Henley Hawks 19, Chinnor 7

Henley Hawks completed a National 3 South double over Chinnor with an assured display.

Led by their outstanding captain and No 8 Matt Payne, Hawks’ pack were in fine form and caused Chinnor real problems at the scrum.

The visitors had a narrow lead of 7-6 at the break after a moment of real skill from debutant wing Christian Wade – a Wasps Academy player.

But Henley had had the better of the first half without being able to convert pressure into points.

Hawks upped the gears in the second half, and could have scored more than the two tries they managed through Payne and lock Dave Clements.

Chinnor were without Oxford University trio Chris Mahony, Bert Payne and Peter Wright, who were playing in Dublin.

Instead they fielded two 17-year-olds in No 8 Sam Jones, who made his first start and Wade, while 18-year-old Jack Wallace came off the bench.

Fly half James Cathcart had an early chance to give Chinnor the lead, but his fourth-minute penalty failed to reach the posts as it was blown back.

Henley had more of the play, but lacked precision in their attacking.

Centre Neil Baggett looked to have gone close on 13 minutes when he chipped through, but he was pulled back for a knock-on after tackling his opposite number Trevor Powell.

Henley full back Pete Davies added spark in places, while flanker Stean Williams could not quite find wing Sam Portland with a try-scoring pass after dummying two defenders.

Hawks fly half Charlie Hobart finally broke the deadlock with a well-struck penalty from the left on 29 minutes.

Chinnor lost prop Ian Stock and flanker Angus Neilson to injury before the break, but showed their attacking ability when full back Ben Hewitt combined well with Wade.

If that was a warning, Henley did not heed it, and were soon punished by Wade’s superb run, which saw him beat three defenders to score.

Cathcart added the conversion to give the visitors a 7-3 lead, but Hobart slotted a second penalty just before the break.

Hawks’ greater second-half intensity earned them a third successful penalty from Hobart on 53 minutes.

The decisive moment came on 58 minutes when Payne powered over on the right to cap a fine individual game.

Cathcart’s penalty attempt from his own half fell just short, but his side struggled to find any rhythm.

Henley were recycling the ball with real pace and precision by now and Williams provided the scoring pass for Clements on the right.

Chinnor introduced 40-year-old prop Simon Matthews against his former club, but had wing Richard Williams sin-binned as the pressure continued.

Centre Angelo Flammia and Williams wasted further opportunities for Henley, while Chinnor centre Trevor Powell was yellow-carded in the final minute of stoppage time.

Hawks can now do Chinnor a big favour by winning at their relegation rivals Lydney next week.

Henley: Davies, Portland, Baggett, Flammia, Shaylor, Hobart (Fulton 63), Gaunt, Millford-Scott, Tattersall (Clark 70), Hoosen-Owen (Fuller 71), Clements, Nixon (English 63), Dupee (Hennings 63), Williams, Payne (capt).

Chinnor: Hewitt (Serrano 70), Wade, Powell, Oxley (Wallace 44), R Williams, Cathcart, Prescott, Stock (Eckert 27, Matthews 70), Stennings, Winpenny, Hutchings (capt), Jackman, Hastings, Neilson (Millburn 37), Jones.

Referee: A Bickle (Cornwall)

Man-of-the-match: Payne.