Rugby Lions 10, Chinnor 20

Chinnor kept alive their hopes of avoiding relegation from National 3 South with a thoroughly committed display at Webb Ellis Road.

Rugby Lions were a far cry from the side who had crushed Chinnor in December, but the visitors showed plenty of character and no little skill to win.

Having bounced back from conceding a fairly soft early try, Chinnor looked like they might sneak a bonus-point victory late on.

But they were more than happy with a win that owed much to their outstanding scrum half Toby Prescott and some dominant forward play in the tight.

Chinnor heads could easily have dropped when they conceded a try after four minutes.

A bouncing ball deceived full back Ben Hewitt and his opposite number Jack Green was able to collect and sprint in, with fly half Harry Owens converting from wide out.

Prescott gave Rugby a scare by accelerating away from a tapped penalty, but the next ten minutes were all about the Chinnor pack.

Joe Winpenny, on his 100th league start, Arthur Ellis and Tom Whelan gave the Lions’ front row – who featured ex-Henley prop James Hadfield – a torrid time, producing numerous infringements.

Rugby were not helped by a yellow card for their No 8 Stuart Riding, and eventually conceded a pushover try – touched down by Peter Wright on 14 minutes.

No 8 Wright had knocked on a similar attempt just beforehand, but such was his side’s dominance that they just came back for more, fly half James Cathcart converting.

Lions’ Oxfordshire centre Matt Goode and wing Adrian Hales looked dangerous when running at pace.

But a sloppy knock-on from former Banbury scrum half Justin Parker and two missed penalties from Owens stopped any points flowing.

Rugby’s early intensity waned as Chinnor generally defended well, but Cathcart’s penalty miss meant it was 7-7 at the break.

Chinnor had a huge let-off early in the second half when Hales was adjudged to have given Reed a forward pass as the latter cruised in to score.

Cathcart nudged his side ahead with a penalty on 49 minutes, but Owens replied in kind straight away.

The decisive moment came on the hour mark when Prescott was just too quick for the home defence as he tapped a penalty and dived over on the right for 15-10.

Prescott’s clever chip kick almost created an opportunity for wing Richard Williams, who knocked on after an awkward bounce.

Try No 3 came on 73 minutes when flanker Adam Hastings’s pressure at the base of a scrum led to Riding fumbling.

Chinnor moved the ball quickly with centre Trevor Powell, a former Lions player, feeding Williams for a slick finish.

The visitors’ pick-and-drivetactics almost yielded a fourth try, but this was still a vital win with Chinnor’s superior fitness having a big impact.

Chinnor: Hewitt, Mahony, Powell, Oxley, R Williams, Cathcart, Prescott, Winpenny, Ellis (Stennings 71), Whelan (Stock 57), Hutchings (capt), Payne, Jackman (Jackson 68), Hastings, Wright.

Referee: R Phillips (Stockton-on-Tees)

Man-of-the-match: Prescott.