Chipping Norton 9, Bicester 10

Bicester edged this tense BB&O Premier Division clash by the width of a post and ended Chipping Norton's 100 per cent league record.

A try from hooker James Davies gave Bicester a 10-9 lead with eight minutes of normal time remaining.

But with stoppage time approaching Chippy's replacement fly half, Jamie Lakin, saw his 40-metre penalty hit the left-hand post and bounce clear.

Chippy could argue their territory and possession merited the win they needed for the title, but they couldn't open up a committed Bicester side, who scored the game's only tries.

Indeed had lock Dan Spencer remembered his kicking boots from the previous week, Bicester could have won comfortably.

On the kicking front, Chippy could point to losing regular fly half Adam Smith to an early foot injury.

But in a nutshell, with such a large points difference, Chippy need one more win for the title and Bicester are two points from promotion.

The strong cross-wind was never going to produce a fluent, open game of rugby, but there was still plenty of drama.

Full back Tom Hall got things going for Chippy, running the ball into Bicester's 22 after nine minutes.

Bicester were twice penalised for illegal tackles, the second resulting in a yellow card for prop Rob Thurlow, and Hall slotted the penalty.

Fly half Chad Ward created Bicester's first chance with a 19th-minute break, while Spencer's opening penalty attempt fell short soon afterwards.

The visitors struck following a well-drilled driving maul on 26 minutes.

As the ball went inside, Ward set up full back Paul Leverton to dive over after breaking a tackle.

Chippy centre Meryck Royce was a lively runner throughout and Leverton got back well to intercept his pass.

The hosts should have made more of a chance engineered by flanker Matt Dawson's sharp break in stoppage time, but looked well-placed with the wind advantage to come after half-time.

Lakin succeeded twice where Spencer had failed, slotting two penalties to make it 9-5 on 53 minutes.

The latter saw Bicester lock Mark Malins sin-binned and Chippy seemed to have all the momentum.

But when Bicester made the odd foray forward, they looked dangerous.

Centre John Rollason came close to scoring on 59 minutes as he chased a bouncing ball, but it rolled dead before he could reach it.

The otherwise impressive Hall wasted a decent chance at the other end when he should have passed to wing Sam Townsend, but the game swung on 71 minutes.

Dawson was sin-binned as Bicester poured forward and they took full advantage.

Malins secured the lineout ball and hooker James Davies finished off an excellent driving maul to cap a fine personal performance.

Spencer missed the conversion, so Chippy could win it with a penalty.

But Lakin was twice off target and even when they went for the corner in stoppage time, Bicester No 8 Martin Linstrom stole the lineout ball.

Chipping Norton: Hall, Korszewski, A Tustin, Royce, Townsend, Smith (Lakin 18), Naish (capt), L Tustin. Waldron, Holland, Griggs, Chapman, Gillett, M Dawson, Hancock. Reps not used: Pope, Warner.

Bicester: Leverton, Lewis, Rollason, Nash, Rushworth, Ward, Risbridger (capt), Barnes (W Morris 56), Davies, Thurlow, D Spencer, Malins, D Kimber, Nightingale (Shaw 80), Linstrom. Rep not used: A Spencer.

Referee: K Latham (Oxfordshire)

Man-of-the-match: Davies.