CHINNOR 42-12 CAMBRIDGE
Looking back on the Good Friday trip to Chinnor, the game served to encapsulate Cambridge’s season: a strong first forty, some misfiring set pieces, a couple of well-worked scores and too much to do after conceding quickly after half time.
Will Cave touched down 7 minutes in for the hosts, converted by Nathan Chamberlain, but Cambridge were back on terms in short order, with Jasper Sorrell’s powerful burst ending in 5 points, and Jamie Annand adding the extras. Cave added another, but Jack Doorey-Palmer forced his way over the line, shoved by scrum half Ollie Allan. With no conversion forthcoming in the howling gale, the game was set fair at 14-12 at the break.
As so often this term, with the first score of the second half vital, Cambridge contrived to concede twice within 2 minutes of the restart, both via Chinnor hooker Alun Walker, and the game became an uphill struggle against the breeze, and the Chinnor slope. The hosts piled on another couple of tries and Cambridge paid the price for inaccuracy in the line out, despite mostly dominating at scrum time.
Full back Ben Currie summed up the afternoon, saying, “That’s the story of our season. We put ourselves in a good position after that first half – you’d take a two point difference at the break any day. But they scored a couple of quick tries, which killed our momentum and morale and the game ran away. Next Saturday, we definitely need to approach the game with a strong mindset and correct the errors we made today.”
Teams
Chinnor
Brock, Hughes, Watson, Bourton, Owsley, Chamberlain, Pascoe; Onasanya, Walker(C), Porter, Campbell, Ryan, Cooke, Cave, Hall
Replacements – Dugmore, Rukhadze, Main, Thompson, Hardwick, James-Carter, Hanks, Brockschmidt
Cambridge
Currie, Thorne, Reweti, Sorrell, Caven, Annand, Allan; Ellwood, Doorey-Palmer, Walker, Lawrence, Baxter, Fulford, Eckerlsey, Adams (C)
Reinforcements – Stewart, Roussouw, Wulf-Masoe, Thomas, Mills, Dawson, Mausia, Green
Scorers
Chinnor
Tries – Cave 7, 26, Walker 41,42, Owsley 63, Rukhadze 77
Conversions – Chamberlain 8,27,42,43,64,77
Cambridge
Tries – Sorrell 17, Doorey-Palmer 31
Conversion – Annand 18
Attendance 1,702
Penalties Conceded 12-9
Line Outs Won 9-11
Line Outs Lost 1-6
Scrums Won 6-10
Scrums Lost 0-1