Chinnor 6 Bishop's Stortford 1st XV 13

With a strong wind blowing the steady rain almost straight down the pitch, Stortford played the first half against the elements and, not surprisingly had to withstand a lot of pressure, with the home backs using the wind to great effect to kick for territory. This led to an early period of some 5 or 6 minutes with Chinnor's forwards hammering at Stortford's line, during which the visitors showed immense character and determination, as well as a lot of technique in repelling drive after drive. Their efforts to escape the red zone were not helped by a series of penalties at scrums for technical offences but eventually the home side was forced to spread the ball to their backs, where a forward pass finally relieved the pressure. Stortford showed considerable skill in running through many phases of handling rugby through both forwards and backs to deprive the opposition of the ball, but time after time, Chinnor managed to turn the ball over and push back into the visitors' 22 with some good kicking. With the recent improvement in their lineout work, though, Stortford were able repeatedly to prevent the home team reaping immediate dividends, though further periods of colossal defence were also called for, as Chinnor drove remorselessly back into the opposition 22 time and time again. Ironically, it was after another successful Stortford drive upfield that the first score came, when a penalty was given for a breakdown offence close to halfway 13 minutes into the game and flyhalf, Caolan Ryan stepped up to boot the kick over the bar with yards to spare. Once again, the visitors proceeded to control possession for extended periods but a combination of strong Chinnor tackling and the elements made it difficult for them to escape their own half and another penalty after 30 minutes allowed Ryan to double his side's lead. Stortford again showed great character in running through the phases to force their way out of defence and eventually a good break by Jimmy Rea in midfield took them close to the Chinnor 22, where 2 successive penalties to the visitors saw them putting concerted pressure on the Chinnor line. As the half finished, it looked as if the side's remarkable defensive effort was going to be crowned with a try, but the ball was lost forward, as a Stortford forward stretched across the line, after a tremendous team drive. A 6-0 deficit against such a strong attacking side as Chinnor with the wind at their backs was an excellent halftime result for the visitors and just reward for some outstanding defence.

The second period started with a long Stortford dropout and a good take by Tom Walker of a clearing Chinnor kick and an immediate pass to Rea saw the winger break through the chasing line. He then put in a pinpoint grubber kick to the opposition try line, where a good team chase forced the covering defenders over the line for a 5 metre scrum. For the first time in the game one pack managed to force the other cleanly backwards and it was the Stortford 8 that were surging forward. With a couple of meters still to go to the line, the home front row clearly collapsed the scrum and the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try with barely 2 minutes of the half gone. Stortford rightly attempted to play the territorial game they had had to counter in the first half, but the home side showed the benefit of previous experience of playing into a head wind on their exposed pitch and were able to push Stortford back into their own half a couple of times. On one such, after 8 minutes, the referee surprisingly showed Seb Brownhill a yellow card for boring in at a scrum - the first such offence since the first quarter. Despite being a man short, the visitors continued to exert pressure and eventually forced a penalty just outside the Chinnor 22 after 17 minutes and flyhalf, Manu Vunipola marked his debut with a good goal to extend his side's lead to 4. After 29 minutes another period of sustained Storford attacking in the Chinnor red zone was met by strong home defence and eventually snuffed out, when a threequarter dashed out of the line to tackle Sam Winter as he took the ball only 10 metres out and before he could deliver what would surely have been a scoring pass to one of two overlapping players. Chinnor now, though were finding it no easier than had Stortford in the first half to clear their lines for any significant period of time and Vunipola soon had a second chance at 3 points, but a difficult kick went just wide. As Chinnor, with time running out, became increasingly desperate to run their way out of defence, they showed some remarkable accuracy to go through many phases and cause a few nerves to jangle among the many Stortford supporters. The players, though proved up to this further test and with only a minute or two of normal time to go, a great Vunipola penalty goal from close to halfway seemed to seal the game. The home side, though had other thoughts and a great hanging restart kick straight up the middle allowed them to recover possession and launch some telling drives into the Stortford half through both backs and forwards. Once again, though the visitors' defence proved up to the task, despite having lost James Apperley to a yellow card for a let tackle with normal time almost running out and, although nerves were further tested, as 5 or 6 minutes of injury time were played, the ball was eventually turned over through a forward pass in midfield to end the game.

A tremendous win in a hugely hard-fought match was earned by Stortford's superb defence, taking 4 valuable league points away from high-flying Chinnor.

A second major achievement of the day has to be recorded in the charity bike ride completed by almost 40 Stortford supporters in the hostile weather conditions to raise funds for crucial therapy treatments for Aurora Rea. Congratulations to all those that did the ride and thanks to all those who contributed sponsorship and donations to this great cause, among whom a highly honourable mention must go to the Committee and members of Chinnor, who showed huge support for the event - you did your club proud.