Tom becomes the fifth forward to sign for the Club in recent weeks, joining the likes of Soane Tonga’uiha, Pete Austin, Charley Robinson and Jonas Humbert in the pack.

The Londoner, who played in the Premiership A League for Harlequins while with Esher, recently featured in the European Rugby Challenge Cup in the 2018/19 campaign for Romanian side Timisoara Saracens.

And Whitehurst is excited to be a part of the new chapter at Chinnor.

He said: “The ambition that Richard Thorpe talks about and where he sees the Club going, it matches my own ambition. I liked what he had to say and I want to help this Club progress and push towards promotion. I’ve been here for a little while now and I’ve loved it so far – the boys are good, the training sessions are great and we’ve been having a lot of fun. The coaches here are fantastic and when you have people like that you just have to take in as much as you can. With Richard Thorpe being a former Premiership back row as well, it’s great to have the opportunity to learn as much as I can from him.”

Chinnor RFC Thame Director of Rugby, Richard Thorpe said: “We are delighted to sign Tom. He is a hard-hitting No 8 who is defensively sound and abrasive in attack with the ball in hand. Tom is an exciting raw talent and brings a tough edge to his game which will complement our back row nicely.”

We recently launched our Careers Hub which is designed to help players identify a career path and subsequently find them employment. If you would like further information, please email our Head of Careers, Sam Angell on s.angell@chinnor-rfc.com.