‘Pulsating’ match results in valuable win for Chinnor

MATT Williams, Director of Rugby at Chinnor Rugby Club, was full of praise for his Chinnor side as they left it late to beat fellow high-fliers Rosslyn Park 24-21 in a pulsating fixture on Saturday. 

Trailing 21-19 with two minutes to go, hooker Nick Selway crashed over from a driving lineout as the home side dug deep to claim a valuable win. 

The result has seen the Thame-based side close the gap to second-placed Park to just two points in National League 1, while Richmond moved ten points clear after beating Canterbury. 

Chinnor director of rugby Williams was thrilled with the result. “I’m delighted,”he said. “It wasn’t about the five points, it was about winning. I thought we made our life tougher than we needed to by gifting Rosslyn Park 14 points from two kicking errors, but otherwise I can’t be anything other than happy.” 

The day started with a heroic effort to beat Storm Jorge, with more than 20 volunteers helping to make the pitch playable. They were rewarded with a brilliant performance which saw Chinnor extend their winning run to six games. 

The home side led 19-7 at half-time, thanks to unconverted tries from Joe Rees and Jason Worrall, as well as three Laurence May penalties. 

Park crossed twice in the first ten minutes of the half through Ryan Roach and Josh Amadi, Lound converting both, to go 21-19 in front. 

It went down to the wire and with Stewart Maguire and Daniel Laventure in the sin-bin late on, Chinnor took their opportunity as Selway drove over for a valuable four points. 

Williams added: “Since Christmas, we’ve turned things around. Whether we’re behind or in front, we play to the final minute now. 

“We’ve now played the top three teams around us and it’s about getting as many points as we can between now and the end of the season and letting other results around us take care of themselves.”