Category: Sports News

RUGBY has, until recently, been an exclusively male pastime, but here in Thame and elsewhere in the country, it is increasingly being played by women and girls.
For further information, contact Steve Parslow or Sarah O’Donnell at Chinnor Chicks, Chinnor Rugby Club, Kingsey Road, Thame. Tel 01844 213735 or email clubhouse@chinnor-rfc.com.

MATCH REPORT: Saturday, December 09 – Milton United 2 vs. Thame United 1.
This was the third time that Thame have played Milton this season, and also the third time that they have lost with a 2-1 score line.
Initially is was difficult to distinguish between the teams, as both sides were playing in red shirts. Milton however sent out for their blue shirts and the referee stopped the game after 20 minutes to allow the Milton players to change.

The home team controlled the first half and went ahead after 30 minutes when Darren Howell met a cross from the left with a quality 10 yard header into the bottom left of the Thame goal. A few minutes later Thame defender James Tripp hit a strong 20 yard shot which forced a good save from the Milton keeper. Just before half time, a through ball from the half way line found Milton forward Vince Rusher who dribbled past Thame keeper Paul Searl to side foot the ball into an empty net.

Thame played far better in the second half and had more possession than the home side. Their leading scorer, Nathan Jack pulled a goal back in the 66th minute when he confidently met a Chris Watkins cross with a powerful 15 yard shot which the Milton keeper got a hand to but could not stop. Thame continued to attack and went close several times. They eventually played with 3 strikers up front and the in last 10 minutes Searl was a spectator, but were unable to penetrate the drilled Milton defence.

Thame United: Searl, Tripp, Watkins (Ansell), Graves, Bell, Kitson, Jackson, Connelly, Redding (Da Silva), Moore (A Rhodes), Jack,

MATCH REPORT – North Leigh 2 -Thame United 1, 2nd December (SATURDAY) Away match.
IN Thame United?s first game in two weeks, they came up against North Leigh, 2nd in the Premier Division of the Hellenic League, the game being played in a picturesque setting in the grounds of Eynsham House.

North Leigh started strongly and had most of the play in the first 10 minutes with Thame goalkeeper Paul Searl having to make a superb save to block a shot from Kevin Lewis after 4 minutes. As the half progressed, Thame came back strongly and at 15 minutes Nik Gibson smashed a pass from Nathan Jack just over the bar. A few minutes later Nathan Jack managed to put the ball in the back of the net from an impossible angle on the goal line from a cross by Jo Da Silva. At 22 minutes Nathan Jack had the ball in the back of the net again but was judged to be off-side. At 37 minutes Paul Redding had another shot saved by Richard Barratt, the North Leigh keeper. Thame finished the first half one goal up.

The second half was a different story with North Leigh starting strongly and Liam Hope scored almost immediately. North Leigh kept up the pressure with Thame Goalkeeper Paul Searl having to make several fine saves. Thame had a chance to go ahead again when Nathan Jack sent the ball just wide of goal but after 27 minutes of the second half, Andy McCabe scored North Leigh?s second goal. Despite Thame battling bravely, they were unable to pull back the deficit and the game ended 2-1 to North Leigh.

Thame United: Paul Searl, James Tripp, Chris Watkins, Matt Graves, Mark Bell, Sion Kitson, Nik Gibson, Ben Connelly, Paul Redding, Nathan Jack (Captain), Joe DaSilva, Graham Jackson (83 mins), Alex Cairns (83 mins).

Thame United Reserves beat Kintbury Rangers Reserves 3-1 at home. Kintbury, who had gone five games unbeaten, were undone by goals from Weaver, Hudson and Miller.

Thame United face an away trip to Milton United this coming Saturday, with the Reserves facing Wokingham and Emmbrook at Lord Williams?s School.

CHINNOR RFC Second Team – Match Report: Chinnor 2nd, 57 Pts vs. Southend 2nd, 0 Pts. DATE: 2nd December, Home League Game. Scorers:
Tries: Ian Stock, Ben Hackshaw, Paul Hennessey, Nick Grimsdell, Jaike Carter, Guy Hackshaw, Chris Sutton, Leon Westerman.
Conversions: 6 for Chris Sutton
MATCH REPORT
Southend 2nds were humiliated by Chinnor 2nds with an emphatic win in their Canterbury Shield match at home on Saturday winning 57 points to 0.
Placed second in the league, it appeared that Southend felt they only had to turn up to get the points. However, unlucky for them the Chinnor boys were in top form and gave Southend a master class in rugby. Despite them being a very good side, Chinnor did not let them settle from the very first kick. Chinnor attacked and had the first points on the board within five minutes with a try by Paul Hennessey converted by Chris Sutton, five minutes later it was the turn of Ben Hackshaw and Chinnor were in the lead 12 points to Nil.
For the next 20 minutes the Chinnor forwards controlled the game with big drives that kept Southend on the back foot, and they did defend well against this rampant Chinnor pack that wasn?t prepared to give them an inch. The last ten minutes Chinnor scored four more tries, by Sutton, Nick Grimsdell, Guy Hackshaw and Jaike Carter of which 3 were converted by Sutton and Chinnor finished the first half 38 points to 0 in the lead.
The second half was much of the same although one got the impression that the ref was looking at Southend with some sympathy. Ian Stock continued to show his form by scoring a try, which was again converted by Sutton. Chinnor then brought on five fresh players from the bench for the last 30 minutes and this did not affect the flow at all with the replacements just carrying on were the others left off.
Leon Westerman scored a try after some great play between forwards and backs and Chinnor were in the lead by 50 points to 0. Followed again by another try by Westerman, which was again converted by Sutton.
It was impossible to pick out any one player for man of the match in this game; all 20 players had outstanding games.
Walter McGuicken
Second Team Manager

THEY beat Southend in there Canterbury league match, on Saturday, (December 2) 57 points to nil.

THE Oxfordshire Sports Partnership is launching its Strategic Framework ?Our Sporting Future? aimed at getting more people active within Oxfordshire in time for the London 2012 Olympics.
The launch will take place on December 11, at the Unipart Conference Centre between and an invited audience will include theeChairman of the Districts and County Council and senior players in Sport within the County.
The Partnership has invited special guests, including some of the oldest competitors still competing in Sport to day, one of which is Eileen Kear, who received an MBE earlier this year for her services to Sport. Oxfordshire?s champions of the future will also be present.
The Partnership and ?Our Sporting Future? are a response to the Active People Survey results for Oxfordshire. The Active people Survey is the largest ever survey of participation in Sport and active recreation undertaken in England. The results, which will be presented at the event also, will reveal the actual percentage of adults doing 30-minutes of moderate intensity sport and active recreation on three or more days a week within Oxfordshire.

Roger Cowdrey, Chairman of the Oxfordshire Sports Partnership, commented: ?Achieving the Olympics for London in 2012 provided the single biggest opportunity in our lifetime to transform sport within Oxfordshire. A Sports Partnership has now been established and ?Our Sporting Future? sets out how we are meeting the challenge of 2012 and the Active People Survey results?.

The Partnership has been set up to increase participation within Oxfordshire and provide a real participation legacy in time of the 2012 Games.

THE Under 10’S Chinnor A team has once again proved they are a force to be reckoned with, continuing their unbroken season record of conceding no tries when they came up against Aylesbury on Sunday. Iestyn James, Greg Alvey and Matthew Smith drove like the bulldozers they are, Thomas Strathdee, James Millett, Harry Lowe, Charlie Proctor and Liam Evans tackled like demons and Nathaniel Heather and Sam Edwards ran like the wind. For all the superb individual skill shown on the pitch, however, the most striking impression of the matches was the teamwork shown by each and every player. Gone are the ?glory boys? so desperate for a try that they?ll hang onto the ball like it?s coated with glue. Every single team member contributed in his own way to Charlie Krabbe?s superb 3 tries during the first match, and can be very proud of the 15 ? 0 result.

There was no hint of fatigue in their second match against the same opposition. In fact, the team kicked it into high gear, with even more crunching tackles, decisive scrum and lineout work and superb passing. Despite spending a lot of the first half scant metres from their own try line, Chinnor showed their mastery of ?offensive defense? and repeatedly denied Aylesbury the chance to score. Tries in this match were scored by Thomas Strathdee (2), Charlie Proctor, Harry Lowe and Liam Evans: final score 25 ? 0.

Strong pressure from the off by forwards Aaron Milburn, Matthew (Rhino) Karslake and Ben Chapman gave Luca Rampin the chance to break away to score the first try of the match. After more strong forward driving and excellent support work from Matthew Donnelly and Callum Wright, Andrew Kay scored the second. Aylesbury couldn?t respond to the challenge, and Finn Tapping?s footwork ensured him the third and Jack (Gazelle) Gibbins sprinted most of the length of the pitch for the fourth. Not content with just the one, Jack then did it again for the fifth try ? and we were still just in the first half! The second half kicked off with solid tackling and support play from Jake O?Neill and Dominic Whaler. Matthew Karslake was nigh-on unstoppable, charging through the opposition and often taking a few of them with him up the pitch, clinging desperately to him in a futile effort to slow him down. The whole team kept their positions well, repeatedly foiling Aylesbury?s attempts to break through. One chap who did wriggle his way through our line was brought down by a superb try-saving tackle from Jack Gibbins ? you see, Jack, you can tackle! Matthew scattered opposition players like ninepins for the sixth try of the match, and tight teamwork gave Ben Chapman the chance to score the seventh and final one. It?s lovely to see the boys working as a unit, and the final score of 35 ? 0 is a testament to their hard work.

Chinnor B2s kicked off their match with great initial forward play by Henry Leggett, Tomas White and Thomas Bellars. Excellent teamwork by scrum half and fly half combo Harry Stansfield and Cameron Matthews resulted in an early try by Chris Wright, setting the precedent for the remainder of the first half, with the forwards working solidly together and some excellent runs from the backs. One particularly splendid sprint from Adam Pipkin almost ended in a try, but he was stopped just short of glory. Chinnor spent the vast majority of the first half pushing towards the opposition try line. One momentary lapse of concentration gave Aylesbury the chance to surge forward and score their one and only try of the morning. Chinnor produced a magnificent second half display, with solid driving from the forwards and some super work from backs Richard Hanlon and Joseph Lynch. Harry Stansfield helped set up Chris Wright?s second try, which was followed by further tries for Cameron Matthews, Henry Leggett and finally Nathaniel Heather, who came on as replacement for the injured Harry Stansfield. Final score 25-5 ? well done boys!

Chinnor RFC Match, Saturday, November 25;
Chinnor 2nd – 10 Pts vs. Canterbury 2nd – 15 Pts
Away League Game – Tries: Adam Seymour, Gareth Duder.

SADLY Chinnor Seconds lost their Shield league game against Canterbury this past weekend. Once again one has to look at the grey area of uncontested scrums in this league. Chinnor suffered this last week and coincidently outclassed Canterbury up front and at some stage during the second half the request came in for the uncontested scrum with front row replacements on the bench.
This was expected to be a tough game with both teams placed about mid table in the league. Both sides had the awful disadvantage with the field being very wet and muddy and the ball slippery, so handling was a problem.
The attack and defence from both teams were top class as were the tackles.
It took until the 15TH minute before Chinnor notched up the first points with a great forward drive which sent Adam Seymour over for the first try. The first half finished with Chinnor in the lead five points to nil.
Canterbury closed the gap with a penalty after five minutes shortly followed by a try from a missed tackle. Two minutes later an interception pass put Chinnor behind bringing the score to 15 to 5 down. At this stage in Chinnor?s defence they were playing directly into a very low sun, which made the visibility very poor. Gareth Duder then closed the gap by scoring a try bringing the score to 10 – 15.

Chinnor were all over Canterbury for the rest of the game but were kept out due to the uncontested scrums and some inconsistent passing as well as some very good defence on their behalf. Chinnor crossed the goal line on three different occasions in the last five minutes and got the ball down onto the ground, only for the ref to rule that the ball was held up on each occasion.
To crown it all, the team also landed a good few injuries ie. Gareth Duder a broken thumb, Joe Iosefo ligament damage to his leg and Captain Rob Fenwick a broken nose. Not bad for a game of rugby!

Walter McGuicken
Second Team Manager

THIS Sunday, in less than lovely conditions, Chinnor Under 12s were invited to Cheltenham for their tournament of Mini Rugby. After a difficult start, they ended the tournament on a high note by winning their final three matches. The tournament format, two leagues of six teams all playing each other with a play off match against the team finishing in the corresponding position in the other league, pitched Chinnor against formidable opposition and an old foe too. The boys made a slow start and in the end were well beaten in their opening games against the hosts and Bicester. Although they narrowly lost their third match against Worcester they played much better rugby and went into their fourth match in better heart and comprehensively beat a good Cirencester team by three tries to nil with Dominic Bradbrook-Taylor, Ollie Wingfield and Nick Barker registering the Falcons’ first points of the day. The final group game brought Chinnor up against a big Berry Hill team. Ross Bunsell scored the first try with a swift break down the left wing after a good line-out win for Chinnor on their own five metre line. Although Berry Hill rumbled over shortly afterwards to level the scores the Chinnor pack began to get the upper hand in the second half as the weighty Welsh boys began to tire and a wonderful team try, with almost every Falcon handling in the build up, saw Dominic Bradbrook-Taylor break through to seal a well deserved win.

The victory handed Chinnor fourth place in their league and a play-off match against Witney. Chinnor dominated the game from start to finish, with the forwards winning good ball at almost every breakdown and allowing the backs time and space to move the ball across the pitch with some panache. Chinnor finally took the lead just before half time. A good break by Ross Bunsell on the left wing resulted in a Chinnor penalty seven meters from the line allowing Guy Carter to power through a petrified Witney defence with what is quickly becoming the trademark Chinnor flying-wedge. Ben Robinson was denied a stone-wall try late on when the referee mistook the try line for the five metre line, but gladly it did not affect the result.

Well done to Chinnor for coming back from a difficult start and thanks to our hosts for putting on such a well organised tournament.

Thame United 1, Abingdon Town 2 – Match Report – League Match, Saturday, November 18.

ON paper Thame were the favourites to win this match being two league places higher with four league wins this season, whilst Abingdon had only recorded one win. Abingdon however played well and earned their three points.

It?s an old, and much used, clich