Category: Sports News

National 3 SW – Saturday, November 19, 2011 – SCORE: Chinnor 21 Vs Bournemouth 15; MATCH REPORT (Contributed)

ON a day when the irresistible force (Bournemouth) met the immovable object (Chinnor) something had to give. And in the end, Bournemouth had to give way to Chinnor who won this top of the table clash by 21-15.

This was never going to be an easy game for either side. However, with an average winning margin of about 50 points in every match this season, Bournemouth came to Kingsey Road with great expectation of preserving their unbeaten record. Chinnor, however, played to a different script and dominated the first half so much that it was difficult to understand the rampant form of the visiting side. After the break, Bournemouth was a different beast and came close to snatching victory against the Oxfordshire side.

After last week?s enforced changes, Chinnor were lucky enough to pick from nearly full strength to match their Dorset visitors first team. 4 minutes after kick off, Chinnor squandered an opening try when a simple pass was adjudged forward with a two man overlap and half the try line left begging.
This was, however, an early indicator of Chinnor?s desire to attack. The first score was not long in coming. From 20m out, and with sure off the top line out ball from Gilbert, Stoop accelerated onto the ball and crossed the visitor’s line for the first try of the match. Cathcart’s conversion gave the home side a 7-0 lead on the 10th minute.

Chinnor kept up the pace and were in the ascendancy for the next 20 minutes but Bournemouth?s lively scrum-half Hardcastle decided to intervene. From a Bournemouth scrum, Hardcastle nipped over for the visitors? first try of the afternoon. With the conversion attempt failing, Chinnor held a narrow 7-5 lead.

From a penalty, Chinnor opted for a catch and drive towards the Bournemouth line. This well organised move ate up the ground and when the ball was released, rapid and accurate passing across the park saw right-wing Seymour over for Chinnor’s second try. With Cathcart’s plum centre conversion from the touchline, Chinnor now led at half-time by 14-5.

The second half started where the first half finished with Chinnor pressure across the park. Putting enormous defensive pressure on Bournemouth in their own 22, Chinnor managed to turn over the ball in the sixth minute. The alert and powerful Waddingham picked up and blasted around the blind side of the ruck to score Chinnor’s third try in the corner. Cathcart, predictably, sent the ball over for the extra points to increase Chinnor’s lead to 21-5.

Bournemouth then began to turn the screw. Chinnor’s flanker Jackman was sin binned and from the resultant scrum, Hardcastle nipped through the empty space left by Jackman’s departure to score Bournemouth’s second try. Searle stepped up to convert and reduce the home side’s lead to 21-12.
Bournemouth continued to press and Chinnor’s defence had to be at its strongest to resist their efforts. Hardcastle’s keenness, however, incurred the wrath of the referee who gave him a 10 minute rest for punching. On the 75th minute, Bournemouth were awarded a penalty in front of the Chinnor posts for Jackman?s second offside offence leading to his red card and decided on the pragmatic choice of taking the penalty goal to retain a losing bonus point. Even so, Bournemouth kept hammering away and with metres to go to the Chinnor line, infringed and allowed Chinnor?s Cathcart to boot deep into touch, hoping to hear the referee’s final whistle. However the referee deemed there was still more time to play. Chinnor, strong in the lineout all afternoon, lost the ball and Bournemouth were once again on the attack. They again battered the Chinnor defence from 15m out for another two minutes until Chinnor turned over ball to allow Cathcart?s boot into touch to end the match with a Chinnor victory by 21-15.

This was an extremely hard fought game between two very well matched sides. Chinnor, unusually, started brightly and played the game at pace and power. This restricted the visitor?s possession and territory in the first half quite considerably. Bournemouth, to their great credit, never gave up and most sides would have caved in to the pressure exerted on the Chinnor defence in the last 20 minutes.

Hardcastle was, as always, a thorn in Chinnor?s side and was helped by a competitive Bournemouth pack. Stoop had a penetrative afternoon for Chinnor but the credit goes to the whole team whose victory was founded on a desire to attack backed by rock solid defence. Cathcart’s boot came in handy too.

Scorers:
Chinnor: Stoop T; Seymour T; Waddingham T; Cathcart 3C
Bournemouth: Hardcastle 2T; Searle C, PG

Chinnor team:
Colver, Seymour (Williams 59), Goode, Stoop, Prinsloo, Cathcart, Jones, Winpenny, Tattersall, Pickett (Whelan 67), Mowbray, Smith, Jackman, Waddingham (Harrison 45), Gilbert
Replacements: Whelan, Harrison, Williams

THAME Hurricanes netball team returned to their winning ways against Crendon yesterday, mainly due to a superb performance from Lyn Hopwood and fantastic defending throughout.

However a sloppy start found Thame 3-0 down early on. But, they began to find their way into the game and eventually scrambled on to the score sheet following a piercing pass from Lynn Palmer. However, Thame failed to make any real impact after that and trailed 8-5 after the first quarter.

Changes were made at the break and Thame gradually got themselves back into the game. After a few missed chances, they once again found their play and a strong finish to the quarter meant they went in at half time all square and on the front foot.

The third quarter was a fast paced end-to-end game with several goals for both teams. However, Thame’s dominance began to show as they moved the ball about quicker than their opponents and gained a three-goal lead with one more quarter left to go.

The final quarter was very tense, right up until the final bell. Crendon never let Thame get too far ahead as they battled their way back into contention. Thame held on for a narrow but well deserved win as the final score ended 23-22.

OXFORDSHIRE Senior Cup ? Round 2 – Thame United 3, Old Woodstock Town 2; 15/11/2011 – MATCH REPORT (Contributed)

THAME United defeated Old Woodstock Town 3-2 at the ASM Stadium on Tuesday evening in the 2nd round of the Oxfordshire Senior Cup. Thame were in control for most of the game and with ten minutes remaining were leading 3-0, but the visitors managed to pull 2 goals back, and the final few minutes saw them searching for an equaliser with United forced to defend. For the first time this season Thame started the game with the same line-up as their last game.

After a fairly even opening few minutes the home side began to win more of the ball and both Dan West and Ben Connelly went close. Thame?s first goal came on 30 minutes when Alex Stewart met a West corner with a near-post header from close range. United increased their lead just before the break when both Aaron Rogers and the visiting keeper went to meet a long throw-in from Stuart Barr, but Rogers was sharper and headed the ball home.

The visitors were stronger in the second half and on-form Thame keeper, Nick Bennion was far busier than he had been before the break. United scored their third goal in the 81st minute when a superb ball from midfield found Alex Stewart, who ran at goal before hitting a strong, well-placed, shot from 20-yards, giving the visiting keeper no chance. Woodstock replied within a minute with a 35-yard thunderbolt from defender Mike Spall, which surprised both Bennion and the spectators. Barr went close for Thame, but with 3 minutes of normal time remaining the visitors scored their second when short corner was played to Nick Murray who hit a 30-yard shot through a packed penalty area. The final minutes saw Woodstock striving for an equaliser but United held out and will progress to the 3rd round.

Thame United: Bennion, Barr, Hall, Cowan, Meredith, Keeble (Steadman), Connelly, D West, Stewart, Rogers (M West), Ricketts.

IT’S the Clash of the Titans this weekend when Chinnor RFC play Bournemouth on Saturday (Nov 19), both unbeaten and sitting at the top of the National League three, South West division.

This promises to be a very interesting match and will shape the second half of the season and lead up to influencing who will gain promotion by being top of the league. The runners up will be in a play off with a team from the South East Division.

Saturday’s confrontation will be the toughest test for both teams who are both vying for promotion to National League 2. It could be said that Chinnor have a slightly easier second part of the season as more games will be played at home, and the long distance travel to Barnstaple, Exmouth and Newton Abbot now done and dusted.

This will be a game really worth watching so get on down to Rectory Pavilion on Kingsey Road for the 2.30 pm kick off. Good food & beer guaranteed. Chinnor 3rds will be playing at home against Marlow 2nds. The 2nds are away to Westcombe Park and 4th s at Thatcham.

Chinnor RFC Youth side continues to grow

The Youth side of the club is expanding fast. There are now some 260 minis and 200 Junior players, possibly the largest in the County and surrounding area.

Last weekend has seen yet more success at all levels for Chinnor RFC. The Minis (U7-U12s) played an away fixture at Bicester RFC. At 11am, Remembrance Sunday was observed with the 450 players forming two circles for the two minutes silence.

The strength of the Junior Section now is such that some age groups have a large enough squad to turn out twp teams. Critically for the continued success of the club are the U17s and the Colts. The club now has enough players to field a full U17s team as well as a Colts squad.

“This is the key age group the RFU wants to see playing and remaining in rugby,” said Carol Bradbrook-Taylor, the club’s Honoury Secretary.

“The club has been fortunate to have a coaching squad highlighted with guest appearances from first Team players, to take the boys to a high enough standard to move seamlessly into the senior teams. Chinnor now fields four senior sides on a Saturday, and from these come the County?s Veterans champions (over 35s).

“Currently, the 3rds and 4ths play in leagues which contain mostly 2nds and 3rds, and do well enough to remain mid table,” explained Carol. “It is these teams in which the young men start to move into senior rugby, mentored by the players and player coaches in these teams. When the young players are considered mature enough and capable of holding their own, they move into the 2nds and 1sts. Chinnor is proud to boast that most of these teams are made of up home grown local talent.”

Chinnor First Team is currently unbeaten this season, winning all 10 games to date. They are second in the league to Bournemouth who have also had an unbeaten run but with greater points difference, beating Bridgewater Albion 107 ? 0 last Saturday!

THAME Boys Under sevens are on their way to Wembley after winning a McDonalds Coaching Masterclass.

The trip to Wembley Stadium on Sunday, November 20, is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the lads to be coached by, and work alongside footballing Legends of the game and an opportunity to train on the pitch’s hallowed turf.

The boys will also have the opportunity of a group photo with the likes of Sir Geoff Hurst, Gareth Southgate, Pat Jennings, Martin Keown and Andrew Cole.

Eric Harrison, McDonalds’ Head of Coaching will be running the event and having brought through
the Manchester United Class of ’92 (Giggs, Beckham, Scholes and the Neville brothers), there is no doubting his coaching skills.

Patrick Convoy, who entered the competition, was delighted to have one the session for the squad and said: ?Just being at the home of English Football will be great for the kids and we hope that they have a fantastic day out.”

The Under sevens are managed by Ravi Rao and assisted by Austin Naylor and Patrick Convoy.

The management team at the Thame Football Partnership have said that they hope this fantastic experience will help to develop the boys’ skills and enable a continued improvement for the rest of this season.

MEMBERS of Thame Swimming Club were in action again recently at the Handy Cross pool in High Wycombe, for the Wycombe District Swimming Club BC meet. For the third year running, Thame Swimming Club were the top visiting club taking away the trophy and scoring the hat trick.

There were fantastic swims at the meet with some great personal best (PB) times. Florence Savage, celebrating her birthday at the meet, opened her account with a 10 second PB. Boys Captain, George Finch pushed hard and was rewarded with an ASA South East Regional qualifying time. He?ll be off to the regional meet in December.

Thame SC?s volunteer coaches and official pulled the stops out to support the event and make it fun and rewarding for the swimmers. The medals were flowing thick and fast and all agreed it was a great event.

If you would like to get involved in competitive swimming as a master or a junior swimmer, or would like to become a coach or official, please contact secretary@thameswimmingclub.co.uk

FOLLOWING the 2011 Rugby World Cup, local housebuilder David Wilson Homes was overcome with rugby fever, and is now sponsoring two junior teams at Chinnor Rugby Club in Thame.

The Under 17s and the under 15s were delighted with their new kit which they were presented with by David Wilson Homes last weekend as part of the sponsorship package.

The much needed new team kit provides an added boost to the team?s spirit and will be worn for all home and away matches for the 2011/2012 season which begins next month.

Paul Moran, Sales Director for David Wilson Homes Southern commented: ?We are thrilled to be sponsoring both the Under 15 and Under 17 teams at Chinnor Rugby Club. As a local housebuilder we believe it important to make links with the local community and this is central to our company ethos. Our new development in Thame is located close to Chinnor Rugby Club and we hope that the facilities the club provides can be enjoyed by the new residents at Windmill Place.?

Chinnor RFC Treasurer Jerry Austen-Smith commented: ?It is fantastic that Chinnor Rugby Club now has the backing from David Wilson Homes and we are grateful for their support for two of our successful junior teams.

?With 12 teams in junior and senior leagues, plus nearly 300 minis we provide an excellent facility for the whole town. The club relies on sponsorship not only for the provision of new kits but also for support on and off the pitch. It is great to see the housebuilder getting involved in local community activities so that the town?s recreational facilities can benefit.?

For more information about the club, visit LINK
For further information about Windmill Place, visit LINK or call 01844 260 606

PHOTO; Chinnor Under 17s team

MATCH REPORT (Contributed) CHELTENHAM SARACENS 0, Vs THAME UNITED 2; Saturday, November 5, 2011.

A goal in each half secured the points for United as they came away from Cheltenham with a comfortable 2-0 victory to maintain their unbeaten form away from home in the league. Whilst the three points were never in doubt, the margin of victory could have been so much greater had United taken their chances, especially in the first half.

Although United went in to the game with influential midfielder Dan West serving a one match suspension, the side were bolstered by the return of Connor Hayes and Ben Connelly in midfield, with Alex Stewart available up front. The opening exchanges were fairly even before United opened the scoring after 18 minutes. A swift counter-attack resulted in a cross from the right to Aaron Rogers who dummied his marker before coolly beating the keeper from 8 yards. United nearly doubled their lead 5 minutes later when, following a goal mouth scramble, the ball ricocheted off the post before being cleared by a defender off the line. Stewart then had two chances, the first a header that went just wide from a Connelly cross, and the second where he turned his marker on the left, with the keeper blocking the effort with his legs.

The second half was much the same, with United pressing forward. Luke Ricketts went close from the edge of the box, before Cheltenham were reduced to 10-men following a late challenge on Ricketts. Thame continued to press and were rewarded on 77 minutes, when a Stuart Barr free-kick was headed in at the near post by Stewart. The remainder of the game was uneventful, with Thame securing their first clean sheet in the league ? in fact, Nick Bennion in the Thame goal did not have a save to make in the whole game.

United now travel to Highworth Town for a league match on Tuesday evening.

United: Bennion, Barr, Hall, Meredith, Cowan, Hayes, Keeble, Connelly (Little), Stewart, Rogers (Steedman), Ricketts.

Jake Collinge

THAME Hockey Club’s Mens 2s beat Newbury and Thatcham 4s away 2-1 (half time score 2-1). The first goal was scored by Will Hawthorne, the second by David Bruggink.

The visiting side conceeded a goal 15 minutes into the first half but didn’t let their opponents get the better of them. An impressive run by Howard brought the ball to the top of the D where it was picked up by Hawthorne who wasted no time in slamming home an equaliser.

A second goal came soon after by Bruggink assisted by Gould (MOM) and the half time score of 2-1 was then held to the end of the game giving Thame Mens 2s their third succesive win, and moving them up to third in the league.

http://www.thamehockey.co.uk/

THE National Racketball Doubles Championship, this year held at Racquets Health and Fitness Club in Thame, attracted a recorded entry.

A full sixteen draw in the Men?s event was closely followed by a near capacity turn out in a quality
based, Mixed tournament. The Ladies category was played as a round robin with pairs guaranteed four matches over the weekend.

The England Squash & Racketball Championship was run in partnership with Simon Martin from Racquets with both parties very pleased with the event?s success. Simon commented: “As a club we are very proud to be associated with such a prestigious tournament and hope
that the refurbished facilities that were kindly funded by ESR were to the liking of all competitors”.

The Ladies’ Championship was won by the Dorset pairing of Bev Vatcher and Vic Jarvis, narrowly overcoming a fierce challenge from Sam Mueller and local girl, Beth John. It was testament to the event that all pairs were in with a chance of winning on Saturday evening,
such was the overall quality of the draw.

In the Mixed final, the Somerset pairing of Natalie Lawrence and Robert Watkins were no match for the 2008 champions, Julie Lawton and Jim Lord. The experienced Lawton and the stylish Lord completed a comfortable 3-0 victory.

The Men’s clash proved an absolute classic between two times Champions Matt Baker (Devon) and Jim Lord (Yorks) and challengers Christian Turner (Devon) and Rob Watkins (Avon). Most of the capacity crowd anticipated a comfortable victory for the pairing of Baker and Lord but the opposition had very different ideas as they stormed into a 2-0 lead.

The reigning champions showed their determination as they rallied to level at 2-2, and once again many felt experience would tell in the deciding set. It was not to be as Turner and Watkins continued with their strategy of power and strength and prevailed 12-10 in the fifth set to a standing ovation.

Full Scores
Men’s Final:
Christian Turner and Rob Watkins bt Matt Baker and Jim Lord 3-2 (12/10, 12/10, 8/11, 8/11,
12/10)

Mixed Final:
Julie Lawton and Jim Lord bt Nat Lawrence
and Rob Watkins 3-0 (11/8, 11/9,
11/7)

Ladies Winners:
Bev Vatcher and Vic Jarvis (13 points)

Ladies Runners-up:
Sam Mueller and Beth John (12 points)

Mixed Final Winners: Julie Lawton and Jim Lord

PHOTO: Mixed Final Winners: Julie Lawton and Jim Lord