In what were unusually hot conditions Chinnor travelled down to London to play against an extremely well drilled and physical London Irish A team.

The new facilities were magnificent and the boys had the privilege of playing on a brand new 4g rugby pitch, which was oddly enclosed by chain link fencing preventing parents from getting too close to the match!

The match was delayed for half an hour whilst irish Bs disposed of Camberley in a rather convincing manner before our boys took to the pitch for 3 sets of 20 minutes.

The game started at a high pace and the tone was set early with London Irish imposing their forward physicality on Chinnor. The Irish were extremely well drilled in the line out, rolling maul and scrum areas. With two very strong large mobile props and a number 8 who was over 6 feet 4 inches size was most definitely an advantage. That said Sam Nicholls kicked intelligently and kept the early play in the Irish half. The first try came from a missed pass which allowed Irish to pounce onto a loose ball and run away with an easy finish. The next two Irish tries came from simple direct play with overlapping runners and good support which exhausted the cover defence. Irish ended the first 20 up 19 points to nil

Chinnor made several changes for the second 20 and played some of their best rugby, keeping the ball alive with some direct running from James Bailey, Lawrence Birkett and Charlie Wooster. Set pieces were failing to produce vital ball and were being badly disrupted by a tall and physical Irish unit and the lack of possession frustrated Chinnor, who despite several attacks failed to cross the line. The resistance finally gave way in the heat and pace of the game and Irish put over two quick tries ending the second third up 12 points to nil

The final third showed up the lack of fitness in many of the boys along with some injuries and a confident Irish team who ran in four tries non of which were converted. The final score ending 0-51 to London Irish

The boys acquitted themselves with great spirit, hard work and determination but have highlighted the need to focus back on the basics of tackling, passing, communication and structure. Players and coaches will be busy Wednesday night!

A special mention must go to Tom Aslett who made several try saving tackles the most memorable of which was bringing down the Irish rampant giant of a number 8 nearly twice his size with an amazing ankle tackle saving a certain score! Tom commitment was exemplorary!

The hospitality and welcome from London Irish was excellent and we look forward to hosting them later this season when we will play better on normal grass!