Category: Sports News

IN this one sided match, Chinnor RFC scored 12 tries to overcome Barnstaple 76-5 and move themselves to second in the table.

Straight from the start, Chinnor went on the attack and scored, through Burns, on the second minute. The scores then came at regular intervals as Barnstaple struggled to get into the match. A break by Burns saw Armitage in for Chinnor’s second. Lamont was next from wide out. Barnstaple then incurred the ref’s displeasure when a illegal interference too many saw Barnstaple’s Hilton into the bin and a penalty try to Chinnor. A rolling maul led to CJ Osazuwa’s try. The last few minutes saw intense Barnstaple pressure and their hearts sank when Chinnor overturned the ball and ran the length of the field to see Armitage dot down his second. With Hopkin converting all but one of the tries, Chinnor went in 40-0.

Barnstaple came out blazing for the second half and some sharp play in the 41st minute saw No 8 Ben Hilton dot down for their first, and last, score of the day. Normal service was resumed somewhat bizarrely. Fatialofa’s pass was intercepted on the Barum 5m line. Chasing back, Fatialofa then intercepted a Barum pass to quickly reverse direction and over the Barnstaple line for Chinnor’s seventh try. Lamont then scorched down the tramlines for the eighth try. The conversion attempt then became the talking point of the day. Everyone, save the officials, saw the kick sail clearly between the posts to keep the score at 55-5. Time for Danny Barnes to step up. A 16 phase play from 22 to 22 saw classy passing to see Barnes in for Chinnor’s ninth. Barnes then fiercely tackled a Barum attempted run out and picked up the dislodged ball for an easy try. Another piece of gliding back play saw Barnes in for his hat trick try. On the final whistle, Hopkin found the hole he had been seeking all match for Chinnor’s twelfth and final try.

It is usually hard to draw any inferences from such a one sided match. Barnstaple appeared to be outdone by the pace of the match. When they upped the pace, at the very start of the second half, they found reward.

Chinnor , with their all enveloping defence, gave the Devon boys little breathing space to do much at all. Frank Jones’ rapid service set the backs running all day to run in nine of the tries scored on the day. Armitage, as always, was bustling and bruising but Danny Barnes hit a 15 minute purple patch in the second half to score a hat trick and do much else, besides being awarded Man of the Match.
The latter stages of the match saw players rotate through various positions with Frank Jones playing in three different places and Jamie Townsend in four! The scrum contest was even but the Chinnor pack had the advantage in all the hand to hand stuff with the strength of Hannay and Osazuwa always evident. Burns surely collected every ball put in the air and an honourable mention to Bertie Hopkin who tried all day to find a gap in the Barum defence and was finally successful just as the referee put whistle to mouth to end the day.

Teams

Chinnor
Kieran Goss, Danny Barnes, Bevon Armitage, Junior Fatialofa, Henry Lamont, Bertie Hopkin, Frank Jones, Tom Price, Jon Phipps, Jay Tyack, Nathan Hannay, CJ Osazuwa, Richard Thorpe, George Messum, Tom Burns

Interchanges: Ricky Cano, Mark Darlington, Jamie Townsend, Sam Miller, Greg Goodfellow

Barnstaple
Will Topps, Linford Brock, Jake Murphy, Ryan Carter, Ryan Lee, Steve Perry, James Bath, Mark Berry, Ash Crouch, Kevin Angell, Oli Mason, Adam Lloyd, Matt Hague, Nat Bayet, Ben Hilton

Interchanges: Rob Dugard, Paul Thomas, Tom Dunbavin, Luke Berry, Tom Clark

Scorers

Chinnor
Tries (time): Burns (2), Armitage (5, 40), Lamont (9, 49), Penalty (18), Osazuwa (26), Fatialofa (47), Barnes (60, 72, 75), Hopkin (79)
Conversions (time): Hopkin (3, 6, 19, 28, 40, 61, 73, 76)
Penalty Goals (time):

Barnstaple
Tries (time): Hilton (41)
Conversions (time):
Penalty Goals (time):

Referee: Calum Howard
Attendance: 271
Half time score: 40-0
Full time score: 76-5
Star man: Danny Barnes (Chinnor)

SOURCE: Contributed

THIS third v fourth clash was a good contest between two well matched sides with Chinnor’s defence coming out on top to post a 21-5 win for the Oxfordshire boys.

Redruth started brightly with pressure on Chinnor from the start. Weathering the storm, Chinnor, on their first prolonged visit to the Redruth 22 , set up a series of quick rucks and Lamont, coming in from the wrong wing, found a hole in the Cornish defence to go over for Chinnor’s first try, converted by Hopkin, with 13 minutes played. Now winning the territorial battle, Chinnor were awarded a stream of penalties in the Redruth 22. A number of line out catch and drives broke down until Nathan Hannay went straight through the middle of a ruck for Chinnor’s second try on the 22nd minute, converted by Hopkin. Most of the play was in the Redruth half with Redruth breakouts, often sparked by scrum half Oulten, foundering on an uncompromising home defence. Towards the end of the half, spilt ball by Redruth led to a breakout by the home side. Spectacular and rapid passing looked to result in a certain try, but, with an undefended line beckoning, the last pass was thrown forward. This last action of the half saw the home side leave the field with a 14-0 lead.

The start of the second half was all Redruth with only a ruck turnover from Chinnor’s Thorpe eventually reducing the pressure. Chinnor began to dominate and a series of driven line outs from a sequence of penalties saw Jon Phipps go over for Chinnor’s third try, Hopkin converting. Things changed dramatically in the 62nd minute when Chinnor conceded two yellow cards in two minutes with Darlington and Thorpe trying illegally to stop the Redruth juggernaut, growing in power from a series of penalty line outs. Pressure and numbers eventually told as Redruth then rumbled over for their only score of the match, Buzza touching down. With the Chinnor scrum now dominant, Chinnor tried desperately to clinch the bonus point try. Three scrum penalties in succession, 5 metres out, looked to be building for a penalty try. The Redruth scrum went down for the fourth time but the referee, Mr Thomas, ordered a reset. The ball was fumbled at the back of the scrum and the referee blew for no side.

Redruth found it difficult to penetrate the Chinnor defence and were at their best when their pack took on Chinnor at the maul, with Redruth’s Mike Grubb notably industrious. The Redruth backs had a tough time with the abrasive Chinnor tackling. Bertie Hopkin had an impressive tackle count and kicked well throughout. Barnes, in particular, showed his Chinnor colleagues how to win turnover ball. The Chinnor back row had a superb match, carrying and tackling with aplomb. Messum and Thorpe were very good but this time, Tom Burns at No 8, wins the laurels for a complete all round performance.

Teams

Chinnor
Kieran Goss, Luke Hibberd, Danny Barnes, Bevon Armitage (c) Henry Lamont, Bertie Hopkin, Greg Goodfellow, Ricky Cano, Jon Phipps, Jay Tyack, Nathan Hannay, CJ Osazuwa, Richard Thorpe, George Messum, Tom Burns

Interchanges: Mark Darlington, Andy Berry, Jamie Townsend, Alex Waddingham, Sam Angell

Redruth
Brett Rule, Dean Bonds, Neilson hired Webber, Sam Parsons, Alex Ducker, James Huxtable, Jack Oulten, Tommy Phillips, Richard Brown, Craig Williams, Luke Hattam, Shaun Buzza, Chris Fuca, Mark Grubb, Kyle Marriott

Interchanges: Adam Wright, Matt Gidlow, Luke Collins, Declan Matthews, Ethan Tyler

Scorers

Chinnor
Tries (time): Lamont (12), Hannay (22), Phipps (52)
Conversions (time): Hopkin (13, 23, 54)
Penalty Goals (time):

Redruth
Tries (time): Buzza (67)
Conversions (time):
Penalty Goals (time):
Referee: Alexander Thomas
Attendance: 296
Half time score: 14-0
Full time score: 21-5
Star man: Tom Burns (Chinnor)

SOURCE: Contributed by Bill O’Donnell

THE start of the new swimming gala season kicked off at BBAT over the weekend, September 17- 18, with Thame Swimming Club swimmers taking on the neighbouring clubs of Didcot Barramundi, Aylesbury and Bourne End.

Didcot Barramundi retained the overall winner’s trophy (1540 points), with Thame coming a respectable third (1283 points) behind Aylesbury (1402).

The club’s spokesperson, Helen Williams reported: “With the fabulous coaching support from Mark Simms, Lucy North, Karen Powell and Simon Haarburger our squad of swimmers were amazing. Congratulations to everyone for putting their heart & soul into each and every race and a special call out to all the swimmers for whom this was their first gala for Thame: Mayur Humphries, Hywel Scott, Matthew Stamp and Lexi Pluckrose. We are very proud of them all.

“Congratulations to Josh Williams for coming home with the Top Boy Award with a massive 99 points (vs the 75 points for the swimmer in 2nd place) and to Lucy Block who came 3rd in the Top Girl Award, missing out on the 2nd place by just 1 point. Awesome swimming from them both!

“Whilst each swimmer was amazing, there were a couple of notable call-outs from the weekend:

· Izzy Nelson: for showing such great spirit and determination in swimming the majority of her 400IM without her goggles, well done Izzy.

· Ella Simms: for winning Gold medals in all 8 of her races, brilliant!

· George Pearson: for being the youngest competitor to take on the 200 Fly and winning Gold!

· Hazel Randall: for swimming the 400 IM and 200 Fly for the very first time.

The following swimmers who took staggering amounts of time off the following races:

o 200 Free: Lucy Day (39 seconds); Hazel Randall (13 seconds); Tabitha Dodds (12 seconds); Murray Wakefield (14 seconds)

o 400 Free: Hazel Randall (32 seconds)

o 50 Breast: Oscar North (5 seconds)

o 100 Breast: Matthew Stamp (10 seconds)

o 200 Breast: Tabitha Dodds (13 seconds); Hazel Randall (40 seconds)

o 200 IM: Matthew Evans (33 seconds); Lucy Day (10 seconds)

o 200 Fly: Harry Block (10 seconds); Maisie Randall (13 seconds)

“The gala ended with the dramatic Canon Relay comprising of eight swimmers across different age bands each swimming 50m Freestyle – with our Thame Team ‘A’ taking the Bronze medal – so huge well done to George Pearson; George Nelson; Isabel Day; Lucy Block; Josh Williams; Elizabeth Humphreys; Ella Simms and Ben Williams.”

For the full medal tally, visit Thame Swimming Club’s website: LINK HERE

SOURCE: Contributed

IN the first match of the season, the persistent rain failed not dampen Chinnor’s desire to start the 16-17 campaign with a win. They duly delivered with a 47-10 victory over London Irish Wild Geese, newly returned to National Two South.

The first quarter of the game was even. Wild Geese looked like scoring immediately after the start with Hodgkinson slicing through the home defence. The ball was turned over on the 10 metre line and Kieran Goss broke out to deliver the ball into Henry Lamont’s hands 80 metres downfield for the first try in the first minute. Wild Geese came back with a converted try minutes later from Seb Rodwell to lead 7-5.  Bertie Hopkin, with a penalty goal, restored the Chinnor lead. Hodgkinson did the same for the visitors to put them 10-8 ahead. The Chinnor pack then exerted repeated scrum pressure leading to a penalty try.  Hopkin converted for a 15-10 lead. Another penalty scrum saw the ball fly through Chinnor hands to see Kieran Goss over on the stroke of half time for a 20-10 lead to the Oxfordshire boys.

Wild Geese had more of the ball in the third quarter but foundered on a stiff Chinnor defence. Hopkin increased Chinnor’s lead with a penalty goal for a 23-10 lead.  The Chinnor scrum notched up the pressure level with the introduction of Nathan Hannay and Richard Thorpe. The resultant stream of penalties lead to several scores. Hopkin darted through for the bonus point try, from a particularly bruising scrum. Chinnor kept attacking in the red zone and George Messum barrelled over for Chinnor’s fifth. Greg Goodfellow darted over after the Chinnor scrum put their opponents into reverse. The Chinnor scoring sequence ended just before the final whistle when Mark Darlington was ushered over the line by the now rampant Chinnor pack, to finish the match with a 47-10 victory to Chinnor.

Chinnor adjusted to the dire conditions the better of the two sides. The game was won and lost in the packs. The Chinnor scrum was dominant throughout, particularly in the second half when the addition of Hannay and Thorpe added even more power.  Two of Chinnor’s seven tries came directly from scrum pressure. The other tries came through incisive back play often as a result of the power of the Chinnor pack.  Hopkin and Goodfellow were sharp to the gap and new skipper, Armitage, was the linchpin of so much of the backs’ good works. The back row led a great defensive effort.

Irish, suffering at the hands of the Chinnor pack, saw their fortunes plummet when influential fly half, Pete Hodgkinson, left the field injured. Wild Geese never gave up but need to shore up their pack to avoid an uncomfortable return to National Two South.

Chinnor’s result sees them top of the table – a first! (but only one match has been played of course). The Chinnor pack probably jointly deserve Man of the Match but there can only be one and CJ Osazuwa gets the accolade this time out.

Teams

Chinnor
Kieran Goss, Luke Hibberd, Danny Barnes, Bevon Armitage (c), Henry Lamont, Bertie Hopkin, Greg Goodfellow, Tom Price, Jamie Townsend, Andy Darlington, CJ Osazuwa, Ross Parkins, Ben Manning, George Messum, Tom Burns

Interchanges: Jay Tyack, Mark Darlington, Nathan Hannay, Richard Thorpe, Junior Fatialofa

London Irish Wild Geese
Ben Kitchen, Matt Killeen, Seb Rodwell, Sean Cunningham, Conrad Burne, Pete Hodgkinson, Tom Barker, Charlie Connor, Darren Livett, Eddie Fraher, George Dry, Andy Evans, Jack Cooke, Tyler Bush, Scott Moore (c)

Interchanges: Craig Decoteau, John Barker, Ryan Bifield, Alex Tate, Ian Bradshaw

Scorers

Chinnor
Tries (time): Lamont (1), Penalty (30,) Goss (40), Hopkin (63), Messum (68), Goodfellow (78), Darlington M (80)
Conversions (time): Hopkin (31, 70, 79)
Penalty Goals (time): Hopkin (10, 59)

London Irish Wild Geese
Tries (time): Rodwell (7)
Conversions (time): Hodgkinson (8)
Penalty Goals (time): Hodgkinson (23)

Referee: David Clarkson
Attendance: 241
Half time score: 20-10
Full time score: 47-10

SOURCE: Contributed by Bill O’Donnell

VERY little experience needed. Racquets, Thame, is holding one of it’s Graded Squash Tournaments which will also be the Oxfordshire Open squash Championships.

All standards are welcome, even those who have only been playing for six months; participants will only play people of the same standard as themselves. There will be age groups as well as open grades of A to E and also beginner grades too.

THIS WEEKEND : September 2 – 4, 2016

There will be a few games for locals on Friday evening but most matches will be on Saturday and Sunday.

Entry fee includes T-shirt and Saturday lunchtime buffet.

More information HERE

IT was almost a perfect weekend for Thame Town Cricket Club with the First XI taking 20 points with a win against high-flying Amersham and moving away from the relegation zone as a result.

The Second XI took 25 points with a win at Banbury to stay top of Division Five. The Third XI also took 25 points, to cement second place in Division Nine (North) albeit through their opposition forfeiting the game, allowing the team to play a friendly instead. MATCH REPORTS –

FIRST Xl – Thame secured a vital victory against second-placed Amersham in the Home Counties League, thereby proving the quality in the side to any doubters, with an excellent all-round display at home last Saturday, August 20. Thame lost the toss and were asked to bat and, with a positive approach, their innings got off to a flyer with Matt Mcdonald (78) and Mike Beard (35) taking them up to 130 for 4, with 21 overs left. However a mini-collapse left Thame on 174 for 8, before Chris Jeffcock and skipper Mike Higgs led Thame to 205 all out in the 48th over. In reply, Amersham started well but Thame produced a determined bowling and fielding display to dismiss the visitors for just 155. Wickets for Hassam Mushtaq (4-28), Adam Phippen (3-33), Mike Higgs (2-26) and Will Rooney (1-25) secured the much-needed victory, which takes Thame 14 points clear of relegation. They travel to take on Datchet this Saturday, August 27.

SECOND XI – After stumbling the previous week, Thame seconds knew that to maintain top spot they simply had to win away at bottom-of-the-table, Banbury Fourths and they didn’t disappoint. Banbury won the toss and chose to bat, but were soon struggling at 42-4 against the opening bowlers, Matt Furness (2-16) and Ian McStay (2-25). Despite Banbury staging a recovery, putting on 58 for the 5th wicket, George Patey (2-8) then made the breakthrough and Chris Penny polished off the tail (4-38), the home side finishing up 134 all out from 46.3 overs. With rain clouds a constant threat, Thame had to score quickly in reply, as Richard Carr (81 not out) and Andy Jinman (19) put on 74 off just 11 overs. With Matt Furness (27 not out) then joining Carr at the crease, Thame reached 135 for 1 from only 22.1 overs. They now entertain Horspath 3rds this Saturday, in Thame, who lie second in the table.
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THIRD XI – Thame third XI have now all but sealed second place in Division Nine(North), after their nearest rivals Twyford forfeited the match for lack of players last Saturday. Thame still managed hastily to organise a friendly against Stokenchurch Seconds, however, only to be ultimately frustrated by the weather. Thame bowled the home side out for 110, Ally Ilsley picking up three wickets on his return to the side, while Vimal Desai, Will Bruce-Morgan and Ollie Oxby took one wicket each. Some excellent fielding also gave Thame three run outs. In the chase, Thame started well at 30-0 after eight overs, but the heavens opened and the game was sadly abandoned. They entertain Cropredy Thirds at Lord Bills Upper school ground this Saturday, August 27.

NOT a great weekend for Thame Town Cricket Club, as the first team lost at Buckingham, the seconds had a losing draw at home and Chearsley failed to raise a team to play against the third team, but as a result, the thirds got 25 points due to Chearsley forfeiting. MATCH REPORTS

First XI

THAME travelled to Buckingham for another crucial match last Saturday. Having won the the toss, stand-in skipper, Mike Beard, had no hesitation in batting on a good wicket.

Thame’s top order worked hard against a strong bowling attack, notable contributions coming from Harry Thomas (32) and Honey Garg (54). However, wickets fell at key moments and it took some lower-order hitting for Thame to muster a below-par 215. In response, Buckingham’s openers looked to seize the initiative. Chris Jeffcock, stepping up from his usual role as second team captain, bowled superbly to keep the scoring down and, aided by two fine run outs, kept Thame’s hopes alive. In the end though, the placid nature of the pitch rendered the bowling toothless, Buckingham getting home with only three wickets down and two overs to spare. Thame entertain Amersham at Church Meadow on Saturday, August 20.

Second XI

THAME seconds entertained Chearsley firsts with high hopes of a win to maintain their 22-point lead at the top of Division five. Chearsley lost the toss and were asked to bat on a good pitch.

It wasn’t long before Thame were facing an uphill struggle as opener James Veness steadily built a century which, helped by dropped catches, developed into an unbeaten 142. Despite a marathon stint from Ian McStay with two wickets, Chearsley’s progress was aided by an injury to Thame’s leading wicket-taker, Ali Thomas, who limped out of the attack after just two overs. They finished on 273 for 4 from 52 overs. After tea, with only 48 overs available, Thame set off at a gallop in pursuit but lost wickets regularly. Thanks to Richard Carr (77) and a maiden, 2nd XI half-century for Christian Warwick (62), Thame reached 201 for 7, thereby earning five points but seeing their lead cut to three points with three games remaining. They travel to bottom club,Banbury fourths this Saturday, August 20.

Third XI
THE third XI sadly did not play, due to Chearsley seconds forfeiting the game for lack of players. Thame now entertain Twyford thirds this Saturday, with their sights set on finishing in at least second place in Division 9 (North).

A Thame Hockey Fest is planned to take place on Saturday, September 10, at Thame Leisure Centre, when Thame Hockey Club will throw open its pitch to the local community, to encourage people to get involved with the club, play some hockey and most importantly to have some fun!

There will be a junior session in the morning consisting of:

Under 8 and Under 10 sessions from 10-11am with warm up, a few simple practice drills and then into mini games

Under 12 and Under 14 sessions from 11-12am following a similar approach

A mini tournament for adults is planned for the afternoon from 1-3pm with informal drinks afterwards. Refreshments, music, and games will be there to enjoy from 10am to 3pm.

Whether you’re getting back into hockey or picking up a stick for the first time, anyone can go along and give hockey a go.

Thame Hockey Club can be found at the Thame Leisure Centre astro turf, Oxford Road, Thame, OX9 2BB. For more information go to www.thamehockey.co.uk or contact Laurence Archer on thamehockey@gmail.com