Category: Sports News

MATCH REPORT – Saturday, March 14 – Henley 19 pts v Chinnor 7 pts.

A solid forward platform is an essential ingredient to have any chance of taking the spoils in a game of rugby. The fiery atmosphere of a local derby only but confirms this. Chinnor struggled in both the set scrums and line-outs and thus were unable to gain true momentum. Their cause was not helped by Joe Winpenny, normally a loose-head prop having to switch to the tight side. Not an easy task. With Ian Stock having to leave the field after 26 minutes play, to be closely followed by Angus Neilsen, then Chinnor’s already stretched resources were being tugged to the limit.

With Chinnor’s University contingent touring in Japan, several changes to the starting line-up were the order of the day. Sam Jones and Christian Wade, both of Wasps Academy made their debuts at No.8 and right wing respectively, with Jack Wallace, another Academy player on the bench,Harry Jackman starting in the second row.

Chinnor chose to play into the breeze and although it was fairly evident from the start that they were going to have a tough time in the tight exchanges, they gave a good account of themselves in the first quarter.Territorially they were on par, the deadlock being broken in the 26th minute when Charlie Hobart kicked a penalty following a Chinnor offside. Chinnor then took the lead with a fine individual try from young Christian Wade. He took the ball some 35 metres from the try line and in beating three defenders, the first by sheer pace on the outside and then jinking inside the other two, he touched down near the posts allowing James Cathcart an easy conversion.Hobart then reduced the lead with another penalty 5 minutes into stoppage time to give Chinnor a 7 points to 6 interval lead.

With the wind at their backs, all appeared reasonably positive from a Chinnor perspective.However with possession almost drying up, they were forced to survive on scraps. The Henley scrum was becoming increasingly dominant, and with Chinnor failing to find their line-out jumpers they were continually on the back foot. A lot of plaudits here for Sam Jones who showed maturity beyond his years in trying to stabilise a scrum going backwards. It came as no surprise when Henley took the lead. After almost incessant pressure their influential No.8 and captain Matthew Payne forced his way over the line in the 57th minute. They added to this when David Clements scored from yet another series of forward drives. Immediately following this try, Chinnor brought on veteran prop Simon Matthews in the 68th minute. Obviously now not the swiftest person on the park, he nevertheless added a touch of solidity to the scrum that it had lacked most of the afternoon. Indeed it was evident that following his appearance the scrum assembled a degree of order. Although Chinnor endeavoured to play catch up rugby, the dye was already cast with local rivals Henley running out well deserved winners.

Not an easy day for Chinnor. There is no doubt that had they been able to gain a little more possession then the result could have been much closer. That James Cathcart only had one kick at goal in the second half, and that from the half-way line, illustrates where most of the game was played in this period.However there were positives to come out of the match. Christian Wade, Sam Jones and Jack Wallace who came on early on in the second half and showed his potential by taking a high ball under pressure almost immediately after taking the field, all had excellent starts in Chinnor colours. At the other end of the age map, a word of praise for Simon Matthews -a cameo of some significance.

THE new Thame Swimming Club (TSC), which is affiliated to the ASA (Amateur Swimming Association), will provide competitive swimming and training for children up to 18 years old at Thame Leisure Centre.

The club has the support of Thame Town Council and Lord Williams?s School. Significant pool time has been secured from the April 17, to allow the development of all swimmers at TSC. In addition to pool time, the club will also benefit from ‘land training’ facilities which will be provided by Lord Williams?s School.

Rebecca Brightling?s design for a club logo has been chosen by the acting committee in a recent competition open to all TSC members. The new logo will be prominent on all club kit and is a stylised THAME in the shape of a fish. The winner and all entries received a prize from Waitrose of Thame which was appreciated by all.

Application and Membership forms are now available and coaching under the guidance of Head Coach, Dave Jones MIOS, FIOS, FIOS(CC), BSCTA starts in Thame on April 17. Dave will be supported by five other qualified coaches, all of whom have agreed to coach at TSC on a regular basis. They are Charlotte Oughton, Rob Briars, Cara Evans, Lorna Whitehead and Karen Powell.

For more information on membership, sponsorship and the activities of Thame Swimming Club, contact:

secretary@thameswimmingclub.co.uk

Club Mobile 07722 219361

Photo:
Coaches – Left to right, Charlotte Oughton, Rob Briars, Head Coach David Jones, Cara Evans and Karen Powell

Front row – some of the entrants and the winner of the the Logo competition:
L to R: Rhiannon Hayward, Phoebe Groves, WINNER Rebecca Brightling, Olivia Hawkes, Danielle Kidd, Christopher Harbour and Maisie Randall

SQUASH coaching, training and competitions at Racquets, run by our very own Level 3 qualified England Squash coach, Darren Withey.

All standards welcome from beginner to elite. For ages 7 to 16 years old.

7th, 8th and 14th, 15th April 2009 – 10am to 3pm

Lunch is included

Book in advance on 01844 261754 to avoid disappointment.

MATCH REPORT – Saturday, March 07 – Chinnor 20 pts Ealing 13 pts.

From a Chinnor perspective, this was a heady day at Kingsey Road on Saturday. In prevailing over the high flying Ealing outfit, Chinnor deserved plaudits of a high magnitude. Ealing, lying second in the league,needed a result to keep their title ambitions alive. Unfortunately for them they came up against a resilient Chinnor XV who were determined to show, to the home support, that their win at Dings Crusaders the previous Saturday was no fluke. They achieved this mainly due to a superb defensive performance and grabbing the few chances that came their way.

Chinnor made two changes, both in the front row, from the previous week. Arthur Ellis, fresh from his England duties, came in at hooker, with Joe Winpenny starting in place of James Eckert.

Ealing started with the breeze at their backs which meant that Chinnor needed to keep the ball in hand through a pick-up and drive approach. This they did showing sensible control during the opening phase of the game. Although they did not make too much ground with this ploy, it nevertheless gave them confidence. Ealing obviously were intent on using the scrummage as an attacking launch pad. From two penalty awards they called for the scrum rather than kicking for the corner or going for goal. The second of these, in the 12th minute, proved to be productive, when ex Wasps Academy No.8 Mark Lock picked up and drove for the Chinnor line. Although he was held up just metres short, Ealing recycled the ball allowing fly half Benjamin Ward to go over near the posts. Peter Hodgkinson, who had a splendid game throughout, made no mistake with the conversion and a penalty some 5 minutes later. With Ealing 10 points to the good it was imperative that Chinnor did not allow them to extend this lead. Indeed it was Chinnor who were next on the score-sheet. Following a forward surge, Chinnor moved the ball to the tight side. Ben Hewitt came into the line from full-back creating just a smidgeon of space for the supporting Chris Mahoney who came off his wing to arrive on the inside of Hewitt. The resultant pass put Mahoney into his stride to outpace the covering defence. He still had it all to do when confronted by Ealing full-back Hodgkinson, but with a faint of the shoulder to the right he swept past the now wrong footed full-back to score under the posts. That this move started some 50 metres out made this try all the more special.James Cathcart added to the conversion. There was still a further 12 minutes left to half-time but the score remained at 10 points to 7 in Ealing’s favour.

With Chinnor now having the benefit of the wind, and the bonus of Cathcart in sound kicking mode, it was game on. Chinnor could not have had a better start. Immediately making use of the wind, they put the ball into the corner. Although twice going close they could not get over the line. With an Ealing put into the scrum it looked as though they had squandered the opportunity. However they were given another chance when Lock spilled the ball, giving Chinnor another scrum feed, just 6 metres out. This time they made no mistake with Peter Wright picking up and forcing his way over the line.Cathcart then slotted a difficult conversion as well as making no mistake with a 45 metre just 5 minutes later.

It was now all Ealing. They came back at Chinnor with an onslaught, involving both forwards and backs which finally resulted in Hodgkinson kicking a penalty in the 71st. minute. Up until then, they had scorned the opportunity of going for three points in favour of an attacking scrum.A welcome break out from defence, saw Ealing transgress, and from the middle of the park, and again some 45 metres out Cathcart kicked the resultant penalty. With 5 minutes of normal time still left on the clock and at least another 5 minutes of injury time to add to this, Chinnor were under the cosh during the whole of this period. They defended to a man to record a memorable win.

Ealing came with a well deserved reputation. They are a high scoring side and in David Howell they have the No.1 try scorer in the league with some 32 tries.That Chinnor restricted them to 13 points, just the one try, and left Howell scoreless puts the Chinor defensive display into persective.

MATCH REPORT – Thame United 0, Binfield 2 – League match 07/03/09.

THAME United were beaten last Saturday (07/03) by Binfield who must be one of the few clubs, at any level of football, that are undefeated this season.

Due to injuries and the unavailability of some key players, Thame fielded a weakened side and, although the first half was close, they were outclassed by the visitors after the break.

Binfield had the better of the opening exchanges but after about 10 minutes, Thame settled and started to threaten the visitors? goal. On 20 minutes, Mark Jones hit a Ben Connelly cross and was unlucky to see it blocked in its way to goal.

The final 20 minutes of the half saw Thame?s best spell and they created, but failed to convert, some good chances. Two minutes before half time, the visitors were awarded a penalty when Mitchell Meredith was harshly judged to have handled the ball in the box. Adam Critenden took the spot kick but placed it too close to Thame?s keeper, Paul Searl who saved well. The teams went in for the break with the game goalless, which was a fair reflection of the play.

Binfield came out fired up for the second half and took the lead in the 52nd minute when Thame gave James Partridge too much space at the edge of the penalty area, allowing him to play a ball to the unmarked Gary Sargeant, whose shot beat Searl from 10 yards. Thame adjusted formation and brought substitutes on but could not take advantage of the few chances they created.

Three minutes before time, the visitors increased their lead when a corner flew over the pack, and was knocked back to substitute Steve Nebbett, whose shot from the edge of the box flew in just under the crossbar. To their credit, Thame heads did not drop and they were attacking when the final whistle blew.

Thame United: Searl, Newell, Meredith, Thompson, Hocking, Cowan, Connelly, El-Kassir (Green), Jones, Hoskins, Way (Gibbs).

United are away to Bisley Sports next Saturday, March 14th. Their next home game is on 21st March when Eton Wick are the visitors.

MATCH REPORT: Tuesday, March 03, 2009 – Thame United 0, versus Wokingham & Emmbrook 1.

IN a game played in atrocious conditions on Tuesday evening, United will feel hard-done-by not to have secured a point against second placed Wokingham & Emmbrook. The difference between the two sides came as early as the second minute when prolific striker, Richard Bland, collected a miscued clearance from Thame keeper, Paul Searl, before seeing his effort from 15 yards take a deflection off defender Lee Thompson and beyond Searl in to the roof of the Thame net.

With the strong wind behind them, Wokingham continued to put pressure on the Thame goal and should have extended their lead in the 12th minute, only for Bland to mis-hit a shot in front of goal with Searl out of position.

Wokingham nearly regretted the missed opportunity when first Dave Hocking went close in the 15th minute, before Tom Hoskin capitalised on a through ball, rounded the keeper and saw his effort from an acute angle go just wide. Five minutes later and a strike from Bland came back off the Thame post before the last meaningful action of the half saw a Mark Jones header from an Adam Rhodes cross well saved by the visiting keeper.

The second half was a similarly even affair, with Wokingham hitting Thame on the break, and Thame seeking to probe an opening through the Wokingham defence. The woodwork again came to the rescue of Thame in the 65th minute when a free kick came back off the bar, whilst Ben Connelly also hit the woodwork for Thame shortly afterwards, with Tom Hoskin unlucky from the rebound.

Thame’s manager Mark West, came on with ten minutes to go in an attempt to secure a point from the game, but Wokingham held on to gain three points in their quest for promotion. In the end, the difference between the two sides was the ability of Wokingham to create and convert chances in the final third of the field.

United have another tough game at home (AFC Wallingford; 3:00pm) against unbeaten Binfield on Saturday, March 7.

Thame United ? Searl, Newell, Meredith, Hocking, Thompson, Cowan (Rogers), Rhodes (Rowley), Jones, Connelly (West), Hoskin, El-Kassir,

OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY CUP MATCH REPORT – Saturday, February 28- Banbury 1 XV 43 points, Chinnor 2nds, 11 points.

Chinnor fielded seven colts in this, their second team and were comprehensively knocked out of the
Oxfordshire County Cup on Saturday.

Fixture congestion, cup registration and player qualification requirements meant that the Chinnor side were light in experience in some key positions.

The first half saw Chinnor under pressure but meeting their counterparts well. The half ended with the game in easy reach of Chinnor but with Banbury taking the points advantage. Young flyhalf, Sam Angel converted two penalties for Chinnors account.

The second half was all Banbury as they exploited Chinnors? weakness in not having an experienced open side playing this week. Playing with effectively three blind side flankers in the back row was Chinnors? downfall.

Banbury put constant pressure in the middle channels, meeting with limited resistance, allowing them to play behind the Chinnor defence.

The Chinnor side though never gave up heart, particularly colts hooker and Chinnor?s man of the match, Joe Pickett, who scored a try from a quick penalty.

Although below par, Chinnor were beaten by the stronger side on the day and wished Banbury well on route to the final and, based on this performance, the Cup.

By Steve Halson

Chinnor 1st XV vs. Ealing
Next home match: Saturday 7th March kick off 3:00pm

MATCH REPORT – Saturday, February 28 – Newbury Reserves 4, Thame United Reserves 4.

THAME Reserves travelled down the A34 to Newbury filled with confidence on the back of two great wins against good opposition.

The game started in a frantic matter and in the first minute James Bloomfield had a golden opportunity to put Thame one goal up after he had shut the home keeper down forcing an error. Unfortunately, a lack of communication and a hurried shot meant he missed the target from eight yards and kept the score at 0-0.

Then Thame were well and truly on the front foot and mounting a wave of attacks and on five minutes, were rewarded with the opening goal. James Bloomfield turned on a sixpence in the box to squeeze his shot in from a tight angle at the near post. Newbury replied with two goals in the next five minutes, the first coming from a cross in open play when the Thame defence allowed the same player to head the ball twice under no pressure about 10 yards out and his second touch made it 1-1.

Newbury’s second goal came from the penalty spot. Captain, Matthew Gibbs, was fortunate, being the last defender to only receive a yellow card after cleaning up Newbury’s centre forward as he was just about to pull the trigger. The match was 10 minutes old and Thame was 2-1 down.

James Bloomfield equalized on 12 minutes with his second of the game, a well worked move involving five players that was calmly slotted home. Newbury then took control of the game and scored twice more before the break, making it 4-2 at half time. A mention must go out to Ryan Bell in goal for Thame. He pulled off a great save with the last kick of the half – a moment in the game that was to prove vital.

Some readjusting and organisation at half time to cancel out the threat of the Newbury attack, allowed Thame to get back in the game and on 55 minutes Greg Stocker’s right foot shot from 30 yards, sailed over the keeper and dropped into the top corner. The game followed an even path pretty much throughout the middle stages of the second half with both teams cancelling each other out.

The introduction of fresh legs gave Thame an extra spring in their step and they became brighter and more successful going forward. Thame got their well deserved rewards on 75 minutes. A corner from the right looked like it was going to be met by the head of the air-bound Russell Haynes. A Newbury defender was spotted infringing his attempt and the referee had no option but to award a penalty. Up stepped Adam Rowley who sent the keeper the wrong way to make it 4-4. Newbury then threw everything they had in an attempt to win the game but the Thame defence stood strong. This left their defence exposed and the chances Thame had didn’t result in the winning goal.

A remarkable come back after being 4-2 down at half time, to see us share the points which over the 90 minutes was a fair result.

Thame were left reflecting that, if only we could have performed at the level we did in the second half in the first, the result may have been a better one.

MATCH REPORT – By Bill O’Donnell – Dings Crusaders 15 vs Chinnor 19 – February 28, 2009.

THIS was the first ever victory against Dings in a classic encounter which bodes well for the future.

Chinnor 1st?s made the trip to the home of Dings Crusaders wondering what this week?s game would bring. Off the back of two convincing defeats, together with 13 1st XV squad players not being available for selection, the journey down to Lockleaze was a quiet affair.

With Bob Baker and Arthur Ellis on duty for England Under 20?s the evening before (Feb 27), the coaching staff had to call back to 1st XV duty the 40 year old veteran of many campaigns, Simon Matthews.

Dings is a ground where Chinnor have never won any of the spoils. Over the years we have played them in SW One and National 3 and always come away with a spirited performance, but no points. Was it going to be different today?

The game started with Chinnor playing up hill facing a strong pack and, as usual, a partisan but very knowledgeable Dings crowd. It was clear within the first few minutes that Dings wanted to win this game, as they put the Chinnor defence under significant pressure.

On 13 minutes, Chinnor gained some relief from the Dings pressure with strong repelling tackles from the back row and a break from the middle of the field which resulted in a penalty for Chinnor, easily converted by James Cathcart.

After 15 minutes, the first of the front row shuffles that characterised parts of this game resulted in Paddy Stennings having to leave the field for a blood injury replaced by Joe Winpenny as hooker.

Dings came back with more slick play which again put pressure on Chinnor?s defence. Great ball recycling from the Dings forwards eventually allowed the Dings hooker, Dave Wheeler, to score the first try which was converted by Adam Westall. The score stood at 7 ? 3 to Dings.

Stennings returned to the game looking like a Buddhist monk after the running repairs to his skull. But it wasn?t long before there was another change in the Chinnor front row as a result of a ‘off your feet’ yellow card for James Eckert. His front row replacement brought the 40 year old club stalwart, Simon Matthews, back in the fray. Simon may be in the twilight of his career, but give him a scrum and he can still show how it?s done.

Dings applied pressure again but a breakdown on the Chinnor line and some slick passing through the Chinnor backs allowed Richard Williams some room to make a long sweeping run towards the top corner of the field. Williams dived into the corner with a couple of Dings players, but was judged to be in touch as he dived over the line. The three cameramen in the same corner would have given a very different verdict had this been on Sky Sports!

The game went from end to end on several occasions with penalties for Dings and another penalty for James Cathcart from Chinnor. Half time score was 10 ? 6 to Dings.

Chinnor took the field for the second half with Ian Stock, who took a massive hit to the head, being replaced by Joe Winpenny. Dings started the same way they finished the 1st half, by applying significant pressure to the Chinnor line. Second-rower, Ian Rees, went over for Dings’ second try after 44 minutes, but this was not converted. 15 ? 6 and the game looked over for Chinnor.

Chinnor responded within five minutes with a tremendous try scored by Angus Nielson on his return to the team after his concussion at Worthing. Significant pressure from Chinnor was applied to the Dings line until Chinnor breached the defence. The try was converted by Cathcart with his usual aplomb. 15 ? 11 to Chinnor.

Slowly but surely the Chinnor pack started to assert some domination over Dings with some of the best re-cycling and phase possession we have seen all season. This continued pressure presented two more penalties which were well converted by Cathcart to maintain his 100% record in the game.

The final twist in the front row occurred in the 64th minute when Simon Matthews replaced James Eckert and Winpenny moved over to tight head ? this made a full house of front row positions in one game.

Chinnor held out under some significant pressure to win through and seal a great victory against all the odds. Four points at Dings was the last thing most of the travelling fans expected.

This was a complete team performance with good power and aggression from the forwards, especially with Peter Wright making yard after yard and tackling like a demon. The backs played as we know they can with great performances by Toby Prescott, Richie Williams, Chris Mahony and superb kicking from Cathcart.

This was a win that the boys can be proud of and sets them up well for the match against second placed Ealing next Saturday at Chinnor.

MATCH REPORT – 1st XV – National 3 South – Saturday, February 21, 2009 – Chinnor 19pts, Canterbury 53 pts.

CHINNOR were outgunned on Saturday by a Canterbury side that possessed the searing speed that proved to be so lethal in open play.

Added to this, their back three, particularly full back Gert DeCock, had the vision to exploit the smallest of gaps, run angles that split the Chinnor defence and, at the same time find support to finish off some breathtaking moves.T

There is no doubt that Canterbury had the better of Chinnor in many phases of the game. However, some of the referee’s decisions, which on occasions bordered on the lamentable, did not assist the Chinnor cause.

Chinnor welcomed back James Cathcart for his first game in three months. With the England hierarchy’s expressed wish Arthur Ellis did not start the game, Paddy Stennings took over the hooking berth (Arthur joins Bob Baker in the England Under 20’s front row against Ireland on Friday evening).

Canterbury took the lead after just three minutes during which time Chinnor could not get their hands on the ball. In a series of sweeping moves – a sign of what was to come – Michael Melford went over for the first try with DeCock adding the conversion and then slotting over a penalty just minutes later, demonstrating that he could kick as well as run!

Canterbury were 10 points ahead just eight minutes into the game. Although Chinnor tried to be positive and run the ball when they had it, a spilled pass allowed Canterbury to once again seize the initiative and after a series of punishing drives, No. 8 Christoffel Blom, forced his way over the try line. Chinnor, not to be denied, then put together a passage of play which eventually resulted in Chris Mahoney scoring a well worked try. With Cathcart converting from wide out, Chinnor were just eight points adrift with 12 minutes remaining in the half. Any thoughts of a revival were quickly thwarted when DeCock kicked a penalty and then converted two tries, both of which he instigated and Hinckins and Sykes being the scorers, which gave Canterbury a 32 pts to 7 half-time lead.

With the referee allowing Luke Harding, the Canterbury scrum-half who played at Chinnor last season, to take a tap penalty and just stroll over under the posts, DeCock converting, Canterbury added another seven points to their already commanding lead. Arthur Ellis soon made his presence felt when he finished off a good handling phase of play to score near the posts. With Cathcart converting, but the game now well out of reach, Chinnor were obviously intent on salvaging a point by virtue of scoring four tries. In an effort to achieve their goal of keeping the ball alive at every opportunity, they inevitably paid the price. A spilled pass from well inside the Canterbury half saw DeCock gallop away at a rate of knots, score under the posts and then convert his own try. A double whammy then hit Chinnor when, a kick ahead saw the ball bounce kindly into the arms of Melford who by conservative estimates was some 10 metres in front of the kicker, resulting in another try beneath the posts. Although the linesman was signalling frantically for offside, the referee chose to ignore him allowing DeCock, who was obviously having a field day, to add the conversion.

For the last 14 minutes of the game Chinnor played with an intensity that had been missing in some of their play up until then. They had their just reward when Darren Oxley scored after a series of drives and near misses. With Chinnor rushing the conversion attempt to get back at their opponents, they camped themselves on the Canterbury line.They gained a penalty some 10 metres out, took a tap kick and went over. The try, for some inexplicable reason was not given. This was seen as a harsh call in that some 40 minutes earlier under exactly the same circumstances a try was awarded. With the retake then taken, Canterbury were penalised for being all over the ball and Tytherleigh was yellow carded. Another penalty and yet another yellow card ensued, this time for Hinckins not allowing the next tap to be taken. In that this card was given for illegally preventing a try and administered in the Canterbury in goal area, was a clear indication that this was a cast iron penalty try – patently not in this referee’s vocabulary. With Chinnor then losing possession, the referee blew for no-side.

Whilst Canterbury, the better side, prevailed, the scoreline was somewhat unjust. A thirteen point gap would have given a truer indication of the overall play.

By Peter Vaughan