THAME Swimming Club were on fire on Saturday, April 23, when they visited Wycombe District Swimming Club’s Long Course Sprint Meet for the first time.
Under the guidance and encouragement of Head Coach, Ian Blyth, and coaches Simon Haarburger and Iain Phillips, the swimmers put in some tremendous swims gaining new Person Bests, breaking club records and winning medals along the way too. For one group of Thame swimmers this was their very first first long course meet – Amira Matton, George Pearson, Ben Mould, Murray Wakefield and Jasmine Grimes.
Not only did Thame come third out of all the 10 visiting clubs but Harry Block and Elizabeth Humphreys also won the Top Boy and Top Girl awards.
Thame Swimming Club’s Boys team
Other notable achievements came from:
Sam White who was celebrating his 12th birthday and achieved PBs in all of his races!
Lucy Block who too an impressive 15 seconds off her 100 Free Long Course time, 13 seconds off her 50 Fly and 11 seconds off her 100 Back.
Ella Simms and Elizabeth Humphreys who provided the most exciting race of the day in their 100 Free, taking both girls to new PBs!
Elliot Riley-Brown who went under 40 seconds for the first time in his 50 Breast stroke, and the same for Amira Matton, Ben Mould and Murray Wakefield in their 50 Free races.
Thame Swimming Club’s Girls team
Tally Simms who took a whopping 12 seconds off her 50 Fly time and Tabitha Dodds, 15 seconds off her 100 Back.
Hallam Cozier, James Newton, Ella Simms and Emily Evans swam 100 Fly Long Course for the first time – with Emily picking up Gold too!
Jacob North who sliced 8 seconds off his 100 Backstroke, and Lucy Day for taking 9 seconds off her 100 Free.
Henry Bell swam an awesome 100 Free race – blowing the competition in his race out of the water – and from Lane 8 too!
Michele Block, Sue Hewett and Brian Pridmore officiated throughout the day and Melissa Simms was the Team Manager.
CHINNOR RFC had their winning run finished by Redingensians on Saturday, and when looking back it will be a frustrating loss against local opposition where a slow first half and ill discipline led to the Black and Whites chasing too much of the game where in large parts, Chinnor were on top.
Redingensians went ahead in the first two minutes when lock, Jamie Guttridge, found a hole in Chinnor’s 22m and crossed for seven points. Chinnor responded strongly after turning down three points and going to the corner where they scored their own try through the forwards, with Nathan Hannay getting over the whitewash after a strong rolling maul. Chinnor’s ill discipline then cost them with Alex Waddingham spending time in the sin bin for Chinnor’s second high tackle of the game.
Chinnor managed to hold out through these ten minutes but right at the stroke of half time, Rams winger, Sean McDermotroe, pounced on a Chinnor spilled ball and raced 40 meters to make the half time score 20-7.
Chinnor responded well after the half time break with Sam Angel strolling over after a five meter scrum. However it wasn’t to be Chinnor’s day as another loose ball was pounced on by Redingensians Scrum Half, George Drury, who scored a try from Chinnor’s 10 meter line. It was then Drury again who set up the next score for the Rams, this time sending in winger, Corrigan, after Chinnor had kept the ball for over 15 phases.
Chinnor showed heart by their constant attacking during the second half and kept on hammering away at Redingensians line which eventually saw Hannay cross for a second try but it was too late for Chinnor who saw any hopes of a bonus point taken away by a late penalty.
In a game that saw Chinnor dominate the second half both with possession and territory, there were many positive signs. But discipline and a cut throat attack that have been evident over the last few weeks went missing this weekend – a fact that will make the squad desperate to put right in their final game of the season against Southend this coming week.
THE Mens’ First squash team at Racquets Fitness Centre in Thame has gained promotion to the Oxfordshire Mens division One, following a huge, 5-0 win over the RAF on Tuesday, April 12.
Harry Hillier (left) and Ben Hedger, winner of the Player of the Season trophy
Oxfordshire Under 19s, Number One, Ben Hedger, age 17, also won the ‘Player of the Season’ Award. Simon Martin, fellow team member and Ben’s coach, said: “‘Ben has been training hard this last season with a view to playing professionally in the next few years. We are very proud of his progress and are expecting great things in the near future.”
The full team consisted of Harry Hillier, Ben Hedger, Andy Peers, Tor Stockdale, Ossie Mustafa, Jim Usherwood, Nick Harbour (age, just 15!) and Simon Martin.
Simon added: “The team showed just how the junior squash programme at Racquets has been successful over the past few years, with two of the team – still under 19, already county champions!”
The Racquets team faces a play-off with Oxford Brookes’ Second team who won the first half before Christmas, to decide the overall division champions.
CHINNOR RFC, in scoring 11 tries, recorded a comfortable victory by 75-3 over already relegated Launceston.
The match, for the first 20 minutes, was a relatively even affair with no score. The deadlock was finally broken in the 21st minute when Goodfellow dummied from 5 metres out. The tries then came at regular intervals throughout the half. Goss was next up with some midfield dancing, followed by Lamont, the beneficiary of consummate front row passing skill. Launceston, through full back Edwards, pulled three points back from a penalty in front of Chinnor’s posts. A kick downfield was fielded on Chinnor’s 10 metre line by Goss who skipped through the All Blacks defence to go in under the posts. With a minute of the half remaining, Chinnor’s Heath chipped and chased a ball down the tram lines for Chinnor’s fifth try. With all tries converted by Angell, Chinnor went in 35-3 at half time.
Like the first half, Launceston competed well to stem the Chinnor tide for nearly twenty minutes. The dam burst on 58 minutes, when Heath sashayed to the line. Lamont followed shortly after. Hannay burst off the back of a rolling maul to bemuse the All Black defence for a stroll over for Chinnor’s eighth try. Goodfellow sprinted from 45 metres for Chinnor’s ninth. Lamont almost scored his hat trick but slipped the ball in the tackle to Manning to dot down. Chinnor’s final try came from skipper Tyas who scorched on a diagonal from halfway for a spectacular finish and final score of 75-3.
Hats off to already doomed Launceston for never failing to compete in this match. Their fresh faced players had two 20 minute periods when they repelled the Chinnor attack stoutly and their scrum was solid throughout. The pressure told in the end as Chinnor found holes in the All Blacks defence at regular intervals.
This was a cohesive display from the Thame boys. The forwards were patient in building pressure and position to release good ball to the backs who showed some individual moments of real skill. Both Goss and Lamont run smart lines and the laid back Heath continues to make scores from tight spots. As the All Blacks tired, Chinnor forwards joined in the scoring with tries from Hannay, Manning and Tyas’ 50 metre sprint. All around, a good measured team performance in which it is difficult to highlight a star player but skipper Tyas shaded it from the rest of his team mates. The win moves Chinnor to the giddy heights of sixth in the table.
A young squash player from Thame shocked and impressed his opponents with his hard-hitting and ferocious shots last weekend, when he and two other players from Racquets Squash Academy, represented Oxfordshire at the ‘Number One and Twos’ for the Under 11s, inter-county SE tournament on Sunday.
The Racquets boys team (L to R) – Luke Hayes, Oliver Coulcher-Porter, Jack Needle and Ambrose Garson
Luke Hayes’ playing impressed the Oxfordshire team so much that he has been asked to represent Oxfordshire next week with fellow Racquets’ members, Oliver and Emily Coulcher-Porter, in the inter-county National Tournament in Birmingham.
Racquets coach, Sue Martin Downhill, said: “Oliver won his matches with ease displaying his awe-inspiring skills. He lost only to the older GB Number three, who had a hard task to beat him.
“His sister, Emily as the second youngest player in the tournament, and as Oxfordshire Girls Number one, was unfazed facing opponents much bigger than her.”
The boys team brought home a bronze medal and the girls team brought home the silver for Oxfordshire.
VICTORY on Saturday, with a 36-0 win over Barnes, has secured Chinnor’s future in National division two, South
It didn’t take long for Chinnor to assert their superiority in this game with the pack driving forward at every opportunity. Fly half Sam Angell kicked a penalty deep into Barnes territory and from the resulting line out and drive Chinnor were awarded a scrum, five metres out. Quick possession allowed Angell to squeeze through a gap, dragging flankers over the line with him to score after just five minutes. He converted his own try to give Chinnor a 7-0 lead.
Barnes tried to relieve the pressure by using the wind to kick the ball deep into Chinnor’s half, but counter attacking runs by Vandermolen, Waddingham and Messum returned play into the Barnes’ half. Several of these runs linked with the jinking Junior, Fatialofa, who broke through several tackles. Fast feeding along the line by Frank Jones then put winger Lamont away to score an unconverted try in the corner for a 12-0 lead.
Fatialofa and Lamont combined again to gain a 30 metre advantage for Chinnor with the supporting Tom Burns being adjudged held up on the try line. Chinnor forwards were now dominating both tight and loose, particularly the scrums, giving plenty of time for Angell to chip the ball wide for Marcus Beer to gather and score Chinnor’s third try converted by Angell taking their lead to 19 – 0 at half time.
Angell dictated the play in the second half with his deep kicks forcing Barnes to counter attack from their own 22 metre area. Chinnor’s defence dispossessed Barnes, providing full back Goss with the opportunity to run unopposed to the line to score with Angell converting the try. 26 – 0 to Chinnor.
Barnes showed phases with good attacking moves but these were short lived due to the excellent tackling and defence by the back row led by man of the match, Messum. Chinnor then put the move of the match together with eight phases of driving mauls and quick handling along the three quarters, until Lamont sped around the defence to score his second try in the corner.
Barnes’ frustration led to a fracas in which Chinnor hooker, Phipps, retaliated and was sent off for foul play.
Despite being down to 14 men, Chinnor still maintained the upper hand and finished in style when Goss drew the Barnes’ defence then did a switch pass with winger Heath who crashed over, to score an unconverted try and give Chinnor a well-deserved 36 – 0 victory.
Chinnor have now raised their position to 10th in the league and next week face bottom of the table, Launceston, when they could win and go into the top half of the league, after spending the whole of the season near the bottom.
CHINNOR RFC, despite a late rally from visitors Old Elthamians from Chislehurst in Kent, came through to earn much needed points in the National Two South relegation battle, winning 39-31. This fifth win in the last six matches moved the Oxfordshire boys one place further from the relegation zone.
The first half belonged to Chinnor, gaining the bonus point try by the 28th minute. Angell began the scoring with a dart through from midfield after a Chinnor line out from a penalty in the visitors 22. Old Elthamians came back instantly when Olly Vidgeon danced through the midfield to square the scores at 7-7. Chinnor then hit a purple 10 minute patch with tries from Phipps and a double from Oscar Heath (moving him to second in the league’s try scorers table). Minutes later, Fatialofa joined the back of a rolling maul for another try. Fatialofa was then sinbinned and Old Elthamians seized the opportunity to come back with a try on half time from Dewale. White’s conversion saw half time with Chinnor 31-14 to the good.
Although Chinnor scored again quickly after the restart from Lamont, the second half saw the visitors score 17 points to Chinnor’s 8. A try from Dowsett was shortly followed by a penalty try to the visitors from Kent on 68 minutes for collapsing the maul to bring the score back to 36-26. A penalty goal from Angell was countered by a try from Old Elthamians scrum half Matt Bressons just before full time to close the match out at 39-31 to Chinnor.
This a match of two halves. Chinnor, with a dynamic pack, produced good ball for the backs to score freely in the first half – obtaining a bonus point by the 28th minute. In the second half, Chinnor, with a healthy half time lead, appeared to take their foot of the accelerator. Old Elthamians, competitive throughout, began to win the exchanges and created some good scores to run Chinnor close at the end. Chinnor backs played well with Oscar Heath at his insouciant best. The tight five were strong and abrasive – producing a series of highly effective and lengthy rolling mauls. It was a pleasure to see one of Chinnor’s highly regarded Colts, Cameron Hill, make his 1st XV debut. He clearly knows how to tackle. For non-stop effort, Alex Waddingham narrowly pinches the match laurels from his back row colleagues.
CHINNOR RFC’s Uner 17s did enough in the first half of their South West Regional Cup Final against Topsham RFC, from near Exeter, to emerge narrow winners, after a scoreless second half, by 15-12 and thereby crowned Regional champions.
Arriving at Trowbridge Rugby Club in Wiltshire, the u17s squad was delighted to see the playing surface in amazing condition for their u17s South West Region Cup Final against Topsham RFC.
Chinnor won the toss and elected to receive first and maximize benefit from the wind behind them. Topsham kicked off and there was a massive anti-climax when the ball sailed straight into touch. However, this gave Chinnor an early opportunity to test the Topsham defence. The pack dominated the resulting scrum which led to a perfectly executed move allowing Chinnor’s Alex McDonald to slice straight through the defence. Leaving defenders trailing in his wake, he beat Topsham’s fullback before just being brought down 5 metres out after an impressive 50 metre run. Reinforcements arrived in numbers to quickly secure the ball before skipper Freddie Barnes powered over the line for the first score with just five minutes on the clock. Ollie Pell faced a tough conversion that was beautifully struck but just drifted off target leaving Chinnor with a 5-0 lead.
Topsham came back just 10 minutes later when slick handling put their winger George Howill away down the left touchline to score in the corner. The conversion was missed to put the match score at 5-5. Topsham now had a period of good possession and field position where they used their line-out to good effect. The pressure on Chinnor’s defence told and Topsham crossed for another try, courtesy of Will Counsell, this time almost directly under the posts. It was an easy conversion by Parks to give Topsham a 12-5 lead.
Chinnor’s response was energetic They won a penalty just inside their half and Sam Coldicott’s quick tap won the boys from Oxfordshire another ten metres when he caught the napping defence offside. From this point it was Jacob Whitfield’s turn to tap and go to good effect. Powerful carries from Brad Harewood, Meli Kini, Owen Sumersbee and Abram Smith took Chinnor to within striking distance. Jacob Whitfield then finished the move that he started by busting through the goal-line defence. The conversion attempt hit the upright and the deficit was now 12-10.
The Chinnor players kept up the intensity from the kick-off, recycling quickly to get quick ball out to the backs. Great running lines and power by Dan Pearce and Oscar Clayton led to a try from Harry Gillett that Jonah Lomu would have been proud of. Chinnor went into the break with a narrow lead of 15-12.
The second half began with the same passion and intensity as the first. A perfectly timed kick chase led to Chinnor’s George Hanley and Alfie Sherlock dragging the Topsham receiver into touch. Chinnor’s backs really began to show their class in the second half. Andrew Prosser looked dangerous every time he had the ball and kept Topsham on edge. However, Chinnor could not turn all the early pressure into points.
Chinnor were then let off the hook when Topsham failed with a penalty goal attempt. Another penalty a few minutes later gave Topsham a lineout on the Chinnor five-metre line. Topsham’s driving maul was well disrupted by the abrasive Chinnor forwards, defending desperately. A perfectly executed turnover then allowed Chinnor to clear their lines. Chinnor struggled to gain possession but a number of big hits from Freddie Barnes and Ed Skinner blunted Topsham’s more promising attacks.
Topsham still kept the pressure on and maintained ball possession in Chinnor’s 22 for most of the last ten minutes. A strong bench bolstered Chinnor’s defensive efforts with every player sticking to the game plan. The squad showed great resilience which was rewarded by winning a penalty. Possession was retained for the last few minutes until the referee blew for full time and the Chinnor win.
Unsurprisingly, there was much jubilation from coaches, parents and supporters as Chinnor were crowned u17 South West Champions! Chinnor u17s now go through to The National Semi Final.
FOLLOWING the successful Active Women campaign over Christmas and the New Year when the SODC campaign encouraged 30 ladies to come back to fitness after long breaks – usually related to starting a family – Racquets Fitness Centre is launching a Ladies only squash morning with coaching, training and playing.
Squash coach at Racquets, Sue Martin Downhill, explained: “Four of the 30 ladies who joined the club during the last Active Women campaign have taken up squash as their sport and their fitness regime of choice.
“We’d now like to get the other 26 ladies onto the court just to try it out. Fitness from squash can be gained in only 40 minutes of exercise playing against another person of the same ability. Squash can be played whenever you wish – to fit in with your own lifestyle – from 6.30am in the morning until 9.30pm at night.
“It’s indoors – so it is never rained off!”
Sue added: “When you book to play someone else you are committed to turning up – so there is no easy get out of doing your exercise for that day!”
South Oxfordshire District Council and Racquets Fitness Centre are launching this second Active Women campaign starting on April 1, and running through to September.
The sessions can be used for any of Racquets’ classes on the timetable which includes the Ladies only squash morning starting April 13, 2016.
Call 01844 261754 to find out more or email info@racquets-fitness-centre.com
THAME swimmers, Ben and Josh Williams, fore-went any chocolate treats this Easter, instead competing at the closed Level One, Long Course Welsh Nationals swimming meet in Swansea from Friday through to Easter Monday.
Ben and Josh (left) Williams
Both boys put in some truly inspiring swims, competing against the Welsh British Nationals Elite squad and holding their heads up high with their achievements.
In summary, Ben competed in two finals (200 Back & 50 Back) and PB’d in five races, took a number of the Open Club records and achieved a goal of going under 58 seconds for his long course 100 Free.
Josh PB’d in nine races, went through to six finals (200 Back, 200 Free, 100 Back, 100 Free, 50 Back & 50 Fly), gained two further Regional Accepted times (200 Free, 100 Free), a Regional Consideration time for 400 Free and to top it all off, a Bronze medal for his 200 Back … meaning Josh is now part of the elite Thame Swimming Club Nationals medal club.
Both boys ended the Nationals weekend on a high with both of them swimming sub 30 for the first time in their 50 Fly (29.58 for Ben and 29.64 for Josh)!
