CHINNOR RFC laid a 52 year old ghost to rest on Saturday (10/09), with their 22-13 defeat of Henley. This was the first time, in this always fiercely contested South Oxfordshire derby, that Chinnor has ever won at Dry Leas.
Henley started with great pace and scored after five minutes with a penalty goal by scrum half George Jackson. Chinnor then exerted continued pressure in the Henley 22 to win several penalties. Eschewing kicks for goal, their third lineout drive saw No 8, Tom Burns, go over for Chinnor’s first try, easily converted by Bertie Hopkin. Henley continued to play a high pace, rucking game but could not breach the stout Chinnor defence. An offside penalty against Chinnor saw Henley’s Jackson close the gap to 6-7. Chinnor worked their way upfield, and with the scrum looking strong, were rewarded with another series of penalties in the Henley 22.
From a 10 metre scrum, Goodfellow foxed the home defence and went over for Chinnor’s second try. A long period of Henley attack 10 metres out from the Chinnor line looked like grounds for optimism for Henley but a ruck turnover saw Chinnor clear their lines. Chinnor took the game downfield where more penalties ensued and another catch and lineout drive saw Richard Thorpe driven over for Chinnor’s third try. Hopkin’s conversion saw the visitors 19-6 ahead at half time.
The second half began with wave after wave of Henley attack foundering on determined Chinnor defence. Henley then took a leaf from the Chinnor playbook and a driven penalty line out saw flanker Tom Hall cross for Henley’s first try. Jackson’s conversion closed Chinnor’s lead to 19-13. As yet more rain fell, there was a period of midfield attrition where no-one gained the upper hand. The last 10 minutes saw all out Henley attack but again, Chinnor had an answer to everything thrown at them. A midfield tackle by Chinnor’s Danny Barnes surely registered on the Richter Scale and, followed by turnover ball by Messum, Henley’s last hopes of a bonus point were snuffed out. With the final whistle, Chinnor achieved their own piece of history in this fiercely contested 22-13 victory.
This was a game of hard rugby with both sides fully committed at every phase of the game. The conditions made it difficult for the backs and line breaks were few. However, the Chinnor back line defence was more than capable of repulsing anything thrown at them. Led magnificently by skipper Bevon Armitage, Henley just could not break through. Chinnor’s scrum grew in strength throughout the match and was a potent source of penalties. Chinnor, understanding the conditions, used the increasing penalty count to mount a series of drive mauls to great effect. For parts of the match, Henley had long periods of possession but few ideas on how to fashion a score. They are a useful side and will, no doubt, be challenging at the top end of the league towards the end of the season.
This was a real all-team performance for the Thame boys and their resilience and determination were the foundation of this historic win. Bevon Armitage was hugely influential, both as player and as skipper, but narrowly loses the man of the match laurels to George Messum whose turnover ball heroics did much to preserve the Chinnor line. His stonking black eye was testament to his unforgiving tenacity.
Teams
Henley
Comben, Andre, Flynn, O’Neill, Fessal, Butler, Jackson, Cook, Emery, Mountout-Alexis, Clements, Albon, Lane, Hall, Watkins.
Reps: Chamnaoui, Philpott, Davey, Haynes, Perry.
Top of the league Chinnor
Goss, Hibberd, Barnes, Armitage (c), Lamont, Hopkin, Goodfellow, Price, Townsend, M Darlington, Hannay, Manning, Thorpe, Messum, Burns.
Reps: Berry, Tyack, Phipps, Osazuwa, Fatialofa
Scorers
Henley
Tries (time): Hall (54)
Conversions (time): Jackson (55)
Penalty Goals (time): Jackson (5,16)
Chinnor
Tries (time): Burns (11), Goodfellow (24), Thorpe (36)
Conversions (time): Hopkin (12, 38)
Penalty Goals (time): Hopkin (58)
Referee: David Conway
Attendance: 313
Half time score: 6-19
Full time score: 13-22
Star man: George Messum
SOURCE: Contributed by Bill O’Donnell
