came on in left midfield for the final third of the game.

Max scored a well-taken third and Alex KFC got his reward for his hard work and tenacity by chipping over the keeper for his first hat-trick of the season and his best game by far.

The 4-0 score could have been 7 or 8 but Gerald felt the clean sheet was important and the team was praised for their efforts and a shot at a cup competition.

The gulf was quite big between the leagues but Thame will have confidence going in to their next League game and hopefully go on a winning run to finish high up the league.

Well done to Cameron who got man-of-the-match.

CHINNOR v Bicester (Oxfordshire Cup Tie) Tuesday, 9th Feb. 7.45 Kick-off.
Chinnor RFC, Kingsey Road, Thame.

PHOTO: Chinnor Fly Half, James Cathcart prepares to convert a Try closely watched by young contender, water-boy, Charlie Nicholls, at last week’s match.
Score; Chinnor 43 – Maidenhead 14

THAME Football Partnership (TFP) is looking for local support for the new site about to commence in Early February. With the main build funds in place the aim is to create additional funding to help the sustainability of the complex, providing a first class community facility for the future.

To help achieve this aim TFP will be creating a Wall of Fame around the entrance area where single bricks can be sponsored.

Wall of Fame Sponsor, Frank Thompson, commented, ?We are looking for a local business or company to sponsor the name of this wall at the facility, and their company name or logo will be displayed on a plaque on the wall with their message demonstrating support for the club and the community facility. Then we would look for individuals to buy a brick/s in the wall?
Buy a Brick Sponsor ?What we are looking for is for individuals to buy a brick/s, for this they would get their name on the wall of fame, mounted on a plaque on the brick demonstrating support for the club and the community facility. The cost will be

CHINNOR seconds match report for 30th January 2010.

Chinnor Seconds travelled away to Esher RFC another big London club encounter whose first team is top of National one. The boys did us proud by coming home with another 3 points. This was destined to be another hard game for the village team. Six players were not available from last week?s team and with only one replacement. This was another game played between two good teams displaying good rugby.

Chinnor started the game looking like they were stronger team, and it wasn?t long before they added the first points with a try by Ben Ramsdale.
The two teams soon found their rhythm and played very well with Chinnor having the advantage in the forwards. But it was Esher that got the next points with a penalty. Chinnor once again put Esher under a lot of pressure with them defending the try line but Chinnor just kept driving them back and were rewarded with a well earned try by Baz Corpe. Chinnor continued to lead 10 points to 3. The next twenty minutes of the first half saw Chinnor forwards putting Esher under a lot of pressure and were rewarded for their hard work with a converted try by Johnny Vaughan. Thankfully Johnny who is 42 stepped in and helped the seconds out due to the shortage of players. The first half finished 17 points to 3 in Chinnor?s favour.

The second half started with a more determined Esher taking the game to Chinnor, and the Chinnor forwards once again dominated at all the set pieces as they had in the first half. Once again most of the game was played between the two twenty two metre lines exhibiting some real physical rugby from both sides. Chinnor again added the first points of the half with the forwards driving Ben Ramsdale over the try line and Green adding the two extra points.

In the 20th minute Esher caught Chinnor napping and ran in a great try from their own 22-metre line, which they converted. Chinnor?s lead was cut down to 24 points to 10. Chinnor then came back with another try by James Serrano that was converted by Green. Esher came right back with another converted try of their own, and Chinnor again replied with a try by Jack Green. Esher were not finished and added another converted try in the 5th minute of injury time, and the game ended 36 points to 24 to Chinnor. The five players from the colts who played in the team helped greatly in making it a great result. Well-played boys.
Although everyone had good games the man of the match goes to two players Ben Ramsdale and Max Williams who were both outstanding.

MATCH REPORT – Milton United 1 Thame United 3 – Hellenic League Division 1 East; Monday 1st February, 2010.

UNITED stormed to the top of the league on Monday evening with a convincing win over fancied promotion rivals Milton United.

With the band of Thame supporters still re-living the performance of the season the previous week at Rayners Lane, few could have anticipated that performance would be surpassed so quickly. Surpassed it was as United put on a clinical and professional display, with the final score line doing little to reflect their dominance and control of the game.

In cold, frosty conditions, it was United who were fastest out of the blocks, with Luke Ricketts and Stuart Barr causing problems down the flanks, and the inter-play between the strike pairing of Aaron Rogers and Stuart Braun resulting in confusion in the home defence. Indeed, it was Rogers who went closest in the opening ten minutes, clipping the crossbar with a 20 yard effort from wide right. Ten minutes later and his strike partner Braun did well to connect with a cross from Ricketts, heading the ball powerfully against the bar for a second time. At this stage Milton rarely troubled the Thame defence, which was well marshalled throughout the game by captain Nik Rhodes. Thame continued to pile on the pressure and were rewarded with the opening goal five minutes before half time. Luke Ricketts beat his marker on the wide left and did well to deliver an inch perfect cross from the by-line for Stuart Barr who headed home confidently from close range. It was no less than United deserved for their dominance of the opening half.

The second half started in similar vein and was only five minutes old when United increased their lead. Rogers did well to collect the ball on the wide right and crossed to Braun who, sandwiched between two defenders, controlled the ball on his in-step before confidently finishing low in to the bottom left from the edge of the box. At this stage, United could have been forgiven for sitting back, but they continued to press forward and the third goal duly arrived 15 minutes later when Rogers again crossed from the right but this time it was Barr who controlled the ball on his chest before drilling home from 8 yards. Three nearly became four five minutes later when Rogers crashed a header from Ricketts corner against the bar for a third time.

With ten minutes still to play, Searl in the Thame goal had rarely been threatened, but he was beaten by a deflected shot from the experienced Milton striker Concannon in the 81st minute. However, by this stage it was game over and United took the three points to send them top of the league, two points clear of nearest rivals, Wokingham.

United are without a game this weekend, but return to league action on 13th February with their first home fixture since December. United entertain Didcot Town Reserves with a 3:00pm kick off at AFC Wallingford.

Thame United: Searl, Newell, Meredith, Boult, N.Rhodes, El-Kassir, A.Rhodes, Barr, Rogers (Jones), Braun (Way), Ricketts

GLL, who manage South Oxfordshire District Council?s eight leisure facilities through Nexus, have made available a fantastic funding opportunity for talented young athletes within South Oxfordshire.

The GLL Sport Foundation (GSF) is a not-for-profit organisation set up to offer financial and training grants to help the next generation of sporting hopefuls. The Foundation operates across a range of Boroughs in London and the South of England.

With excitement growing for both London 2012 and national sporting success, there is a real opportunity to help young athletes follow their sporting ambitions and raise sport participation within local communities.
Successful applicants from South Oxfordshire will benefit from funding of up to

CHINNOR 1st XV, Captain Matt Hutchings, will be running a rugby camp for 5 to 12 year olds during the February Half Term holidays.

This successful ??rugby is fun? camp has been running for a number of years now and is open to members and non members, players and those new to the game. It is held at Chinnor Rugby club situated just on the outskirts of Thame on Kingsey Road.

1 day starts at

THE Thame 10k run, one of Thame’s largest mass sports participation events, has grown so much in popularity over the last few years that the organisers, Thame Runners, have had to put a limit on the number of entrants.

The limit will be 1000 entries and this will ensure the safety and enjoyment for both runners and organisers.

Runners are advised to enter as soon as possible as the entry limit will be reached some time before June 27, 2010.

On-line entries can be made via www.thamerunners.co.uk
or an entry form can be downloaded from www.thamerunners.co.uk
and posted in with a cheque.

The childrens fun run, which starts about five minutes after the 10km runners depart, will continue to be entries on the day only.

THE 26th annual Thame CPM 10km road race will be held this year on Sunday, June 27, 2010, starting at 9.30 am from Thame Leisure Centre.