Chinnor u17s crowned South West Regional champions

The final whistle !

CHINNOR RFC’s Uner 17s did enough in the first half of their South West Regional Cup Final against Topsham RFC, from near Exeter, to emerge narrow winners, after a scoreless second half, by 15-12 and thereby crowned Regional champions.

Arriving at Trowbridge Rugby Club in Wiltshire, the u17s squad was delighted to see the playing surface in amazing condition for their u17s South West Region Cup Final against Topsham RFC.

Chinnor won the toss and elected to receive first and maximize benefit from the wind behind them. Topsham kicked off and there was a massive anti-climax when the ball sailed straight into touch. However, this gave Chinnor an early opportunity to test the Topsham defence. The pack dominated the resulting scrum which led to a perfectly executed move allowing Chinnor’s Alex McDonald to slice straight through the defence. Leaving defenders trailing in his wake, he beat Topsham’s fullback before just being brought down 5 metres out after an impressive 50 metre run. Reinforcements arrived in numbers to quickly secure the ball before skipper Freddie Barnes powered over the line for the first score with just five minutes on the clock. Ollie Pell faced a tough conversion that was beautifully struck but just drifted off target leaving Chinnor with a 5-0 lead.

Topsham came back just 10 minutes later when slick handling put their winger George Howill away down the left touchline to score in the corner. The conversion was missed to put the match score at 5-5. Topsham now had a period of good possession and field position where they used their line-out to good effect. The pressure on Chinnor’s defence told and Topsham crossed for another try, courtesy of Will Counsell, this time almost directly under the posts. It was an easy conversion by Parks to give Topsham a 12-5 lead.

Chinnor’s response was energetic They won a penalty just inside their half and Sam Coldicott’s quick tap won the boys from Oxfordshire another ten metres when he caught the napping defence offside. From this point it was Jacob Whitfield’s turn to tap and go to good effect. Powerful carries from Brad Harewood, Meli Kini, Owen Sumersbee and Abram Smith took Chinnor to within striking distance. Jacob Whitfield then finished the move that he started by busting through the goal-line defence. The conversion attempt hit the upright and the deficit was now 12-10.

The Chinnor players kept up the intensity from the kick-off, recycling quickly to get quick ball out to the backs. Great running lines and power by Dan Pearce and Oscar Clayton led to a try from Harry Gillett that Jonah Lomu would have been proud of. Chinnor went into the break with a narrow lead of 15-12.

The second half began with the same passion and intensity as the first. A perfectly timed kick chase led to Chinnor’s George Hanley and Alfie Sherlock dragging the Topsham receiver into touch. Chinnor’s backs really began to show their class in the second half. Andrew Prosser looked dangerous every time he had the ball and kept Topsham on edge. However, Chinnor could not turn all the early pressure into points.

Chinnor were then let off the hook when Topsham failed with a penalty goal attempt. Another penalty a few minutes later gave Topsham a lineout on the Chinnor five-metre line. Topsham’s driving maul was well disrupted by the abrasive Chinnor forwards, defending desperately. A perfectly executed turnover then allowed Chinnor to clear their lines. Chinnor struggled to gain possession but a number of big hits from Freddie Barnes and Ed Skinner blunted Topsham’s more promising attacks.

Topsham still kept the pressure on and maintained ball possession in Chinnor’s 22 for most of the last ten minutes. A strong bench bolstered Chinnor’s defensive efforts with every player sticking to the game plan. The squad showed great resilience which was rewarded by winning a penalty. Possession was retained for the last few minutes until the referee blew for full time and the Chinnor win.

Unsurprisingly, there was much jubilation from coaches, parents and supporters as Chinnor were crowned u17 South West Champions! Chinnor u17s now go through to The National Semi Final.

SOURCE: Contributed