Corporal Parkin joins Senior Squad
CHINNOR RFC Thame are delighted to announce the signing of scrum-half Joe Parkin.
The 28-year-old adds further strength in depth at nine, joining Joe Pigott and Jacob Ham in the Senior Squad.
Parkin, a Corporal in the Royal Air Force, played his junior rugby at Exmouth where he broke into the First XV.
Stationed at RAF Benson, the scrum-half works as a Physical Training Instructor and has spent the past two seasons at London & South East Premier side Maidenhead.
Parkin played against Chinnor in the Club’s last match before the Coronavirus outbreak, representing the RAF in the annual Lauren Cyster Megabowl Trophy fixture.
And he is enjoying the opportunity to step up to National League 1 at Kingsey Road.
Joe said: “It’s great to be at Chinnor RFC Thame and I'm delighted to have signed. I really enjoyed my time at Maidenhead and I would like to thank everyone there. There's always a bit of apprehension about playing at a higher standard and if it will be too professional, but Chinnor is a very welcoming Club and it is really enjoyable here - there's a good balance to it. Being a scrum-half and having Craig (Hampson) as Attack Coach has been ideal. At first it was frustrating knowing we would not be playing games again this year, but I’ve still been really motivated to go to training and improve. Jacob, Joe and I do our extras before or after training and sometimes that’s with or without Craig. We push each other on and we take those coaching points from Craig to give each other feedback which is really good.”
Chinnor RFC Thame Director of Rugby, Richard Thorpe said: “Joe has really impressed since his arrival at Kingsey Road. Whilst he is a scrum-half with solid fundamental skills, his work ethic at training and his natural leadership have seen him become an integral part of training sessions. Our three scrum halves, superbly coached by our Attack Coach Craig Hampson, are now both supporting and challenging each other to become better, and I am excited to see Joe (Parkin) challenge for a starting jersey once we get back to playing.”
