Chinnor owe it to Hunter

From the archive, first published Tuesday 18th Feb 2003.

South West 1: After numerous narrow defeats, Chinnor at last prevailed in a closely-fought contest when they beat Clifton 15-13 at Kingsey Road.

With the minutes ticking away, Chinnor were a point behind Clifton, when they were awarded a penalty. Troy Hunter landed the pressure kick to give his side the win they desperately needed in their fight against relegation.

In a scrappy affair, Chinnor had opened the scoring when No 8 Paul Hennessy, scrum half Ger Phillips and centre Johnny David combined to put Hunter over in the corner.

But Chinnor, who were playing into the wind in the first half, trailed 10-5 at the break, after Clifton kicked a penalty and then scored a try when Darren Oxley's kick was charged down.

A Tom Whelan try from a rolling maul, plus a tricky conversion by Hunter, put the home side back in front, only for Clifton to snatch back the lead with a penalty, before Chinnor prevailed in the nail-biting finale.

For the home side, young David Seymour was outstanding at open side, while full back Alan Cawston showed his defensive capabilities.

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