Chinnor RFC 38 vs. 31 Sale FC
16th November 2019
A pulsating National League 1 fixture saw Sale fail to break Chinnor’s unbeaten streak but collected two bonus points in a nail-biting match.
By John Warburton
Edited by Aidan Giblett
Sale came roaring back from a 38-7 half-time deficit to within seven points with nine minutes to go.
Chinnor made a brilliant start and were up by 19 points within the first 20 minutes, when Dan Birchall drove over, James Williams converting, as Sale made their first foray into the home side’s final third count. But Chinnor continued to dominate and scored three more tries in the space of ten minutes.
HT Chinnor 38 vs. 31 Sale FC
Sale were always going to come out firing in the second half and quickly reduced the arrears within two minutes of the restart when James Williams converted his own try.
They looked like a different team and unconverted scores from Jake Barron and Edward Leatherbarrow saw them close to within 14 points.
Suddenly the fixture had become tense, but the fact James Williams had been off the mark from the tee ensured Sale still needed two converted tries.
Chinnor had a golden opportunity to put the game to bed with 15 minutes to go following outside centre Pete Laverick’s superb break. But the hosts were unable to make the most of a two-on-one as Watson knocked on from an Elder pass. Sale were not finished and found themselves within a converted try with nine minutes to go when Jarad Williams dived over, James Williams converting.
But, Chinnor defended well late on to see out an entertaining encounter and extend their unbeaten run.
Chinnor: Goss, Worrall, Laverick, Elder, Hodson, May, Ashby, Southworth, Selway, McNulty, Gray, Ehizode, Treviranus, Kirwan, W Ryan.
Replacements: Fidler, Davis, Manning, Watson, C Ryan.
Sale: Rawcliffe, Brady, Mulchrone, Leota, Ah Van, Williams, Bradley, Pope, Longmore, Talaese, Priestley-Nangle, Barron, Hughes, Leatherbarrow, Williams.
Replacements: Ford, Birchall, Dugdale, To’a, Quirke.
FT Chinnor 38 vs. 31 Sale FC
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