HIGH flying Cambridge squeezed past basement team Chinnor, 26-19, on Saturday (09/01) in a match with an exciting finish.
The first half was a masterclass of Chinnor defence versus Cambridge attack, with the home team comfortably keeping the visitors at bay. The influence of new defence coach, Richard Thorpe, was most evident. A promising Chinnor attack almost led to the first score but Oscar Heath was pulled down inches from the line. It was not until the 35th minute that the deadlock was broken. A Cambridge meandering rolling maul from a penalty line out kick led to the first score of the match with Cambridge’s Reeves touching down to end the half with a Cambridge lead of 5-0.
The second half was a different affair altogether. Cambridge came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders. With a minute gone, Cambridge tapped a penalty and ran the ball easily to the line with Portsmouth touching down. Two minutes later, Cambridge increased their lead with a try from Meek. With both tries converted by Boshoff, Cambridge had a easy 19-0 lead. Chinnor came back quickly with a try from Manning after a break from the ruck by Goodfellow. The conversion from Hopkin closed the gap to 19-7. Cambridge however upped their pace and a sharp handling movement across the pitch saw Burbank touch down for the visitor’s bonus point try. Boshoff’s conversion increased the lead to 26-7 with 60 minutes played.
Chinnor, seemingly resigned to a defeat, then found a new lease of life attacking Cambridge relentlessly in the last 10 minutes.
New boy, Messum, reacted quickly to dot down a loose ball before anyone else could react. The conversion closed the gap to 26-14. A sharp inter passing move down the blind side of a scrum saw Chinnor’s third try, scored by Olley. In the last minute, striving for the draw, Chinnor’s Hopkin put a penalty kick five metres from the Cambridge line. The resultant rolling maul got close but the ball was lost and the final whistle sounded for a narrow Cambridge win by 26-19.
Cambridge are a well drilled side – particularly in the passing of their backs. They play a high tempo game and often create overlaps which only high class scramble defence from Chinnor prevented them exploiting. Sweeper defence from Chinnor’s Jones was particularly noteworthy. Chinnor, apart from a mad 10 minutes at the start of the second half, were equal to high flying Cambridge in all aspects of the game. The home defence was resolute and comfortable and the performance was possibly the best of the season so far. Lloret, in the backs, looks to have found his best position as a centre. The pack were impressive with the back row in great form. Manning was non-stop as ever, Waddingham tackled thunderously but No 8, Matt Bolwell, takes the laurels for his all-court game – played at pace throughout.
Teams
Chinnor
Oscar Heath, Marcus Beer, Jack Adams, Salva Lloret, George Blewitt, Bertie Hopkin, Frank Jones, Andy Berry, Jamie Townsend, Jay Tyack, Darren Oliver, Tom Burns, Ben Manning, Alex Waddingham, Matt Bolwell
Interchanges: Andy Darlington, Mark Darlington, George Messum, Greg Goodfellow, Jake Olley
Cambridge
James Stokes, Mike Ayrton, Albert Portsmouth, James Ayrton, Lawrence Hutchinson, Gerhard Boshoff, Stefan Liebenberg, Josh Waller, Jarrod Taylor, Matthew Worrall-Clare, George Bretag-Norris, Alex Moon, Matt Meek, Brett Daynes, Stephen Hipwell
Interchanges: Ean Griffiths, Ricky Reeves, Ollie Walker, Nico Defeo, George Furbank
Scorers
Chinnor
Tries (time): Manning (56), Messum (70), Olley (7)
Conversions (time): Hopkin (57, 70)
Cambridge
Tries (time): Reeves (35), Portsmouth (41), Meek (44), Burbank (59)
Conversions (time): Boshoff (42, 45, 60)
Referee: Phil Davies
Attendance: 213
Half time score: 0-5
Full time score: 19-26
SOURCE: Contributed
An injured man was left in the care of the ambulance service.
