This third v fourth clash was a good contest between two well matched sides with Chinnor’s defence coming out on top to post a 21-5 win for the Oxfordshire boys.
Redruth started brightly with pressure on Chinnor from the start. Weathering the storm, Chinnor, on their first prolonged visit to the Redruth 22 , set up a series of quick rucks and Lamont, coming in from the wrong wing, found a hole in the Cornish defence to go over for Chinnor’s first try, converted by Hopkin, with 13 minutes played. Now winning the territorial battle, Chinnor were awarded a stream of penalties in the Redruth 22. A number of line out catch and drives broke down until Nathan Hannay went straight through the middle of a ruck for Chinnor’s second try on the 22nd minute, converted by Hopkin. Most of the play was in the Redruth half with Redruth breakouts, often sparked by scrum half Oulten, foundering on an uncompromising home defence. Towards the end of the half, spilt ball by Redruth led to a breakout by the home side. Spectacular and rapid passing looked to result in a certain try, but, with an undefended line beckoning, the last pass was thrown forward. This last action of the half saw the home side leave the field with a 14-0 lead.
The start of the second half was all Redruth with only a ruck turnover from Chinnor’s Thorpe eventually reducing the pressure. Chinnor began to dominate and a series of driven line outs from a sequence of penalties saw Jon Phipps go over for Chinnor’s third try, Hopkin converting. Things changed dramatically in the 62nd minute when Chinnor conceded two yellow cards in two minutes with Darlington and Thorpe trying illegally to stop the Redruth juggernaut, growing in power from a series of penalty line outs. Pressure and numbers eventually told as Redruth then rumbled over for their only score of the match, Buzza touching down. With the Chinnor scrum now dominant, Chinnor tried desperately to clinch the bonus point try. Three scrum penalties in succession, 5 metres out, looked to be building for a penalty try. The Redruth scrum went down for the fourth time but the referee, Mr Thomas, ordered a reset. The ball was fumbled at the back of the scrum and the referee blew for no side.
Redruth found it difficult to penetrate the Chinnor defence and were at their best when their pack took on Chinnor at the maul, with Redruth’s Mike Grubb notably industrious. The Redruth backs had a tough time with the abrasive Chinnor tackling. Bertie Hopkin had an impressive tackle count and kicked well throughout. Barnes, in particular, showed his Chinnor colleagues how to win turnover ball. The Chinnor back row had a superb match, carrying and tackling with aplomb. Messum and Thorpe were very good but this time, Tom Burns at No 8, wins the laurels for a complete all round performance.
Teams
Chinnor
Kieran Goss, Luke Hibberd, Danny Barnes, Bevon Armitage (c) Henry Lamont, Bertie Hopkin, Greg Goodfellow, Ricky Cano, Jon Phipps, Jay Tyack, Nathan Hannay, CJ Osazuwa, Richard Thorpe, George Messum, Tom Burns
Interchanges: Mark Darlington, Andy Berry, Jamie Townsend, Alex Waddingham, Sam Angell
Redruth
Brett Rule, Dean Bonds, Neilson hired Webber, Sam Parsons, Alex Ducker, James Huxtable, Jack Oulten, Tommy Phillips, Richard Brown, Craig Williams, Luke Hattam, Shaun Buzza, Chris Fuca, Mark Grubb, Kyle Marriott
Interchanges: Adam Wright, Matt Gidlow, Luke Collins, Declan Matthews, Ethan Tyler
Scorers
Chinnor
Tries (time): Lamont (12), Hannay (22), Phipps (52)
Conversions (time): Hopkin (13, 23, 54)
Penalty Goals (time):
Redruth
Tries (time): Buzza (67)
Conversions (time):
Penalty Goals (time):
Referee: Alexander Thomas
Attendance: 296
Half time score: 14-0
Full time score: 21-5
Star man: Tom Burns (Chinnor)
