Amersham & Chiltern 3rd XV Fixtures & Results
Season 2008/09

Date / Match Report	Opposition	Venue	Competition	Result	Pts.  For	Pts. Against
23-Aug-08
30-Aug-08
06-Sep-08
13-Sep-08	Aylesbury III	Home	BB Oxon 2 North	W	65	0
20-Sep-08	Banbury III	Away	BB Oxon 2 North	W	90	5
27-Sep-08
04-Oct-08	Bicester III	Home	BB Oxon 2 North	HWO	-	-
11-Oct-08	Chinnor IV	Away	BB Oxon 2 North	W	44	12
18-Oct-08
25-Oct-08	Chipping Norton II	Home	BB Oxon 2 North	W	52	0
01-Nov-08	High Wycombe III	Away	BB Oxon 2 North	AWO	-	-
01-Nov-08	Marlow Straglers	Home	Friendly	W	22	0
08-Nov-08
15-Nov-08	Stow on the Wold III	Home	BB Oxon 2 North	HWO	-	-
15-Nov-08	Alchester I	Home	Friendly	L	10	12
22-Nov-08
29-Nov-08	Winslow	Away	BB Oxon 2 North	W	36	5
06-Dec-08	Witney IV	Home	BB Oxon 2 North	HWO	-	-
13-Dec-08	Alchester I	Home	Friendly	W	5	0
20-Dec-08	Princes Risborough I	Home	Friendly	W	27	0
27-Dec-08
03-Jan-09
10-Jan-09	Stow on the Wold III	Away	BB Oxon 2 North	cancelled
17-Jan-09	Marlow III	Away	Friendly	W	39	0
24-Jan-09	High Wycombe III	Away	BB Oxon 2 North	W	39	0
31-Jan-09	Chipping Norton II	Away	BB Oxon 2 North	W	45	9
07-Feb-09
14-Feb-09	Chinnor IV	Home	BB Oxon 2 North	W	39	0
21-Feb-09	Bicester III	Away	BB Oxon 2 North	D	31	31
28-Feb-09	Marlow Straglers	Away	Friendly	Cancelled
07-Mar-09	Banbury III	Home	BB Oxon 2 North	W	51	22
14-Mar-09
21-Mar-09
28-Mar-09	Aylesbury III	Away	BB Oxon 2 North	W	86	14
04-Apr-09	Witney IV	Away	BB Oxon 2 North	W	114	0
11-Apr-09
18-Apr-09	Winslow	Home	BB Oxon 2 North

       

League:

RFU Bucks/Berks & Oxon 2 North Table


Top Scorers:

Position	Name	Tries	Conversions	Penalties	Drop Goals	Points
1	Ryan Thomas	5	15	4	-	67
2	Chris Luker	11	-	-	-	55
3	Chad Shepherd	10	-	-	-	50
4	Charlie Kent	9	1	-	-	47
5=	Russ Bolton	5	6	1	-	40
5=	Chris Cowley	-	17	2	-	40
5=	Dave Robertson	8	-	-	-	40
8	Martin Smith	5	5	-	-	35
9	Dave Richardson	3	5	3	-	34
10=	Brian Richardson	6	-	-	-	30
10=	Roshan Ratnapala	6	-	-	-	30
11	Ryan Lee	5	-	-	-	25
12	Charlie Griffiths	4	-	1	-	23
13=	Matt Lawson	4	-	-	-	20
13=	Tim Bond	4	-	-	-	20
13=	Simon Turner	4	-	-	-	20
13=	Nik Rastelli	-	10	-	-	20
17	Luke Johnson	1	4	2	-	16
18=	Ed Buller	3	-	-	-	15
18=	Dave Smith	3	-	-	-	15
20=	Mike Griffiths	2	-	-	-	10
20=	Tom Reynolds	2	-	-	-	10
20=	Neil Foster	2	-	-	-	10
20=	Gavin Reid	2	-	-	-	10
20=	Chik	2	-	-	-	10
20=	Graham Fischer	2	-	-	-	10
20=	Julian Alexander	2	-	-	-	10
20=	Gez Rowland	2	-	-	-	10
20=	Craig Yandell	2	-	-	-	10
20=	Scott Jarrold	2	-	-	-	10
30	David John	1	1	-	-	7
31	Duncan Yarroll	-	3	-	-	6
32=	Duncan Bell	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Jon Hughes	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Rob Long	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Richard Bobbett	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Nick Fischer	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Brian Feaver	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Rob Mowat	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Pete Johnson	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Bryan Winson	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Thomas Kent	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Rich Tulloch	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Pete Johnson	1	-	-	-	5
32=	James Cope	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Jack Claridge	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Nathan Wilkinson	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Mike Buckler	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Paul Luker	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Colin Smith	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Jon Smith	1	-	-	-	5
32=	Frazer	1	-	-	-	5
52	Dougall Nicholls	-	2	-	-	4

Match Reports:

Chiltern completed their unbeaten league season in style, scoring 12 tries against a spirited Winslow team

Was the score 65 or 68, who actually knows, the players think they scored 68, but the referee recorded it as 65 so that's what counts! Today's team, was the usual mix of experience and experience! The front row brought back memories of 1st team matches a few seasons ago, with Simmo and Schofield the two props, accompanied by Long as hooker, second row continued the theme, with ex 1st team skipper Mike Griffiths joined by Bond (Tim), and the back row was no different, with Smith (Dave) as blind side flanker, one of the Fischer twins - Nick we think! as the flanker and Kent at 8. Cowley at 9, was alongside a whole line up of ex 1st team backs, Thomas at 10, in the centre Luker (Chris) and Richardson (Brian), on the wing Griffiths (Charlie) and Smith (Martin), and at fullback who else could it be, other than the other Richardson brother - Dave. The substitutes bench was Steve Reitz, Richard Bobbett and the silver fox himself - Jon Hughes, all supported by team manager Simon Williams.

The match started brightly with Chiltern attacking the left flank, forcing Winslow to defend on their own line, and concede a scrum, the Chiltern pack duly obliged with a push over try for Charlie Kent. A few minutes later Ryan Thomas broke his tackle to score, and just made his own conversion, in off the post, the Winslow team were soon demoralised as more tries came quickly from Chris Luker and Dave Smith. Winslow managed to grab 3 points form a penalty concede on the 22. Try number 5 was scored by Brian Richardson running in a try to the right of the posts from a pass from Ryan Thomas, unfortunately despite sharing kicking duties, between several players again the conversion was missed, an on going feature with only 4 conversions from 12 attempts. However the two best tries of the half were saved for last, with a great move on the right scored by Mike Griffiths backing up his backs, and a great hands finishing with a loop between Charlie Griffiths and try scorer Dave Richardson for try number 7 in the left hand corner, Dave stayed down field to convert his own try! Half time and the score was 39 - 3.

At half time, Bobbett replaced Schofield, Reitz replaced Bond in second row, who in turn moved out to the backs, to replace injured Brian Richardson, and Jon Hughes replaced Dave Smith. The second half again started brightly when Richard Bobbett, managed to snag an opposition ball in scrum and Ryan Thomas again broke through the line to score, and convert his own try. However some sloppy play allowed Winslow to get back into the game, Chiltern were lucky to escape without conceding when Chris Luker attempted to shepherd a long kick over his own goal line to claim a 22 drop out, had the referee been a little closer to action he might have seen the WInslow hand score, well we think he was playing the ball, otherwise we must question why the winslow player had his hand between Chris's legs! However Winslow soon got their deserved try, but failed to convert. Chiltern pushed on again, and the second of those characteristic breaks by the Silver Fox netted him a try, and just make to make it a back row triumph, Charlie Kent scored the conversion. Skipper Rob Long was next on the score sheet, following an all forwards move, break by the returning Dave Smith, resulted in loose ball scooped up by Bobbett, and moved through the hands by Griffiths to put Long over in the corner. In case your loosing count that's was try 10. Try 11 was scored by Tim Bond on the left wing and the last one by Martin Smith, making final score 68 - 8.

Now to our final mentions, firstly the referee Mark it was only his second game, well done, and the opposition Winslow who never gave up despite being well beaten, we wish them very success next season. Now turning to Chiltern, firstly Chris Luker, who managed to knock himself out, taking a switch move in the backs, but unfortunately colliding with the Winslow player who was trying to tackle the offloading Chiltern player, however even Chris looked a little surprised when paramedic number 5 arrived to treat him! We were all glad to see him fit and well in the clubhouse later. However a special mention must go to the silver fox, making a welcome return to pitch after a long injury lay with a broken foot, but the real question is, had he been tango'd or just spent those many months laying under a sunbed, never before has such a tanned specimen taken to the pitches at Weedon Lane. But final mention must go to the skipper of this unbeaten, league winning and promoted team, love him of hate him, most actually hate him! Rob Long has worked tirelessly all season to put together this squad and sure he has a competitive team available every saturday. Some of you reading this report will be disappointed with factual accuracy following Chad's fictional masterpiece last week, unfortunately Chad was not available for an encore, I look forward to him taking over the pen full time next season.  Well done to Rob and the whole squad on a magnificent season, it has been a pleasure to play in this team with a great bunch of guys.

Team
1 Simmons, 2 Long, 3 Schofield, 4 Bond, 5 Griffiths, 6 Smith D, 7 Fischer N, 8 Kent, 9 Cowley, 10 Thomas, 11 Smith M, 12 Luker C, 13 Richardson B, 14 Griffiths C, 15 Richardson D, 16 Reitz S, 17 Bobbett R, 18 Hughes J

Richard Bobbett - 18.4.09

18 try extravaganza!

Chiltern - 114
Tries: Smith, Thomas, Schofield, Lurch, Pencil (3), Griffiths (3), Shepherd (3), Ratnapala (2), Kent, Dangerous (2),
Conversions: Cowley (8), Thomas (6)

Witney IV XV – 0

It was beautiful sunny day, with a wind, that seemed to die as the first half came to a close. The ground felt as though it hadn’t seen a drop of water for months. Apart from a minor skirmish (Tony Blair reversing into brand spanking new mini in the car park) the team arrived in good time to vas up (approx 4 tubs) , jog, stretch and drill before the match started. There was also game for a quick game of touch rugby as both teams ready for the battle to commence waited patiently for the referee to show (15 mins after official kick off time).

A strong Chiltern team won the toss and opted to play with the wind. The team was ready for the penultimate time in the season to defend Chiltern’s unbeaten league status.

From the kick-off, reminiscent of a ‘Knights of the Crusade’ cavalry charge, each man rose to the challenge, joined ranks and presented a united front, closing gaps, supporting, driving over, inside passing in beautiful, consolidated, flowing, spectator friendly rugby. These weren’t 15 men on the pitch, this was a machine, the Chiltern machine; each individual component working collectively in perfect synchronicity.

Witney tackled hard and in numbers of 2s and 3s to begin with, which was effective in first few minutes at slowing Chiltern’s forward momentum, but not effective at winning possession as the team like an ever elusive shoal of tuna merely shipped the ball just before point of impact and dispatched the ball through a plethora of pairs of hands expansively across the pitch and back again until the gaps in defence started to appear.

In Machiavellian fashion the defensive holes were exposed and exacerbated with beautiful angles of running, turns of pace, and superb link up play to bring Chiltern’s first try through Charlie Griffiths as he received the ball on the wing from Dangerous, cut inside 2 men, could have passed to Ratnapala, but opted to click his heels 3 times and sped to Kansas leaving dust in his wake.

The rest of the game followed in similar vein as the try-fest had begun. From the kick offs, the forwards secured ball, and either set the maul and started the phases, got the ball to Ryan Thomas who used his ‘Dead Shot Keen’ boots to play the game inside the oppositions 22, or used the impressive array of backs to run riot. Often Gez or Dangerous being effective at breaking through the opposition centres and leaving the rest to Charlie  Griffiths, Ratnapala, or Shepherd to skin the full back and do the necessary.

All match long, the forward unit was ‘awesome’, as they won opposition scrum ball countless times, took the candy from the baby in the line outs, even when the Witney had won it, and set the platform for forward link up play or distribution of the ball via Cowley and Thomas to the fringes.

Playing his first match for Chiltern IIIs John Smith scored a beautiful debut try as he picked up a difficult ball from a long Chris Cowley pass that hit the ground and bobbled. Showing impressive flexibility he picked up the ball around his ankles and sprinted to touch the ball down in the corner.

Schofield instigated a lovely scissor move with Thomas and took the inside pass leaving him to complete the ten yards to the try line.

Shepherd in what only can be described as a basic, standard, but classic ‘get the  ball along the line’ move, put the in the finishing touch. His second came from a kick off. He caught the ball, and then using Kent, Griffiths, and Pencil, got back the ball twisted and turned through a few tackles found space to open up his legs and beat the full back to the line. His third (jug) try cam e again from a kick-off. This time Kent caught the ball in the 22 and again hooked up with an awesome pack. Cowley delivered the ball to Thomas who then used Shepherd on the inside pass. Shepherd with a bit more work to do than previous tries used brute strength, agility and fleet of foot to evade 2 or 3 tackles, used Pencil as a dummy option, side stepped the static full back and made it to the posts.

Pencil, in a not too dissimilar manner, scored 3 tries in the 2nd half. Shepherd caught the ball form a kick off ran straight, giving the ball to Griffiths, then to Schofield and then to Pencil who now utilising the ol’ dummy ‘give the ball’ side step, beat the full back to get to the corner. His second, came from a kick off, this time caught by Lurch, who hooked up with Morrison, Long, and Jack, Schofield and Griffiths, again took the ball and with mercurial grace raced in for the try. His third (jug) came via Dangerous who showed devilish change of pace, broke through the centres leaving them to watch the back of his heels of his funnily coloured boots! He drew the full back and passed to Pencil to put the ball down in between the posts.
Thomas scored his try with his trademark dummy pass as all eyes were on the awesome presence of Gez and Dangerous. He fooled all the backs and the full back couldn’t get near him as he touched down under the posts.

Charlie Griffiths scored his second from a kick off that fell to the arms of Schofield who drove the ball 15 yards before off-loading to Griffiths who shimmied the full back and with what can only be described as supersonic ‘legged it’ towards the try line. His third (jug) came from Gez and Dangerous once again cutting the back line to ribbons and left Griffiths with only 2 or 3 of the opposition to beat. He did what he does of course; scored the try.

Ratnapala scored his first by receiving the ball from the centres on the half way line, went round the winger was out of reach of the full back and just like Moby Dick, he could not be caught! He second try came on a plate form Ryan Thomas, who to be honest could have scored it himself. However, he knew how close the game was and wanted to be sure we stayed ahead unselfishly gave the ball to Ratnapala who ran the yard to touch the ball out in the corner.

Kent got his try from a gorgeous forward move down the blind side, with lovely passing exchanges between Mikey Grifiiths, Chips, Pencil, Reitz and Smith. Virtually untouched, Kent emerged from the crowd and finished the job.

Dangerous scored his first from an enterprising run from Ratnapala who managed to draw his winger and off-load to dangerous who, in the space that was created, thundered up the pitch for 5 points. His second came from a glorious spin pass from Thomas who missed out Gez. Dangerous caught the ball at break neck speed created the angle and tore through the centres. There was no way the full back was going to halt the unstoppable object and Dangerous was in for his second.

The tries were capped off with a superb and interchanging kicking display from Cowley and Thomas who scored 14 conversions between them.

The game was only marred by the Chips’ absence in the second half. He was forced off due to injury after having to make a necessary tackle with his bad shoulder which popped out and needed A&E to ease it back in. Hope you can make the last mach Mr Chips.

In summary it was an impressive display, but all credit to Chiltern they showed no mercy and none of the lapses in concentration that gave opposition points in previous matches. Roll on to the Grande Finale.

Team
1. Chips, 2, Long, 3, Schofield, 4. Reitz, 5. Griffiths, M., 6. Pencil, 7. Smith, 8. Kent, 9. Cowley, 10. Thomas, 11. Shepherd, 12. Gez, 13, Dangerous, 14. Ratnapala, 15. Griffiths, C., 16. Morrison, sub’d Long, 17. Lurch, sub’d Lawson (inj), 18. Jack, sub’d Smith.

Chad Shepherd – 6.4.09

Aylesbury III's 14 - Chiltern III's 86

It's a family affair at Aylesbury

Chiltern 3's visited Aylesbury this afternoon knowing a win gaurantees the BBO 2N top spot and promotion. So keeping it in the family, were the Luker brothers, Paul and Chris, the Smith brothers, Colin and Martin, father and son dou Charlie and Tom Kent The full starting line up was, Richard Bobbett, Chris Fletcher and James Schofield in the front row, Mike Griffiths and Dave Robertson in second row, and in the back row was Paul Luker, Tom and Charlie Kent Richie Gazzard at 9 and Ryan Thomas at 10, Gez Rowland and Chris Luker in centre, and on the wings were Chad Sheppard and Brian Richardson, with Martin Smith at fullback. Substitutes were, Colin Smith, Steve Reitz, Jack Claridge, and Roshan Ratnapala.

The first half started brightly as Chiltern scored couple of quick tries, taking early domination, against a weak Aylesbury team, who couldn't contain the Chiltern backs running at pace and handling well. However a penalty awarded to Chiltern under the opposition posts was their undoing when skippper Mike Griffiths called for the kick at goal, and as Ryan Thomas stepped forward, the Chiltern team relaxed, expecting the kick, however he tapped and went, consequently turning the ball over on the 5yard line, the loose ball was run 95 yards up the pitch to bring the score back within reach. The resultant skippers lecture galvanised the team into action, scrumming well, securing good lineout possesion and running well, resulted in a further 7 tries being scored, with 4 conversions the halftime score was 55 - 7. First half try scorers in no particular order, 2 for Dave Robertson, Paul Luker, Charlie Kent, Brian Richardson, Chris Luker, Gez Rowland, and 2 for Martin Smith, with 4 conversions split between Ryan Thomas and Martin Smith.
Before the first half was complete, Aylesbury's flyhalf limped off holding his thigh, with no substitutes available Roshan stepped in to help them out.

At half time, Colin Smith replaced Chris Fletcher and Jack Claridge replaced Paul Luker, a few minutes into second half Steve Reitz replaced Dave Robertson The second half carri on much as the first, with Chiltern dominating the scrum and lineout, and the backs running well, however after a couple of early tries, a loose pass from Martin Smith was intercepted by the Aylesbury 15 to run in his second long distance try. Chiltern responded with another 3 tries, and 3 second half conversions, brought the score to 86 - 14, with 15 minutes to go the Aylesbuury team decided enough was enough and the referee called final time.
Second half triy scorers were, a second for Gez Rowland, 2 for Chad Sheppard, and one each for Colin Smith and Roshan Ratnapala who had swapped with Richie Gazzard to play on the Chiltern side. 

So onto the final mentions of the day, firstly those who decided skiing in Austria was a better option, you weren't missed! A special mention must go to both Roshan and Richie for making up the numbers for Aylesbury. Man of the match decision was easy this week, as we didn't choose one, but instead decided to dedicate todays victory to all players who have turned out for the mighty 3s this season as they have secured the league champions spot and promotion, well done everyone. With 2 matches to go, the only question remains is wether Chiltern will complete their season unbeaten in BBO 2N.

Team
1 Bobbett, 2 Fletcher C, 3 Schofield, 4 Robertson, 5 Griffiths, 6 Luker, 7 Kent T, 8 Kent C, 9 Gazzard, 10 Thomas, 11 Shepherd, 12 Rowland, 13 Luker C, 14 Richardson B, 15 Smith M, 16 Smith C, 17 Reitz, 18 Claridge, 19 Ratnapala

Richard Bobbett 28.3.09

8 try thriller

Chiltern (34) 51
Tries: Thomas, Bond T, Luker C (2), Ratnapala, Smith M, Smith D, Shepherd
Conversions: Cowley (3), Smith M
Penalties: Cowley

Banbury (10) 22
Tries: 3
Conversions: 2
Penalties: 1

Banbury visited Weedon Lane, having suffered a 14 try demolition early in the season in the corresponding fixture, however a stronger Banbury team came ready to give the unbeaten league leaders a game today.

Chiltern, missing a few regular players, still managed to field a strong team, Will Howe, Rob Long and James Schofield - who was making a long overdue return to Chiltern, started as the front row, in the seond row, regalar Dave Robertson, was joind by Alex Shipp making his senior club debut. With Sinmon Turner out for a few weeks due to injury, Dave Smith, Tim Bond and Charlie Kent completed the back row. Halfbacks were Chris Cowley and Ryan Thomas, centres were Scott Jarrold and Chris Luker, on the wings were Roshan and Chad Shepherd, and at 15 Martin Smith. Todays bench consisted of your intrepid reporter having just arrived at Heathrow early saturday am, after a 23 hour haul from down under, Steve Reitz and Richie Gazzard.

As is becoming the norm for Chiltern 3s recently, another slow start, forwards failing to make the breakdown in sufficient numbers, and loose ball in backs, gave Banbury an early sign that this was a foregone conclusion. In fact they scored the first try, when securing the ball from their own scrum, the 9 spotted no one at home to run a 40 yard try. As Chiltern discipline let them down, suddenly a penalty in front of the posts, meant they were down by 10. By now the pack was dominating the scrum, and started to secure the ball, to allow the backs to show there real talent, a penalty scored by Chris Colwey brought the score back to 3 - 10, and then try line opened up for five first half tries scored by Ryan Thomas, expoiting a gap in the opposition back line, Tim Bond coming off the shoulder of a Chris Luker crash through the back line, who then bagged number three himself, and last try was great move, forwards driving on left, ball sent across the backs for Roshan to run in on the left wing, and the fifth try scroed by Martin Smith, three conversions by Chris Cowley, gave a half time score of 34 - 10.

Half time, brought a couple of changes, Richie Gazzard coming on for Chris Cowley, at 9 and Richard Bobbett replacing Will Howe at loosehead prop, howver Will later returned himself to replace Rob Long in the front row, and midway through second half Steve Reitz replaced Tim Bond as flanker.

Banbury regrouped at half time and started apply some pressure as they had done early in first half. They even managed to persuade the referee to go to uncontested scrums after 10 minutes to negate the obvious advantage chiltern had in the set piece. However Chiltern kept their composure a managed a sixth try when Dave Smith drove over following some great forward play. Banbury then got the results their efforts deserved when their pacey fullback exploited Chiltern's lack of tacking out wide to score their second try. Chiltern hit back quickly when Chris Luker added his second try of the game. However the ping pong continued when Martin Smith and Scott Jarrold got their wires crossed, and allowed Banbury an interception in their own 22 and 70 yard unopposed run to score under the posts, to add another 7 points to their total. Banbury tried to put sopme urgency into their play, however a loose downfield kick result in Chad Sheppard runing in try number eight, converted by Martin Smith, the final score was 51 - 22.

So onto the final mentions, firstly it was great to see James Scholfield on the pitch today, after a long period of injury he certainly has lost none of scrummage ability. Secondly a mention must go to Banbury, who competed well throughout the game, and made it a competetive match. Lastly man of the match, no doubt today it was Chad Sheppard, who came off his wing to compete all round the park today, the number of restart kicks he fielded was awesome, not one dropped, and of course he managed to score a well deserved try himself, great game Chad.

Team
1 Howe, 2 Long, 3 Schofield, 4 Pencil, 5 Shippy, 6 Bond T, 7 Smith D, 8 Kent C, 9 Cowley, 10 Thomas, 11 Ratnapala, 12 Jarrold Scot, 13 Luker C, 14 Shepherd, 15 Smith M, 16 Bobbett (sub'd Howe, Howe sub'd Long), 17 Reitz (sub'd Bond), 18 Gazzard (sub'd Cowley)

Rich Bobbett 7.3.09

Fijian magic!

Chiltern (23) 31
Tries: Lawson, Bell, Griffiths M
Conversions: Thomas (2)
Penalties: Thomas (4)

Bicester (14) 31
Tries: 4
Conversions: 3
Penalties: 2

Chiltern 3s travelled to Bicester looking to keep their unbeaten season going, but came up against a a Bicester 3's team containing 3 British Army Fijians, however despite the obvious advantage Bicester gained form these players, Chiltern, who didn't have their strongest 15, fought hard throughout the match and can be very proud of their 31 point draw, and yes that unbeaten league season is still going!

Today's team, was Lawson, Long and Alexander in the front row, Griffiths and Bobbett in the second row, Reitz, Turner and Kent completed the back row. Scrum half was Gavin Reid, a late call up from the vets as players were moved up to 2s, Thomas at 10, in the centre was Rowland and Sheppard, winger's were Feaver and Claridge and at 15 was another player called up from the vets Duncan Bell, and the only substitute available was Chris Preston.

Chiltern were rocked early in the game, by a surging break from the Fijian 6ft 2inch, 18st and very fit flanker setting up the Fijian centre for his first try. Chiltern regrouped under their posts in the knowledge that it was going to be a hard day, however it soon became apparent that chiltern would dominate the scrum, easily pushing Bicester off their ball, and always securing good Chiltern ball, the lineouts also started to go Chiltern's way. As Chiltern brought they way back into the game, penalties started to flow, and two great kicks by Ryan Thomas brought the score back to 7 - 6, however Bicester managed to break away again, the Fijian flanker punching another whole through the defence and the score was quickly 14 - 6. The mighty 3's picked themselves up again, and started to string some good phases of play together, pushing the ball out wide to the left wing, the forwards secured great second phase, for the flyhalf to deliver the perfect pass to Matt Lawson who crashed over the try line under the posts, 14 - 13, a few minutes later, again good ball retention by the forwards through a few phases then quick ball across the backs, presented the fullback Duncan Bell to run a diagonal line back into the Bicester defence, and score Chiltern's second try under the posts, 14-20. Ryan Thomas added another penalty to the two conversions he made to take Chiltern into a 14 - 23 lead at half time.

Half time brought the one and only change Chiltern had available, with Chris Preston coming on as a flanker, Steve Reitz moving upto the second row, Richard Bobbett taking a well earned rest! The second half started badly, firstly Jack Claridge saw yellow, when he made a late challenge on the Bicester winger as he attempted to chase his own kick, however Chiltern managed to put some good rugby together, pushing deep into the Bicester 22, and winning a scrum. The Chiltern backs moved the ball wide towards the left however sloppy hands presented Bicester with opportunity to run 75 yards unopposed for their 3rd try, bringing the score back to 21 - 23, and shortly thereafter, poor discipline at ruck cost Chiltern a penalty, which enable Bicester to take a 24 - 23 lead. Chiltern regrouped again under their posts and plotted another comeback, resulting in another period of  good play, taking play back into the Bicester half, and creating a break on the right wing for the forwards, Matt Lawson driving towards the line, off loading to Rob Long who couldn't quite hold onto the pass, with Mike Griffiths swoopping up the ball, to hear those wonderful words from the referee, the ball went backwards - play on, as dived over the try line in the far right-hand corner, unfortunately too far out for Ryan Thomas to convert, but Chiltern had managed to take a deserved lead 28 - 24. The Bicester also managed to pick up a yellow card  after he tried to exchange 'handbags' with Simon Turner,  and a penalty in front of the posts, gave Chiltern a bigger lead 24 - 31. However the inevitable happened, as Bicester introduced their third Fijian and they tried to score again, Gavin Reid managed to sheppard the left winger into touch as they broke away, but another loose ball, presented Bicester with one more opportunity and again the Fijians ran the length of the pitch to score again under the posts, with an easy conversion to make the final score 31 - 31. In a bizarre twist towards the end of the game, due to some inaccurate maths from the referee, as the final whistle went Chiltern thought they had lost, however a recount after the final whistle restored the score rightfully to 31 each.

So finally, on a day when Chiltern came up against a few great players, they were within 3 minutes of actually winning this game, the forwards actually dominated the set piece all afternoon, having only conceded 31 points in the first 11 league games, they managed to concede 31 in the 12th match! So some special mentions must go, to Duncan Bell and Gavin Reid who joined the squad at short notice and both played extremely well, but man of the match has to go Ryan Thomas whose kicking performance was outstanding bagging 16 points, with 4 penalties and 2 conversions.   

Team:
1 Chips, 2 Tony Blair, 3 Judge, 4 Persil, 5 Ref, 6 Stevie Reitz, 7 STD, 8 Clark Kent, 9 Gavin Reid, 10 Baldy, 11 Brian Feaver, 12 Gez Rowland, 13 CCCP, 14 Jack Claridge, 15 Duncan Bell, 16 Chris Preston

Richard Bobbett - 21.2.09

The big one!

Chiltern (12) 39
Tries: Luker C (2), Kent, Yandell, John, Turner, Smith M
Conversions: Smith M, John
Penalties: Flabio (3)

Bicester 0

This Saturday brought the long awaited clash between the table topping sides, Chiltern and Chinnor having pulled away from the rest of division needed to settle who was going to top the table. So both sides looked to field their strongest teams on a heavy pitch having suffered torrential rain and melting snow in the last 10 days, however the pitch passed the 10 am inspection and the game was on! 

The Chiltern side consisted of Matt Lawson, Rob Long and Julian Alexander in front row, Mike Griffiths and Craig Yandell in second row, and Paul Luker, Simon Turner and Charlie Kent completed the back row. The half backs were Richie Gazzard and making his senior club debut was the colt, David John, alongside him in the centre was Gez Rowland and Chris Luker, winger's were Tom Gremerous and Ed Buller - yes I said winger's not flankers! and at 15 was Martin Smith. Chinnor agreed that we could field more than the statutory 3 substitutes, so on bench were Richard Bobbett, Steve Reitz, Dave Robertson, Brain Feaver and late arrival Chad Shepherd, all of whom made second half appearances.

Chiltern played down the hill on 3rd team pitch in the first half, however much like the last outing in Chipping, couldn't really get going, and good tactical kicking from Chinnor put them under early pressure. Clearly the ball was wet and slippery, so was being dropped too many times, debut flyhalf David John took a shortwhile to gain his confidence at senior level, but soon overcame some early nerves, to put a couple of great tactical kicks deep into that notorious bottom corner. The pack soon started to dominate, putting pressure on the Chinnor scrum, and virtually destroyed their opponents lineout who couldn't get the all passed the front jumper Craig Yandell.

Eventually the Chiltern side started to build good pressure, driving through the forwards and then moving the ball wide, however it was still 0 - 0 after 30 minutes. A good kick from David John into the bottom corner, a lineout steal by Craig Yandell and move between the backs put Chris Luker under the post for the first try, converted by Martin Smith, this was followed quickly by a second try again from a kick into that bottom corner, good interlinking play by the forwards, put Charlie Kent over in the corner. Half-time 12 - 0.

During half-time interval Charlie Kent was substituted, Ed Buller taking his accustomed role in the back row, and Chad Sheppard came on as the right winger, Dave Robertson replaced Mike Griffiths, Martin Smith and David John swapped positions between 10 and 15. With confidence building Chiltern started to show why they are top of this table, and played some more consistent rugby, resulting in try number three when the forwards drove the ball into the opposition 22, and Craig Yandell bulldozed through a couple of tacklers to score. Immediately Chiltern introduce more fresh legs, Brian Feaver replacing Tom Gremerous on the wing, it was good to see Tom getting some rugby in after a long period of injuries this season, Richard Bobbett joined the front row, replacing Rob Long. Try number four followed quickly thereafter when again good driving play from the forwards, and quick ball to backs, gave Chris Luker a small gap on the opposition back line, which he fully exploited to score his second try with a 25 yard run in, David John converted. Unfortunately Richie Gazzard was struggling with a leg injury, so more changes, brought Steve Reitz on at number 8, Ed Buller out to 15 and David John taking this third position of the day at scrumhalf. Unfortunately the only sour note of the day, came when the Chinnor prop took exception the Chris Luker and head butted him, the referee was on hand to show the red card, but not before brother Paul had tried to take his own revenge, he was shown a yellow card for retaliation, both teams quickly settled down and game continued in the good spirit it had been played in, however having lost their prop the game went to uncontested scrums. Chiltern ran in two more tries to complete a successful day, an opportunist break from scrum half David John brought him his first senior try for Chiltern, and finally a great lineout by the Chiltern forwards, in the Chinnor 22, was driven over by Simon Turner for try number seven. Final score 39 - 0.

So my final mentions of the day, firstly having been on the end of much derision, skipper Rob Long actually threw some great lineout ball. Then onto the Luker brothers, firstly it will probably never be known what Chris said to the Chinnor prop, that no only promoted him to throw a head butt but also kick him as well, and then Paul, is the first Chiltern player to be yellow card for missing his punch! However as always final mention must go the man of the match, making his senior club debut, playing at 10, 15 and finally 9, and also scoring his first senior try, well done David, the start of a long and prosperous senior playing career at Chiltern I am sure. 

Team
1 Chips, 2 Tony Blair, 3 Judge, 4 Persil, 5 Craig Yandell, 6 Pouchy, 7 STD, 8 Clark Kent, 9 Rich Gazzard, 10 David John, 11 Turkish, 12 Gez Rowland, 13 Chris Luker, 14 Bullshit, 15 Diggler, 16 CCCP, 17 Ref, 18 Pencil, 19 Steve Reitz, 20 Brian Feaver

Richard Bobbett 14.2.09

Chiltern Revenge

Chipping Norton (3) 9
Penalties: 3

Chiltern (14) 45

Tries: Baldy, CCCP, Gary Glitter, Ginge, Sean, Shakira
Conversions: Flabio (3)
Penalties: Flabio (3)

Having lost away at Chipping Norton in last two seasons, a determined Chiltern team set out from Amersham on the team coach today, determined to ensure it wouldn't be three consecutive defeats, the coach trip ensured every player had been christened with a suitable nickname before arriving in Chipping Norton. So the team, was front row Judge - Julian Alexander, Tony Blair - Rob Long, and Ginge - Nathan Wilkinson, Persil - Mike Griffiths, and Pencil - Dave Robertson in second row, STD - Simon Turner and Chewy - Dave Smith as flankers, and at number 8, Clarke - Charlie Kent. The half backs, were Sean - Scott Jarrold and Baldy - Ryan Thomas, at the centre was Bondage - Tim Bond, and Dangerous - Brian Richardson, on the wings were CCCP (can't catch, can't pass) Chad Shepherd and Gary Glitter - Charlie Griffiths, and at 15 was Flabio - Dave Richardson. Today's three substitutes were Ref - Richard Bobbett, Bullshit - Ed Buller and Shakira - Mike Buckler, and a special mention must go to the Shelf Stacker - Simon Williams our team manager.

The match was played on Chipping's new first team pitch in front of the club house, with a fierce wind blowing straight down the pitch, favouring Chiltern in the first half. A ponderous start from Chiltern, looking like a team having just spent two hours on a bus, forwards slow to the breakdown, and backs, taking one out runs, rather than using the overlaps they created, however midway through the half, the forwards eventually woke up, Julian Alexander drove deep into the opposition 22, the other forwards backed up well, enabling Nathan Wilkinson to pick and drive on blind side for Chiltern first try, unfortunately the conversion was missed. Chipping quickly hit back, securing a penalty on the Chiltern 22, pulling the score back to 3 - 5, the quickly taken restart nearly caught out Chipping, as Ryan Thomas kicked off into the right corner, to put chaser Chad Shepherd into the clear, only to see the ball roll out of play before Chad could make up the ground. However Chiltern never really got into their stride, but managed to stretch out the lead through further penalties kicked by Dave Richardson, taking the half time score to 3 - 14 in favour of the away side.

Half time brought three changes, Rob Long coming off, Nathan Wilkinson moving to Hooker and Rich Bobbett coming on at tight head, Ed Buller replacing Dave Smith at 7, and Mike Buckler coming on the left wing, Charlie Griffiths moving to centre allowing Tim Bond to rest after taking a knock on the head late in the first half. However the big discussion at half time, was that 11 point lead at half time didn't really reflect the advantage playing with the wind should have provided and that the team needed to step up in the second half.

The second half started poorly, with Chiltern incurring the wrath of the referee, for excessive use of their gobs! Chipping grabbed the advantage, taking a penalty kick bringing the score to back to only an 8 point margin. However a clever crossfield kick from Ryan Thomas, enable left winger Mike Buckler to field the ball and score Chiltern second try, however this wasn't converted, taking the score to 19 - 6. Both teams were dropped down to 14 men for 10 minutes when Charlie Griffiths and opposite number entered into a moment of 'handbags', still at least they had time to comb their hair, and manicure their nails before returning. The third try was probably best of the match, with the forwards stealing a Chipping line out on the half way line, and the backs moved the ball smartly across the pitch to put winger Chad clear into the right corner, made even more perfect by a long range conversion from Dave Richardson. Chipping kept up the pressure, using the wind well, to put some kicks deep into the Chiltern 22, however at 15 Dave Richardson was as safe as houses patrolling his 22, collecting these long balls, and returning them back up the pitch with a number of strong runs. Chiltern's discipline let them down again, enabling Chipping to score their third penalty, however despite their valiant efforts the Chipping team began to tire, as Chiltern ran in another three tries. The first of these came as Chipping tried to kick a loose ball off the pitch in their 22, winger Chad managed to keep the ball on the field of play, quick linking work through Mike Griffiths, put Scott Jarrold into the clear for try number 4, converted by Dave Richardson. Try number 5 quickly followed when flyhalf Ryan Thomas punched through the middle of the Chipping defensive line to score under the post, and an easy conversion for Dave Richardson. The sixth and final try came on the last play when Chiltern moved the ball out to the right and Charlie Griffiths stepped inside his opponent to run unopposed to the posts, however he failed to score simple conversion from in front of those posts. Final score Chipping Norton - 9, Chiltern - 45.

To be fair to Chipping it wasn't a 45 point game, they put up a spirited effort, and kept going throughout the match, which was played in friendly spirit throughout by both teams. Man of the match was Dave 'Flabio' Richardson, his penalties in the first half kept breathing space between the teams at half time and his masterful performance in the second half ensured that Chipping couldn't take advantage of the strong wind in their favour, as each time they kicked the ball deep, Dave made one of infamous surging runs back into their half. So the Chiltern thirds stay top of BBO 2N, and remain unbeaten in the league, however the next match is the big one, at home on February 14th to second place Chinnor, who maintained pressure on Chiltern with a win against Wycombe today.

Team:
1 Judge, 2 Tony Blair, 3 Ginge, 4 Persil, 5 Pencil, 6 ST D, 7 Chewy, 8 Clarke Kent, 9 Sean, 10 Baldy, 11 CCCP, 12 Bondage, 13 Dangerous, 14 Gary Glitter, 15 Flabio, 16 Ref, 17 Bullshit, 18 Shakira Team Manager: Shelf Stacker

Richard Bobbett - 31.1.09

Wycombe III XV 0-39 Chiltern III XV

Chiltern 39
Tries: Claridge, Cope, Kent, Lawson, Richardson B (2), Shepherd
Conversions: Cowley (2)

Due to the bad weather conditions Chiltern's pitches were deemed unplayable by a society ref early on saturday morning. Luckily Wycombe invited the Chiltern team over to their ground so that the match could take place.

The league leaders were taking on the bottom of the league so it wasn't a suprise when the first tries start appearing after

Results