MATCH REPORT – Contributed: Chinnor 19 vs Oxford Harlequins 9; IN a tense affair, Chinnor retained the Oxfordshire cup in defeating local rivals Oxford Harlequins 19-9 with two tries late in the game.
Chinnor were fortunate enough to have most of their players back from injury, allowing coach Jason Bowers the luxury of putting out a strong side and, perhaps more crucially, having a strong set of replacements.
Oxford Harlequins started the match in the best possible way when straight from the kick-off, Chinnor lost the ball. It was fired back to Quins fly half Joey Todd who calmly stroked over a drop goal to put Quins 3-0 up with one minute on the clock. The next 10 minutes saw a great deal of activity in the Chinnor half with Harlequins constantly trying to find a gap. Chinnor?s organised defence was resolute and needed to be.
Chinnor began to get back in the match and to play more in the Oxford Harlequins half. Quins were a constant threat in trying to convert lost Chinnor possession into points. Indeed Chinnor?s left-wing Ben Farr made a number of last-ditch try saving tackles to prevent a Quins score. The pattern of the rest of the game now began to emerge with Chinnor trying to play a structured game and Quins harrying and hassling to produce turnover ball to release their fast running backs.
Chinnor’s persistence eventually paid off when Cathcart scored a penalty goal after a ruck offence by Quins in their own 22 to level the scores at 3-3 on the 20th minute. He then repeated the dose on the 32nd minute to give Chinnor 6-3 lead. With Chinnor now starting to dominate territory, Quins continued to contest everything and were particularly effective at the ruck with Welburn prominent in both defence and attack. Todd then stepped up to level the scores with a well struck penalty goal on the 34th minute. As half-time approached, Quins were awarded another penalty and Todd took full advantage to send the city side in at half-time with a 9-6 lead. It turned out to be, significantly, their last score of the day.
Two minutes into the second half Cathcart slotted a penalty goal to once again level the match at 9-9. Quins then replaced the first of the three props that had to scrum against Chinnor captain Winpenny who had, with his front row colleagues, a powerful scrummaging influence on the outcome of the match.
The 62nd minute saw a particularly sad moment for Chinnor when scrum-half Toby Prescott left the field in his last match for Chinnor to start his retirement from rugby, due to work commitments.
For another offside offence by the city side, Cathcart launched a prodigious touch finder from his own half which gave Chinnor a lineout some 7 m from Quins try line. However, Harlequins not only managed to disrupt the lineout but, courtesy of the seemingly ever present Jason Welburn, managed to get the ball into the Chinnor half before knocking on the ball.
Chinnor then chose to replace three of their players on the 52nd minute – with significant consequence. Chase came for Williams at full back, Stock for Pickett in the front row and Vickers for Mowbray in the back row. Stock immediately made his presence felt when he stopped Quins full-back Graeme Crapper with an Exocet tackle that left the unfortunate Crapper in some pain and discomfort and early retirement from the match. A neat blindside move saw Chase break the defensive cover to slip the ball to Seymour who was dragged down inches short of the line. This then began a series of punishing scrums starting with a strike against the head from the Chinnor scrum. As the dominant Chinnor scrum drove for the line, Hastings, now at No 8, picked up to score the first try of the match on the 71st minute. With the conversion going just wide, Chinnor now led by 14-9.
Quins would not lie down, however and from a midfield penalty Todd skilfully hit the touchline just 5m from the Chinnor line. On the 74th minute and with a well taken catch, Quins began a drive which turned into a titanic battle of strength. Chinnor, in the person of Smith, won the contest and Cathcart was able to clear the Chinnor lines. This was perhaps the defining moment of the match.
The play was now all in the Oxford Harlequins half and another punishing series of scrums in the Quins corner led to Hopwood, on for Prescott at scrum-half, fizzing a long pass to Cathcart who with no defenders in front of him, slowly cantered over for Chinnor’s second try, with three spare men outside him. The conversion attempt shaved the post on the wrong side and shortly afterwards the referee blew for no side and a 19-9 victory to the Thame side and retention of the Oxfordshire Cup.
This, the third encounter between the two sides this season, followed a familiar pattern in competing styles. Chinnor playing structured rugby founded on a strong pack versus Quins harrying forward play and rapid counter-attack. Harlequins No 8 Jason Welburn stood out for both his attack and defence work. Todd has an elegant left foot and the Quins back row was very competitive at the breakdown. They defended well in the centre of the park and kept the Chinnor centres relatively quiet.
The Chinnor pack had a good day providing some dominant scrummaging and good lineout work. The front row were dominant and Winpenny looked particularly powerful in his alternative tight head role. Smith at lock tidied up well and Hastings had a very busy afternoon tackling and supporting the ball carrier. The Chinnor backs were unlucky on several occasions being hauled down just short of the line. They defended well. Farr pulled off some important tackles and Chase?s inclusion increased the attack options with his hard running style. Chinnor?s defensive co-ordination, including their scramble defence meant that Oxford Harlequins had no realistic opportunity of a try throughout the match. But above all, this was a team performance from a side that has had a particularly good end of season campaign.
Scorers:
Chinnor: Hastings T; Cathcart T, 3PG
Oxford Harlequins: Todd DG, 2PG
Chinnor team: Williams (Chase 52), Farr, Goode, Morgan, Seymour, Cathcart, Prescott (Hopwood 62), Winpenny, Cawston, Pickett (Stock 52), Jackman, Smith, Hastings, Harrison, Mowbray (Vickers 52)
Replacements: Stock, Stennings, Vickers, Hopwood, Chase
Referee: Simon Lane (Devon)