Category: Sports News

AS we get to the time of year where a number of teams are scrapping hard for their National Two survival, the visit to newly promoted Old Redcliffians was destined to be another tough encounter for Chinnor RFC.

For the first time in many matches playing conditions were excellent and from the first whistle Chinnor made camp in the Old Reds Half. After five minutes,of persistent pressure. Reds’ flanker, Dan Fry, was shown yellow for a high tackle on Greg Goodfellow. Chinnor maintained their assault of the Old Reds’ line and from a penalty five meters out, the dominant scrum pushed over for No 8, Alex Waddingham to open the scoring.

Chinnor continued to turn the screw and after 16 mins Greg Goodfellow elected to go blind and fed Kieran Goss who predictably out sprinted the defence to score Chinnor’s second. Chinnor were now looking dangerous with every attack and the backs were threatening to cut loose. On 35 minutes, after another series of quality play, Bertie Hopkin was fed in to score which he duly covered. With only three minutes of the half left, the visitors concentration lapsed and allowed Old Reds prop, Craig McGrath, in to make the Half time score 5-17.

Playing up the slope in the second half, it was a question of whether 12 points was enough of a buffer to see out the game. Reds predictably kept Chinnor penned in and the defence held strong until the 53rd minute when Reds full back, Thomas Hargan, took the opportunity to close the score line with a well taken try. The valiant defence came at a cost with Chinnor picking up a number of injuries. With Ben Manning, Jonny Bentley, Will Bordill and Kieran Goss all leaving the field, the fresh legs caught Old Reds cold and from another five-meter scrum, the ball was flicked wide for Henry Lamont to secure the bonus point.

With every point being vital, Old Reds played some good possession rugby and forced Chinnor on the back foot for the remainder of the game and on 77 minutes, No 8 Ethan Doyle ensured they picked up a valuable bonus point. Chinnor saw out the final couple of minutes with some experienced game management and ran out 19-24 winners.

Another five points and with a rest weekend ahead – some welcome time for recuperation!

SOURCE: Contributed

CHINNOR Firsts started against the wind and the conditions led to many handling errors from both sides. Following a yellow card to Broadstreets’ flanker, the game opened with Chinnor creating a try after three minutes with a scrum under the posts and George Oliver driving over with Bentley adding the extras for a 7 – 0 lead.

Straight from the kick off Chinnor fumbled the ball giving Broadstreet the opportunity to reply with a quick try scored by prop, Ackuaku, but unconverted. Than, a sniping run from scrum half Goodfellow saw Chinnor increase their lead to 12 – 5.

This was soon followed by a well worked try scored by Jonny Bentley who started and finished the move, giving Chinnor a 17 – 5 lead at half time.

The second half started in a dramatic fashion with Chinnor spilling the ball in the middle of the park, resulting in a kick and chase with Broadstreet’s scrum half Thatcher scoring near the posts, converted by No 10 Hodgson. Chinnor responded with a drive into Broadstreet’s 22m area where Mike MacDonald took a quick penalty to score out wide to give Chinnor some breathing space with a 22 – 12 lead.

Broadstreet took possession from a Chinnor lineout and Murray went over for an unconverted try to narrow the score to 22 – 17. A penalty converted by Bentley with the last kick of the game saw Chinnor win by 25 -17 and earning them five much needed bonus points.

Attendance : 268
Man of the Match : Tom Ranaboldo

DESPITE the frosty February temperatures outside, the preparation for the 2018 cricket season got off to an enthusiastic start for Thame Cricket Club, last Sunday, February 4, in the relative warmth of Lord Williams’s Lower School gym.

Over 30 people, including eight from the Women’s squad and several juniors, started the session keen to dust off the winter cobwebs and to prepare for what promises to be an exciting season for the club.

The reasons for that excitement and anticipation are many and varied:-

– a brand new clubhouse is now under construction
– the 1st XI have reached the peak of club cricket in the region, following last year’s promotion to Division 1 of the Home Counties Premier League
– the addition of a 4th XI on Saturdays will allow the club to satisfy all the latent demand for cricket in the town
– the Women’s section continues to grow, with both softball tournaments and hardball matches planned
– plus the revival of the Under-15 team, after one year’s absence, to add to the successful junior teams at U9, U11 and U13 from last year

The club’s indoor nets will continue every Sunday until April 15, with the exception of Easter Day. All new players are welcome – contact Mike on higgzee@hotmail.co.uk or 07817-808573, or check out the club’s website for full details: http://www.thamecricket.org.uk/

THIS promised to be a cracking game with Chinnor reeling from last week’s defeat to top of the table Cinderford, and with Tonbridge Juddians bouyant on a six game winning streak. However, wet and muddy conditions limited the impact of both teams’ attacks.

Tonbridge set off with a flying start, charging at Chinnor from the kick off, then intercepting a flick pass, allowed their left wing, Watson, to sprint to the corner to score an unconverted try in the first minute.

Chinnor slowly recovered and began counter attacking. The Chinnor forwards adapted to the adverse conditions with driving and rolling mauls, sucking in the opposition. After six phases of possession they passed the ball wide to winger Phil Chesters, who rounded the TJ’s defence to score out wide. Johnny Bentley converted to give Chinnor a 7 – 5 point lead after 15 minutes.

A period of indiscipline by Chinnor cost them dearly as skipper Barnes was given a yellow card for talking back to the referee. Then, just before half time, full back Holland was sin binned for an alleged deliberate knock on. Tonbridge’s fly half converted the resulting penalty to give them an 8 – 7 point lead at the interval.

Just after half time Chinnor prop, Cano, was given a third Yellow card for collapsing a scrum, reducing Chinnor to 13 players who nevertheless, defended so well. However, the constant pressure from Tonbridge told in the end when, following several forward drives, they attacked on the blind side enabling flanker Varney to score in the corner. The try was unconverted but gave Tonbridge a 13 – 7 point lead.

With Chinnor back to their full 15 players, they began to attack the Tonbridge half. As the pitch turned into a mud bath, both the Chinnor half backs, Goodfellow and Bentley, kicked deep into the Tonbridge half to gain territorial advantage. The last 10 minutes saw a resurgent Chinnor drive forcefully into the Tonbridge 22 metre area. From a five metre scrum, scrum half Greg Goodfellow did his trade mark, “dummy, dart and dive” to score under the posts with Bentley adding the conversion.

Tonbridge tried to get back into the game but Chinnor’s defence stood resolute for the last five minutes to earn a well-deserved but nail biting 14 – 13 point victory to maintain their second place, play off position in the league.

Next week Chinnor face bottom of the table Broadstreet at home.

SOURCE: Contributed

THAME Town Cricket Club’s starting indoor nets for men and women this Sunday, February 4, at 5 pm. The sessions will take place every Sunday until Sunday, April 15, with the exception of Easter Day.

The venue is LORD BILLS’S LOWER SCHOOL GYM (off Queens Road) – TIME – 5.00 to 6.00 PM
ALL WELCOME – WOMEN, JUNIORS (from aged 15 up), AS WELL AS MEN !

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT enquiries@thamecricket.org.uk OR VISIT Thame Town Cricket Club’s WEBSITE AT www.thamecricket.org.uk

TWENTY teams have booked all available slots at Thame Rotary’s Thame Swimathon 2018. Any new team entry form will now be put on hold onto a waiting list.

The sixth edition of the Thame Swimathon will take place at the Thame Leisure Centre on Sunday, February 25, 2018, from 11am until 3pm. This is a fun and fundraising event organised by the Rotary Club of Thame. The event is possible due to generous local sponsors who kindly cover most of the costs: Thame Leisure Centre, Haddenham Beer Festivals Trust, Aston Hearing, and Ignite Sport.

Most of the teams have taken the option to allocate 50% of the money raised towards their favourite cause, and 50% towards Thame Rotary’s main local charity, SeeSaw. John Singer, Thame Rotary’s President, has proposed SeeSaw as the main club charity in 2017-2018, after being inspired by the local community’s solidarity and show of support after the tragic death of Barnaby Cork in December 2016. SeeSaw provides grief support for children across Oxfordshire, including support for schools after a death in their community.

Volunteers from Thame and District Lions Club, Thame Inner Wheel and Wheatley Park Interact Club will be supporting Thame Rotarians with the counting of lengths swum by teams.

Thame Swimming Club will participate with 10 teams at the Thame Swimathon 2018, raising funds for their own club. Phil Evans, Thame Swimming Club Chairman, said: “Thame swimming Club is delighted to once again be supporting the Rotary Club of Thame’s annual Swimathon. We have 10 teams participating this year (a record for Thame swimming Club) with the money raised helping with the ongoing development of our swimmers.”

Thame’s Barley Hill School pupils will participate once again on February 25th. Jo Sackett, representing the school’s parents-teachers association, said: “We have four teams from Barley Hill Primary School taking part in this year’s Thame Swimathon. All the children are busy fundraising and are really looking forward to taking part in this fantastic event in a few weeks time.” The team names are Barley Hill Barracudas, Team Haste, The Fantastic Five, and Zoomy Zebras. The teams’ fundraising amounts will be split between Barley Hill PTFA and Rotary charities.

Thame’s John Hampden Primary School will be represented once again by Team Ice Cream. The enthusiastic little team said: “We’ve all joined up again this year; we call it Swim for a life.” Their favourite charity is again this year, Thames Valley Air Ambulance, ‘for the great support they have given to our community’.

The teams will appreciate any support via online donations. The My Donate links can be found on the Thame Swimathon page of the Rotary Club of Thame’s website www.thame.rotary1090.org and on Facebook via www.facebook.com/thamerotary.

RACQUETS Fitness Centre in Thame, is inviting squash players to an exhibition match with some world class squash players, and offering them the opportunity to actually play against a pro!

Why not go along and see what squash really looks like! More information and to book to play a pro at £1 per minute, on the Racquets website HERE