Chinnor receive the kick are immediately put under pressure by a vocal Shipston team. Once possession is lost, good tackles from Kurt B, Dylan T and Fin S. Then Ollie J secures a penalty for his counter-ruck, but the ensuing line out is not straight. Then Chinnor got the ball through hands from left to right of the pitch, and then all the way back for Henry S to dot down in the corner.

Cam H caught the high ball and jinxed his way past three defenders before being brought down. More hands, a kick through but nothing coming. Good carry from Ed M. Ball recycled and then out to the backs for Dylan T to score out wide.

Tomasz Z had a great carry from the restart. Others did too, but then possession was traded before a moment of superb play from Josh A at #9, through Chris B's hands to Josh E for an 'out the back' pass for Henry S to dot down his second. Minutes later Josh A went for a sniping run on the blindside and was rewarded with a try in the far corner.

The blistering start then settled and it was all Shipton's. They retained possession and camped on Chinnor's 22 for what seemed like 15 minutes. Tackles by Kurt B, Joe G, and Ollie J stood out, but the work-rate was high all round. When Chinnor regained possession, the crowd were treated to a great carry from the returning Finn S (welcome back!). The host's defence was sound until seconds before half time Chris B went over for Chinnor, spun out from a scrum free kick.

After the break, Chinnor's discipline dropped a little with 2 penalties given away. Regaining possession at a line-out (well done Gus B), saw the visitors carry again, but Shipton's defence stood up. Shaun B stood out making metres but always retaining the ball. Then the attritional game changed with Chinnor spinning the ball out wide for Tomasz Z to score out wide.

Shipton looked menacing again - with good play from their #10 and #22 both running hard and with support. Chinnor gave away a further two penalties (offside and tackle off the ball!) and it looked like Shipston were going to get on the scoreboard. Good defence and a bit of luck put an end to the immediate threat.

Shipton's full back took a high ball well, but despite the host team working hard, Chinnor were too strong (and now had the slope). It was Dylan T that went over under the sticks following him expertly cutting back through the traffic. Chinnor went back on the attack only for a knock to thwart them. Minutes later, with possession regained, Tomasz Z was sent over the whitewash for his second try of the match. To seal the victory, in the dying seconds of the match the Chinnor backs cut through again and sent Henry S over for his (expensive) hattrick.

Some great skills from Harry R and Ollie J working together to tackle and wrest possession throughout the match. The unsung heros of the match were U18s Sam G, Shaun B, Gus B and Ed M, who playing in the front five for most of the match, were the 'engine room' - securing and sealing off at the ruck, lifting in the line-out and encouraging the U17s players.

Shipston, to their credit, did not stop playing until the final whistle and looked like they were going to score on more than one occasion. They were great hosts and the match was played in good spirit.