Chinnor vs Old Patesians

Old Patesians – 8
Chinnor – 20

Referee - Tom Foley

A dysfunctional second half performance by the Old Patesians gifted Chinnor a well deserved victory in National League Three South. The Kingsey Road pitch was in pristine condition and though Pats kicked off into the teeth of a fierce gusting wind they immediately looked the better side with their big forwards James Pettigrew, Rob Fidler and Bryce White making huge route one charges through the Chinnor midfield.

Fly-half and skipper Adam Seager opened the scoring with a well struck penalty goal and Pats were comfortable in all phases and, in particular, Connor Thompson was giving his opposite number a real roasting in the tight. Chinnor fly-half Ben Hewitt levelled the scores with a penalty goal from an unforced error but Pats were running the show, hitting thebreakdowns at pace and flankers Matt Hurdle and Ben Salt consummately destructive with crunching first up tackles.

Chinnor used the wind for the kick and chase routine but the Pats defence and principle receivers were ready for this tactic and absorbed the pressure with ease. They countered with relish and Seager together with centres Steve Bryant and Barney Pascall all making good breaks which unfortunately they could not convert into points. Pats line-out in the first period was exemplary with second row Nathan Riley in commanding form and taking everything that was thrown short.

Pats have unearthed a little gem in scrum half Dave Lane whose electric fast passes from the set pieces, ruck or maul gave them every chance to get over the line but time and again the ball was lost in contact or fumbled short of the whitewash. Chinnor lost influential second row forward Andrew Smith to the sin bin for persistent infringement buts failed to take advantage of the extra man and the half closed with the scores level at 3 points each.

From the restart Chinnor failed to collect a hanging drop-out from Seager and Pats set up a steaming rolling maul and drove their opponents into the red zone. Lane whipped the ball through the backs and Riley, on the overlap, went over wide out on the right. For a brief period this was the Pats at their best with Pettigrew creating mayhem with unstoppable ground gobbling charges and Seager and winger Chris Mellon so close to scoring.

Now came the seminal moment for as the third quarter closed Pats suddenly and dramatically lost their way. Mellon was yellow carded for a shoulder charge and the Pats set piece plays fell apart. The line-out collapsed when they ignored the banker Riley at the front and threw to the middle and tail and lost nearly everything.

More crucially they began to lose vital possession on their own scrum feed. Hewitt landed a penalty goal to close the lead to two points and the alrm bells were ringing for the Pats. They were penalised for engaging too soon in the scrum and from the tapped free kick Chinnor carved open the defence for a try from full-back Richie Williams, improved by Hewitt.

Pats were now in disarray with every scrum and line-out a nightmare and Hewitt, the Chinnor playmaker, exploiting every option in the book to win the game. He was lucky with some adventurous looping passes but more often than not they went to hand and Pats had to desperately back pedal to halt the non-stop thrusts. With the imminent prospect of a win Chinnor became so excited they began to leak penalties and Seager drove them deep behind their 22 with accurate touch finds.

This was Pats last chance but on three occasions the penalty line-outs were turned over and Chinnor cleared their lines. The final embarrassment for the Pats was the complete capitulation of their front row who were so good in the first half. On three occasions they were penalised for standing up when the squeeze cam through and there were very evident signs of distress and tiredness.

As the game drew to a close Pats illegally stopped a scrum drive and from the tap penalty replacement Trevor Powell was under the posts in a flash. The excellent Hewitt converted and Pats have to acknowledge they had squandered several scoring chances in the first half and were eventually beaten by a better side.

By Bob Ellis