Oxford Greyhounds suffered a 27-9 defeat at the hands of Chinnor 2nd XV to pull up agonisingly short in their first Oxfordshire Cup since 1979. A hard-fought game was tight for 50 minutes before the power of Chinnor allowed them to defeat the University 2nds outfit at Iffley Road.
With this competition residing during the last period of the OURFC’s cycle, the Greyhounds featured a large number of individuals who had not played many games together. This was perhaps one of the reasons for a poor start, with Chinnor scoring just 90 seconds into the game. An excellent chip-kick by the fly half was met by a perfectly timed run by centre Powell.
However, the Greyhounds rallied and got a foothold in the game. Sam Egerton was one of the highlights of a low scoring first half, making incisive runs around the ruck. Centre Phil Bell converted their pressure into points, nailing two of his four penalty conversion attempts to make the score 7-6 at the half time break. The University team were a little frustrated not to have made more of two yellow cards for Chinnor players in comparison to one for Hounds flanker Will Fell.
Chinnor arrived into this tie as clear favourites, and showed why with dominant forwards display in the set pieces and the rucks. The Greyhounds didn’t have an answer to the pressure and dominance of the Chinnor pack, and on the back foot they conceded a further try when centre Tristian Corpe capitalised on a ferocious drive forward.
Five minutes later the game was all but decided by another Chinnor try. 44-year-old Simon Matthews crashed over for a rare try after his pack dragged him over the line, much to the jubilation of the fans in the Main Stand.
The Greyhounds can take credit from their response to these setbacks, putting immediate pressure on the Chinnor line but being forced to settle for another penalty by Phil Bell, taking the score to 21-9.
A final powerful drive by the Chinnor pack sealed the victory, allowing winger Harry Hillier to dart over. A last minute penalty sealed a disappointing defeat for the Greyhounds.
Chinnor 2nd XV have now gone the entire season unbeaten – an incredible record of 25 out of 25 wins and an amassed points total of 1013. The opportunity to test themselves against such physically powerful opposition was great experience for the Greyhounds squad, and even after the loss there is no reason to not expect a potential win in the future.
