Chinnor 26-43 Ealing Trailfinders ( att : 1,411 ) – 2026/27 Champ

September 19, 2026

After Chinnor’s home pre-season victories over a youthful Leicester Tigers and Caldy, the season started for real tonight with the little matter of an opening Champ fixture against Ealing Trailfinders.

Ealing’s pre-season had seen them lose in Ireland 14-26 to Connacht and then beat an Edinburgh A side 45-17 at home.

Champ Update

The points scoring system in the Champ had been changed for this season. The 4 try bonus point was no longer in operation, instead a try bonus point would now only be awarded to the side that scores three tries more than the opposition. The Champ is the only league in England to adopt this system, which is used in Australia and New Zealand, but nowhere else.

Another change was the kick-off times. Rather than having traditional 3pm Saturday afternoon starts, with an occasional Friday Night game, matches are now starting at times all over the weekend to maximise the viewers for Clubber TV’s live streams, and the one free-to-air match being broadcast by Blaze TV on Sunday afternoons. Tonight’s game was a 17.00 kick-off, which undoubtedly contributed to a lower than usual attendance, as Chinnor’s two previous home matches in the Champ against Ealing both had attendances of over 2,000.

Last Season Recap

Ealing won all 26 of their regular league games last season but were not overall champions due to the introduction of play-offs for the top 6, and Ealing were beaten by a last minute try to give Worcester Warriors a 34-29 victory in the semi-finals.

Chinnor’s 5^th place finished had given them a quarter-final game at Worcester, but despite looking in control for 55 minutes of the match, three tries in 15 minutes saw them eventually go down 29-35. Worcester went on to beat Bedford in the final to become champions in their come-back season, despite having lost 11 times in the league, including twice to Chinnor

Ealing fly-half Dan Jones was their top scorer during the season with 156 points, whilst hooker Scott Buckley scored 14 ties. For Chinnor, fly-half Nathan Chamberlain scored 139 points and hooker Alun Walker touched down 15 times.

When these two sides met back in January under Friday Night Lights, the match was 0-0 at half time, and with less than 10 minutes remaining Chinnor led 15-7. However, two late tries denied Chinnor a famous victory as Ealing edged to a 21-15 victory.

Ealing Trailfinders’ Squad

Ealing had their traditional high turnover in the close season with numerous leavers and new signings to their mammoth squad.

Notable departures included forwards Josh Taylor and Lefty Zigiriadis joining Northampton Saints, fullback Tobi Wilson moved to Bristol Bears, winger Geordie Gwynne had joined Edinburgh, and centre Jordan Holgate had signed for Newcastle Red Bulls. Ex-Chinnor fly-half George Worboys was now playing for Manawatu Turbos in New Zealand and full-back Richie Simpson was now with Chinnor.

The incoming players included prop Sam Grahamslaw from Bristol Bears, fly-half Louie Johnson and scrum-half Gareth Simpson from Saracens, centre Hayden Hyde from Harlequins, lock Freddie Stephens from Plymouth Albion, fly-half Jamie Humphries from Ulster, ex-Northampton Saints back row forward Jack Kelleher, centre Fionn Gibbons from Ulster, flanker Jarrod Taylor from Scarlets, lock Louis Finch from Mont-de-Marsan, Gloucester wing Jake Morris, prop Mikey Summerfield from Bath, lock Emeka Atuanya and back-row forward Fyn Brown from Northampton Saints, and prop Oscar Stott from Nottingham.

Matchday Information

According to AA Route Planner, the journey from Ealing to Thame is 40 miles and should normally take around 50 minutes down the A40 & M40.

The weather at the 17.00 kick-off was dry and the temperature was 20 degrees. The infamous Chinnor breeze was in attendance.

Online tickets for the game were £20 for adults, £18 for concessions, £10 for full-time students, whilst under 16s were allowed in free. Hospitality was £65. Tickets at the gate were £22 for adults.

The food vendors on site for the first competitive game of the season were the burger bar, pizzas, Souvlaki/Gyros, donuts and specialist tea and coffee, whilst a Kid’s Zone with an Iron Man inflatable and bouncy castle was in situ. A pint of XT4 was £5.17 with the members’ discount.

The Ealing gave debuts to six of their new players, Grahamslaw, Gibbons, Hyde, Johnson, Atuanya and Taylor, with Kelleher on the bench. Also making his debut was ex-Chinnor full-back Will Feeney who missed the whole of last season due to injury, whilst Chinnor’s Head Coach Craig Hampson was starting at scrum-half for Trailfinders !

Winger Toby Cousins, prop George Davis, lock George Shaw and prop Kabous Bezuidenhout had all worn the Chinnor shirt during loan spells from Ealing, whilst Atuanya had played twice for Chinnor on loan from Northampton.

The Chinnor line-up included only two of their new signings in their starting XV, ex-Ealing full-back Richie Simpson and Jack Metcalf on the wing. Returning prop Andy Darlington was amongst the substitutes, and these three were the only players who didn’t feature in last season’s game at home to Ealing. New Zealander Nick Smith was on the bench and would be making his 100^th appearance for The Villagers should he enter the fray.

Ealing were in a kit of all green whilst Chinnor were in their usual black and white hoops.

Matchday Report

The floodlights were already on when the game started as Chinnor kicked into the wind towards the ring-road end. The opening stages of the game were fairly uneventful as both sides worked their way into the game, although a clearing kick for Chinnor scrum-half Luke Carter was charged down but Metcalf claimed the loose ball.

A few drops of rain were falling but this was to last only for a few minutes.

Chinnor winger Kieran Goss set of on a run down the touchline and the home side were awarded a penalty at the ruck near half-way, which was kicked close to the Ealing 22. Walker threw the line-out to the first man and received a return pass to go charging towards the Ealing try-line, but was tackled short of the line, and Ealing were given the scrum 5 metres from their line at which they were awarded a penalty. However, the kick from Johnson was poor and barely cleared the Ealing 22.

Chinnor stole the line-out but the chip ahead was caught by a Trailfinder defender and the referee’s whistle gave a scrum to the visitors, from which they again won a penalty. This time the kick went to half-way.

The Ealing throw went too long and Chinnor gathered, but their attack ended with a knock-on, and Ealing won a third consecutive scrum penalty. This time they launched an up-and-under which was well claimed by Simpson, who made a break through the centre of the Ealing defence, but his attempted kick ahead hit an Ealing defender. Ealing regained possession and kicked back into the Chinnor half. Goss ran back into the Ealing half and Ealing infringed at the ruck. However, the wind was now quite strong so the Chinnor kick to touch made hardly any yards.

Conor Brockschmidt won the line-out for Chinnor and Carter’s high kick floated back in the wind but Chinnor were able to catch. When Carter kicked again Feeney called for the mark and kicked deep into the Chinnor half, where Simpson gathered and set off on a run, but his attempted pass went straight into touch.

Bobby De Wee won the Ealing line-out near the half-way line and Ealing spread the ball through their backs, and created an overlap for winger Gibbons to cross in the corner and then make his way to close to the posts before touching down. Johnson added the extras so Ealing led 7-0 after 13 minutes.

Ealing kicked the restart back to Chinnor and tackled Goss into touch for a line-out for the visitors, but after winning their line-out ball the move was ended with a knock-on in midfield.

Chinnor were awarded a free-kick at the scrum. A period of kick-tennis followed until an Ealing kick bounced into touch just outside the Chinnor 22. Jamie Campbell won the line-out for Chinnor but the ball was dropped in midfield and Ealing pounced to spread the ball wide to Gibbons who scythed through the Chinnor defence, and his inside pass saw the supporting Ealing player tackled just short of the tryline and the ball was knocked on.

Chinnor were under pressure at the scrum and although Carter was able to pick up the ball, he was converged on by a couple of tacklers. De Wee was able to claim the ball and dived over the whitewash. Johnson was wayward from the tee, but Ealing now led 12-0 with 21 minutes played.

The restart sailed with the wind straight into touch, to give Ealing a scrum on the half-way line. Chinnor were awarded a penalty at the set-piece, leading to some afters between the two packs.

Again, the kick for touch was caught in the wind and barely went 10 metres. Campbell’s tap at the line-out was poor and Ealing regained possession, and Hampson kicked high into the Chinnor 22. Chinnor were again under pressure as Metcalf was bundled into touch, leading to another flair-up between the forwards.

Ealing’s attacks following the line-out were repelled until prop Grahamslaw broke through the defensive line, and a return pass enabled the ex-Bristol Bear to score under the posts. Johnson knocked over the conversion, meaning Ealing now lead 19-0 with 27 minutes on the clock.

Shortly after the restart, Hampson sent a superb 50:20 bouncing in to touch deep inside the Chinnor 22 and with predictable Inevitability after Atuanya had won the line-out, the rolling maul barged over the line with Taylor being credited with the score. The touchline conversion drifted wide, but Ealing were now 24-0 ahead after 31 minutes.

It was looking ominous for the home side but Trailfinders knocked on at the restart, and Chinnor forced a penalty at the scrum, which was kicked to within 15 metres of the Ealing line. Chinnor won their line-out ball and Ealing infringed, enabling the home side to kick to 5 metres. Campbell again ruled the air, and the rolling maul rumbled over for Chinnor’s first points of the match, with Walker being credited with the try. Chamberlain’s touchline conversion went wide so the score was now 5-24 with 37 minutes played.

Ealing were looking for another score before the interval, and although it looked like the referee had awarded a penalty to the visitors, the outcome was a scrum to Ealing. Trailfinders attempted to go wide from the scrum, but Metcalf made an interception, and Chinnor were awarded a penalty, which took them to just inside the Ealing half.

The line-out was thrown too long and Ealing were able to gain possession and kicked into the Chinnor 22, where Cousins was able to get to the ball ahead of Goss and then raced to score in the corner. The difficult conversion was missed so it was 5-29 at half-time.

Chinnor would have the advantage of the elements in the second half, but it felt like the wind was probably only worth 7 to 10 points, so Chinnor would need to produce something special to take anything from the game.

However, the home side started the second period on the front foot, and after forcing a penalty at a ruck, Campbell won the line-out inside the Ealing 22 from which centre James Bourton made a break for the tryline. After being stopped, Campbell took possession and dived for the line but was blocked just short. However, flanker Will Cave was on hand and forced his way over under the posts. Chamberlain’s conversion was a formality and Chinnor had reduced the deficit to 12-29 with 44 minutes played.

Ealing were penalised at the restart for what appeared to be for some players being ahead of the kicker, and Chinnor set-off on a great move from the scrum on half-way, with Metcalf and Simpson taking play into the Ealing 22. When the move was halted, Chamberlain sent a long pass to Metcalf, who fed Morgan Passman to score in the corner. A fabulous conversion from the touchline by Chamberlain now made the score 19-29 after 48 minutes.

Ealing had a scrum shortly after the restart, but again the penalty was awarded to Chinnor which was kicked to the Ealing 10 metre line. Campbell won the line-out and Carter sent the ball into orbit, but Gibbons claimed and called for the mark.

After the kick to the Ealing 10 metre line, Campbell again won line-out ball for Chinnor but the Chinnor attack was called back for a forward pass.

Hampson twice attempted high clearing kicks into the strong wind, and Ealing knocked on from the second. Chinnor again were awarded a penalty at the scrum and kicked to 25 metres from the Ealing line. Chinnor threw to Harry Dugmore who was unable to hold on to the ball and the knock-on gave a scrum to Ealing.

Yet again Trailfinders were penalised at the scrum and Chinnor had a penalty 25 metres out to the right of the posts. Last season it would have been a no-brainer to kick to 5 metres and go for the four try bonus point, but interestingly Chinnor opted to go for the posts to get within 7 points of Ealing. However, Chamberlain’s kick drifted wide of the uprights so it remained 19-29 after 61 minutes.

Ealing forced a penalty which they were able to kick to the Chinnor 22. Ealing won their line-out but dropped the ball in midfield, and Chinnor were able to fly-hack the ball to the half-way line. Ealing regained possession, and Hampson sent a tremendous cross-field kick which Hyde was able to volley past Goss, and he ran on to touchdown out wide for a try against the run of play. Johnson produced an excellent conversion from close to the touchline to extend Ealing’s lead to 36-19 with 65 minutes played.

When play restarted, a promising Chinnor attack was halted as the move was close to Ealing’s Taylor who was on the floor receiving treatment, and play recommenced with a scrum to Chinnor on their 10-metre line. Chinnor’s pack again won a scrum penalty which was kicked to about 8 metres from the Ealing line.

Campbell won the line-out and when Chinnor’s rolling maul got close to the try-line, replacement hooker Chris Moore was stopped short. When Chinnor moved the ball to their backs centre Tom Watson was tackled, but the Ealing defenders were obviously offside, and the penalty was kicked to 5 metres. History was repeated as Campbell won the line-out, Moore was stopped short of the line and Ealing were again offside.

Cave was able to collect the line-out tap from Campbell and again Ealing were penalised as Chinnor attacked, and although the referee spoke to the Ealing captain, his cards stayed in his pocket.

Campbell won the line-out but Ealing this time legally halted the rolling maul. Chinnor were forced to spread the ball but lovely hands from the backs saw Metcalf give a pass enabling Simpson to run to the corner from just inside the Ealing 22. Chamberlain added another fine conversion from out wide, taking the score to 26-36 with 75 minutes on the clock.

Any hope that Chinnor might score again to get a losing bonus point were soon dashed when Ealing produced an impressive maul following a line-out, making at least 10 meters, before releasing the ball to the backs and Hyde broke through a gap in the Chinnor defensive line to run 30 metres under the posts. Johnson added the extras to take the score to 26-43 with 78 minutes played.

Ealing were finishing strongly and won a penalty at a ruck with a Chinnor player being off his feet, but the subsequent line-out was not straight. Chinnor won another scrum penalty to take play to the Ealing 22, but the line-out throw went long. Cave was able to gather but in a scrappy end to the game both sides knocked on and the referee blew for full-time.

Last year this would have been a 5-1 win for Trailfinders but under this season’s rules it was 5-0 to Ealing as they scored three more tries than Chinnor. However, both the BBC and RFU websites don't seem to yet be aware of the points system for this season as both their tables were wrong !

Ealing played some impressive rugby with ball in hand and again look the team to beat this season. However, after winning penalties at the first three scrums, they were penalised at nearly every subsequent scrum, so they have plenty to work on there.

 

Chinnor 53-36 Caldy ( att : 400 est ) – 2026/27 Pre-Season Friendly

September 12, 2026

After Chinnor had thumped a youthful Leicester Tigers side 55-0 in their first pre-season friendly last Friday night in front of a record crowd of 3,000, today represented a different challenge against a gnarled and competitive fellow Champ side in Caldy.

The two sides are scheduled to play each other at Caldy in the third round of The Champ in early October, and a friendly between the two was perhaps a little unexpected after a bruising pre-season encounter prior to last season when a narrow victory for Chinnor at Paton Field had left both sides short of several injured players for the start of the new season !

However, there is a warm relationship between the two clubs, with both having risen through the pyramid whilst still retaining a strong community ethos.

Chinnor Update

During the week Chinnor announced that prop Andrew Darlington had rejoined the club. A former Dutch international, Darlington had made 30 appearances for the villagers between 2015 to 2017, and had subsequently played for Maidenhead, Caldy and Macclesfield.

Previous Meetings

The two sides last met in March this year, when Chinnor were victorious with a 48-36 home win in a fabulously entertaining end-to-end game.

Matches between Chinnor and Caldy have historically been close encounters. The first meetings between these two sides came in 2018/19 in National League One with Caldy snatching a 27-24 win at Chinnor early in the season, whilst Chinnor gained revenge at Paton Field with a 20-17 victory.

The two teams next faced each other in 2021/22 when Caldy kicked a last-minute penalty to grab a 27-27 home draw, then these diaries covered the return fixture in February 2022 when Caldy produced a masterclass on how to play into a gale force wind and generally strangled the life out of Chinnor with up-the-jumper rugby on their way to a 23-12 victory and onto winning promotion to the Championship.          

Chinnor’s promotion to the Championship saw rivalries resumed, and in what was Chinnor’s first ever home game in the second tier, these diaries reported on a 31-17 home win. Caldy had been pressing for an equalizing score, but Chinnor broke to score with the last move of the game to give the scoreline a rather flattering look. In the return meeting, a converted try five minutes from the end gave Chinnor a 24-23 win.

Chinnor maintained their unbeaten record at Paton Field with a 38-26 victory last November, where Chinnor kicked a penalty 15 minutes from the end to deprive Caldy of a losing bonus point.

Caldy Update

Today was Caldy’s third pre-season friendly. Their first warm-up ended in a 33-40 defeat at National League One Sale FC in which 38 players had taken to the field for The Ravers, but this was followed by a 51-26 home win over Super BUCS Durham University. A mostly 2^nd XI side had also played at and beaten Birkenhead Park 40-31.

Caldy had announced an extensive list of 1^st and 2^nd team players who were retained from last season. The only notable departure was fly-half Kieran Wilkinson moving to Doncaster Knights, whilst Lewis Barker had become first team coach at Chester, and scrum-half Tom Akehurst had returned to Wirral.

New signings included centre Harry Oliver, who scored 291 points last season in National 2 North for Macclesfield. Also joining from Macclesfield was second row Harry Harding.

Other signings by Caldy were ex-Leicester Lions and Broadstreet back row forward Cameron de Beer, England North Under 20’s prop Charlie Ford, back row forward Oliver Barker from Nottingham University, and versatile back Rhys James from Wirral.

Matchday Information

According to AA Route Planner, the journey from Caldy to Thame is 190 miles and should normally takes about three hours fifteen minutes.

The weather at the 15.00 kick-off was dry and 21 degrees and the infamous Chinnor breeze was particularly strong.

Tickets for the game were £10 for adults, £5 for 10 to 17-year-olds, whilst under 10s were allowed in free.

Chinnor named a squad of 32 players for the match with the starting XV featuring only three players who started against Leicester Tigers, flanker Will Cave, centre Tom Watson and winger Jack Metcalf. Named amongst the substitutes were two players who joined Ealing Trailfinders in the summer, ex-Nottingham prop Oscar Stott and French lock Louis Finch who was at Mont-de-Marsan last year. Also on the bench was scrum-half Zack Lewis, who was playing for Hawick last season.

Their squad include wing Kieran Goss and back-row forward George Stokes, who were missing from Leicester game, leaving only Freddie Owsley and Willie Ryan from last season’s regulars whose current whereabouts was to be confirmed.

Caldy named a squad of 30 for the fixture, with Oliver, de Beer and Harding starting.

Caldy were playing in a change kit of gold shirts with black shorts and socks whilst Chinnor were in their usual black and white hoops, with black shorts and socks.

The match was arranged for three periods of 30 minutes each.

Matchday Report

Chinnor kicked off towards the ring-road end and into the wind and the start was error-strewn, with Chinnor full-back Nick Smith dropping a high ball, scrum-half Luke Carter having a clearing kick charged down, whilst a Caldy player also spilt a high-kick.

Chinnor were awarded a penalty at the first scrum and Harry Gilson-Fox won the subsequent line-out, but when Chinnor spread the ball Scott Hall dropped it and Caldy forced a penalty. However, the early errors continued as Caldy knocked the ball forward at the line-out to hand possession to Chinnor, and from the counter-attack fly-half Nathan Chamberlain sent a low kick into touch inside the Caldy 22.

This time Caldy won their line-out and full-back Charlie Hyde sent a fabulous wind assisted kick into touch just outside the Chinnor 22. The home side’s throw went too long and Caldy hooker Matt Gallagher pounced onto the bouncing ball. The Ravers sent the ball through several pair of hands and created an overlap for winger Will Robinson to go over in the corner. Ben Parkin’s attempted conversion slid wide of the uprights but it was 0-5 after 8 minutes.

Shortly after the restart a Chinnor penalty was kicked into the Caldy 22 and the rolling maul from the line-out rumbled slowly forward until being stopped. It looked like the ball was dropped but the referee allowed play to continue, and then awarded another penalty to Chinnor, which was kicked to 5 metres. Gilson-Fox again won the line-out and this time the Chinnor rolling maul drove over the whitewash and flanker Harry Dugmore was announced as the scorer. The touchline conversion was missed so the score moved to 5-5 after 14 minutes.

A penalty for the visitors took play to inside the Chinnor 22. Martin Gerrard rose the highest to claim the line-out and with a penalty advantage Caldy launched several drives for the try-line but these were repelled. The referee took play back for the original infringement and showed a yellow card to Chinnor’s Cave.

Caldy’s rolling maul from 5 metres is legendary and after de Beer secured possession the inevitable try for Gallagher followed. Parkin added the extras to give Caldy a 12-5 lead with 19 minutes played.

However, the lead didn’t last for last as whilst Chinnor’s Smith and Caldy’s Connor Wilkinson were having a disagreement, Chinnor attacked and eventually prop Kai Owen barged over from close range to score. Chamberlain slotted over an easy conversion to bring the score to 12-12 after 21 minutes.

A case of Déjà vu followed as Caldy kicked a penalty to 5 metres and as the rolling maul set off towards the line, a huge gap appeared in the Chinnor defence, and Gallagher had an easy stroll to score, and was able to go round to under the posts. Parkin wasn’t going to miss from in front of the sticks so Caldy were back in front 19-12 with 25 minutes on the clock.

Almost straight from the restart Wilkinson made a great break and chipped ahead for Robinson to gather but as he was about to touch down Smith made a great tackle to get under the Caldy winger to hold him up. However, the referee was in a hurry to award the try and signalled the score far too early much to the bemusement to the spectators around Fatbear. Robinson may have put the ball down later, but only after the referee had already awarded the try. The conversion drifted wide so the score was now 12-24 after 27 minutes played

Caldy nearly scored again when Rhys Tudor made a scything run and then kicked ahead but Hyde was just unable to get to the ball before it went dead. Chinnor attacked from the scrum just outside their 22 and won a penalty when de Beer was off his feet at a ruck, and Chinnor centre Tom Watson surprised everyone by running from the half-way line after a quick tap to score in the corner. Chamberlain excellently converted from close to the touchline to close the gap to 19-24 at the end of the first third.

The first action of the second period saw Parkin make a good break but his attempt to find his winger was intercepted by Smith

Despite playing into the stiff wind, Caldy dominated the early stages of the second period and were camped inside the Chinnor 22.  A 5-metre line-out was thrown too long but Caldy were able to keep possession, and some basketball passes in midfield enabled number 17 Monty Weatherby to score, and Parkin added the conversion. It was now 19-31 after 39 minutes.

It was starting to look grim for Chinnor and a promising attack came to a halt after a knock-on. However, the home side won a penalty at the resulting scrum, which was kicked to 10 metres. Chinnor won their ball but the rolling maul was halted. The ball found its way to centre George Wacokecoke, who side-stepped his way over to score. Chamberlain was again successful from the tee, and Chinnor were back in touching distance at 26-31 after 43 minutes.

The “you score, we score” nature of the match continued as Caldy notched their 6^th try of the game. Their scrum was going backward but the referee determined this was due to something illegal by the Chinnor pack and awarded a penalty to the Ravers, which was kicked to 10 metres from the Chinnor line. Surprisingly, the Caldy rolling maul was halted, but when the scrum-half looked up, he saw his side had a three man overlap, and the ball was spread to allow Dylan Carroll to canter over to score. Parkin’s attempted conversion drifted wide so it was 26-36 with 49 minutes played.

Chinnor again looked to be struggling and a grubber kick went dead to give Caldy a scrum just outside their 22, from which they ran and the scrum-half then sent a kick bouncing into touch midway inside the Chinnor half.

Jamie Campbell won the line-out for Chinnor from which Morgan Passman made a break until being illegally stopped. The penalty was kicked to 5 metres and when Campbell again won the line-out, the Chinnor attack was stopped just short of the tryline, but a long, floated pass from the base of the ruck gave Watson an easy task for his second try of the day. With the conversion missed the score had moved to 31-36 after 56 minutes.

A scrappy period followed, but after Campbell won a line-out, a good move saw Ben Currie, one of three Chinnor players on the field wearing the number 15 at the time, cross in the corner. Chamberlain failed with the conversion, so the second period ended at 36-36.

Chinnor began the third period well with Wacokecoke making two impressive runs but failing to find a team-mate with his passes. A try was coming and Smith made a break, then kicked a grubber for James Bourton to run onto and score. Another difficult conversion was missed, but Chinnor now led for the first time in the match, 41-36 with 65 minutes played.

Chinnor followed this up with a super move which saw Currie again score out wide, and again the conversion sailed the wrong side of the posts. 46-36 after 72 minutes.

Three minutes later there was some confusion as a run from Goss down the touchline was stopped by the referee’s whistle for an earlier infringement by Chinnor, and for a few moments it looked like the referee had ended the match early. However, to ensure both sides faced the strong wind for the same amount of time, the two teams changed ends !

Caldy started the second half of the third period strongly but threw too long from a 5-metre line-out and although Chinnor gathered the loose ball they were pinged at the ruck. Caldy took a quick tap but the intended grubber kick hit Metcalf, who hadn’t been able to retreat 10 metres, and the Chinnor winger was shown a yellow card.

Despite being a man down, Chinnor ended the game the strongest. Replacement scrum-half Lewis made a high clearing kick which was dropped on the half-way line and then Caldy conceded a penalty when Chinnor gathered the loose ball. Consecutive penalties took Chinnor into the Caldy 22 and after the line-out was won, the ball went through several pair of hands before Carter was able to scamper through a gap in the Caldy defence and score under the posts. Bourton added the extras with the score moving to 53-36 with four minutes remaining.

The final minutes were uneventful and the final whistle brought an end to an enjoyable run-out for both clubs with 15 tries scored in the match. The real business starts next week-end as Chinnor host Ealing Trailfinders and Caldy are at home to Hartpury. 

 

Thame United 3-2 Reading City – ( att : 182 ) – 2026/27 FA Cup

September 5, 2026

Thame’s reward for their resounding 7-1 triumph over Brislington was a home draw in the FA Cup First Qualifying round against Reading. However, it was unfortunately against step 5 Reading City FC rather than the League One side !

With subsequent wins in the FA Trophy at step 4 Westbury United and the Bank Holiday victory at Marlow, Thame had now won three matches on the trot.

Reading City

Reading City were currently members of the step 5 Combined Counties Premier Division North, and were founded in 2001 following a merger between two Reading Senior League sides Highmoor and Ibis, and took the name Highmoor-Ibis.

Winning the 2010/11 Reading Senior League led to promotion to the step 6 Hellenic League Division One East and in their first season the club were promoted to step 5 after finishing as runners-up.

Highmoor Ibis were runners-up in the Hellenic League Premier Division in 2014-15 and the club changed their name to Reading City in 2018. For 2020/21 the club were level transferred to the Combined Counties Premier Division North, since when they had finished 9^th, 3^rd, 4^th, 13^th and 6^th.

Their 4^th place in 2023/24 saw Reading City qualify for the promotion play-offs where they were eliminated after a 2-5 loss at Bedfont Sports.

Last season Reading City had their best ever run in the FA Vase, reaching the 4^th Round before losing 1-2 at home to Lymore Gardens, having eliminated Snodland Town ( 3-1 ), Erith & Belvedere ( 1- 0 ), Baffins Milton Rovers ( 4-0 ) and Mendip Broadwalk on penalties after 1-1 draw.

Highmoor-Ibis initially played at Scours Lane, but as the ground did not meet the requirements for step 6 due to a lack of floodlights and a covered stand, the club were forced to move to the Palmers Park Athletics Stadium in order to play at step 6 in 2011. However, the club returned to Scours Lane in 2016, which had subsequently been upgraded to meet the ground criteria requirements, but had now been renamed the Rivermoor Stadium.

Reading City’s home colours are all blue, and their nickname is The Cityzens. The average home attendance last season was 160.

Reading City This Season

Reading City came into today’s game with a 3-1-3 league record to sit in 7^th place after 7 games. All three home league games had been won, Wokingham Town ( 1-0 ), North Leigh ( 4-0 ) and Holyport ( 4-0 ). However, away from home their record was 0-1-3, with just a 3-3 draw at Penn and Tyler’s Green, and losses at Harefield United ( 1-2 ), Hilltop ( 2-3 ) and Thatcham Town ( 0-2 )

Reading City had continued their excellent home form in the FA Cup, progressing past Tring Athletic ( 1-0 ) and Fairford Town ( 2-0 ). Would their poor form continue in their first away cup fixture ?

Reading City Squad

Riley Denny had scored 8 goals in all competitions coming into today’s game, with the next highest scorer being Shane Cooper-Clark, who scored the winning goal for Thatcham Town in the 2018 FA Vase final at Wembley, on two goals.

Ex-Thatcham and Flackwell Health forward Mo Cessay was last season’s top scorer with 18 goals, striker Henry Duxford joined in the summer from Eversley & California, and captain Stefan Brown had scored a 15-minute hat-trick in the First Round of the FA Cup for AFC Totton against Bradford Park Avenue in 2011, and had also played for Wealdstone, Maidenhead, Marlow and Oxford City.

Keeper Charlie York and defender Ellis Cowd had both made over 250 appearances for the Cityzens, whilst defender Luke Donville and midfielder Joel Valentin had made over 150 appearances.

Midfielder Lewis Hayden had previously played for Banbury United, Farnborough and Milton United.

Previous Meetings

The two sides had met 10 times in the Hellenic League between 2012/13 and 2016/17 when the clus was still called Highmoor-Ibis, with Thame winning 7 times, one draw and two wins for Highmoor-Ibis.

Thame had a 3-1-1 record at home and were 4-0-1 away from home. Highmoor-Ibis had won 2-0 at the ASM in 2013/14 and drew 2-2 there in 2012/13, but the only other time they had avoided defeat was a 1-0 home win in 2013/14.

Fatbear did not attend any of these matches, so this would be the first time watching Reading City.

Matchday Information

According to AA Route Planner the journey from Reading to Thame was 31 miles and should normally take 55 minutes via the A4074 and the A329.

The weather at 15.00 kick-off was sunny, with a temperature of 21 degrees.

Attendance was £10 for adults, £5 for concessions and £3 for Under 16s. The programme was online but no free team-sheets were available for today’s game. A cup of tea cost £1.50.

Thame made two changes from the side that won at Marlow with Curtis Brown and Ed Daffern coming into the side and Hayden Beadle and Greg Hackett dropped to the bench.

Reading City made four changes from the side that lost at Thatcham Town with keeper Kai Mussilhy, who is on loan from Chesham United, coming in for his first game of the season. Also selected were forward Lucas Taplin, left-back Liam Baker and Hayden, with Donville, Cooper-Clarke and Jenson Mansel amongst the substitutes, and keeper York was absent.

The visitors were in there normal all blue kit whilst Thame were in their usual red and black stripes, with black shorts and red socks.

Matchday Report

The game began with the first yellow card of the game with barely a minute on the clock. Thame forward Roger James spun away from Baker just inside the Reading City half and was cynically brought down, giving the referee probably his easiest decision of the match.

Thame started in a lively fashion and James won the first corner of the match with his low cross from the byline needing to be put out of play by Cowd. A scramble ensued from the corner, and Daffern saw his shot blocked.

Reading City were first seen as an attacking threat in the 8^th minute but Denny’s shot from 20 yards went a few feet wide.

Thame opening the scoring shortly after. Jack Tutton played a ball down the right-hand channel for James to run onto, and his low cross was mis-hit by Harry Alexander. However, Tutton had continued his run into the Reading City penalty area and smacked the ball home from 10 yards. It was 1-0 after 13 minutes.

Thame were now dominating the match. From a short corner Tutton set off on a mazy run inside The Cityzens area but was eventually crowded out, then Daffern and Aydin Ulas combined to send Daffern running into the penalty area, but the shot lack power and Mussilhy made a regulation save.

In between, James and Baker both dived into a challenge for the ball and the Reading City defender was fouled. The visitors claimed the tackle was high and reckless when it didn’t appear to be either,although James was perhaps fortunate as his studs were showing. Thankfully there was no injury to Baker, who didn’t need any treatment and the referee decided the only sanction required was the free-kick.

Callum Hall, Alexander and Tutton exchanged first time passes to put James clear again on the right wing, and again the low cross was put out for a corner, which was confidently caught by Mussilhy.

Daffern won Thame’s fourth corner in the opening 23 minutes following a raking cross-field pass from Dan West, and shortly after the set-piece was cleared, Brown volleyed high and wide with his left-foot after a chip into the penalty area by James.

Thame won two more corners, and from the second West’s glancing header went a couple of feet wide of the far post. A long ball from Mark Riddick looked to have possibly put Brown clear but Cowd did well to cover and make an important tackle.

A rare foray by Reading City into the Thame half saw Valentin play in Denny, but the shot from a narrow angle was held above his head by keeper James Callan.

The play then became a little bit scrappy but the referee was keen to let the game flow despite the appeals from both sides for free-kicks, and Callan made another good catch, this time from a cross from the right wing.

Denny was starting to get into the game and made a strong run towards the Thame 18-yard line but his shot lacked power and Callan made an easy save. Denny then made a similar run from the half-way line but this time passed to Valentin whose shot from the edge of the area was blocked by the sliding Hall.

The Cityzens were enjoying a good spell and Taplin won their first corner in the 39^th minute but the delivery was over-hit and went off for a throw-in to Thame near the opposite corner flag.

At the other end, Mussilhy needed to come out of his area to clear a long ball before James could reach it, then Daffern went on a strong run into the Reading City area until tackled by Cowd. The visitors quickly broke and Denny fired a low shot from the edge of the Thame area into the bottom corner giving Callan no chance. The score were now level at 1-1 with 42 minutes played.

Thame were stung into action and Tutton immediate played a pass for Brown to run onto, but his shot was partially blocked by Cowd and Mussilhy dived onto the ball as it rolled across the goalmouth.

Tutton was having an influential game for Thame and next he put James clear down the right, and his low cross was met by the onrushing Brown who slammed the ball into the net from a little over 6 yards. Mussilhy had no chance of stopping the shot and it was now 2-1 after 44 minutes.

In a copy of several Thame moves, Tutton played another pass down the right-hand channel for this time Hall to latch onto, but the drilled low ball across the Cityzens area went behind the two Thame attackers.

Thame centre-back West then appeared on the right-wing and his cross found Daffern, whose shot was blocked by a defender, and Tutton sent the rebound a couple of yards over the bar.

The first-half ended with Reading City appealing for handball when Fin Murray put the ball out for a corner, but the referee wasn’t interested in their claims. The corner bounced across the goalmouth and Thame attempted to break, but after it came to nothing the referee blew for half-time.

Thame deserved their half-time lead having had most of the possession but Reading City had looked dangerous on the occasions that had been able to attack, so it felt like there would be more goals in the second-half.

Both sides made one change at the start of the second period with Donville replacing Baker at left-back for the visitors, and Hackett came on for Daffern for Thame.

Hackett was instantly in the game, being bundled over by Dan Williamson and the referee took his time before deciding to award a free-kick to Thame just outside the penalty area. Tutton’s effort went under the wall as they jumped, but the shot lacked the power to trouble Mussilhy.

Shortly after, Thame increased their lead. Hackett lumped the ball forward to clear the Thame defensive lines and Denny was surprising the last defender back for The Cityzens, and the top scorer made a complete hash of trying to control the ball, which ran past him. James took advantage to run clear and slotted the ball past the keeper. 3-1 after 52 minutes.

The response from the visitors was for right-back Williamson to go on a 60-yard lung-bursting run down the right wing until Murray put the out for a throw-in near the corner flag. Denny then got to the byline but keeper Callan dived onto his low cross.

Hackett then got past Williamson and crashed to the floor inside the Reading City area, and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. It looked to be a soft penalty. Alexander had the chance to put the game to bed, but unlike Bank Holiday Monday where he slotted an almost perfect penalty into the top corner, this time his low effort lacked power and Mussilhy dived to his right to make the block. Alexander attempted to slide on to the loose ball but the keeper got there first and it was an obvious foul by the Thame player, who was perhaps fortunate not to receive a yellow card.

After having seemingly been heading out of the competition, The Cityzens had new belief and now looked a different side as they took the game to Thame.

Thame failed to deal with a free-kick and as the ball bounced around inside their area Hayden reacted the quickest and produced a tidy finish to stab the ball with the outside of his foot into the opposite corner from 8 yards. 3-2 with 62 minutes played.

Thame were now rocking as Reading City surged forward and Taplin fell to the floor after getting past West and the referee awarded the penalty. Just like the penalty awarded to Thame, it looked very soft, and to add salt to his wounds West was shown a yellow card for his “foul”. Taplin got up to take the spot kick and just like the Thame penalty it was poorly struck to the keeper’s right, and Callan dived to make the save. Reading City had squandered the chance to level the scores !

The Cityzens then rolled the dice by making four substitutions and started to leave gaps at the back as they took risks as they chased the game. The game became end-to-end, and both sides created plenty of chances to score the next goal.

Mussilhy produced an important punch under pressure from a cross from Alexander, then Hackett was unable to bring down a ball over the Reading City backline when clear. Shortly after, substitute Charlie Bacon cut inside from the left but his shot was blocked.

Oliver Bourne then made an important block to deny Bacon, and from the following corner West and Tutton had efforts blocked.

In the 82^nd minute it looked like Denny must level the scores after Nofal Jama had crossed from the byline, but Callan made a block from close range, and the loose ball was prodded wide.

Connor Mattimore set off on a run from half-way then across the face of the Thame 18-yard line but Hall was covering and made a great tackle to end the danger.

Thame counter-attacked through Bacon, but after getting into the Cityzen’s area his square pass went behind two attackers and the chance had gone.

With 5 minutes remaining, Hayden took possession and sent a 25-yard effort that hit the outside of the post and went off for a goal-kick. So close to the equaliser !

Thame substitute Joshua Stranks played a ball down the left-hand channel that put Hackett clear. The Thame winger cut inside into the Reading City, but a nudge in the back put him off balance when about to shoot, and as he was falling his pass failed to reach Jamie Davies. The referee waved for play to continue.

As the game moved into added time Thame keeper Callan punched away a cross from the right-wing, then Donville had a long-range effort blocked.

The end-to-end nature of the game continued as Hackett and Davies combined to set up Bacon but Mussilhy produced a top save, diving to his left to push the shot from 12 yards. After the corner was cleared to edge of the area, Tutton’s effort hit the top of the cross bar and went over.

As the match moved into its 6^th minute of added time, Reading City won a corner, but the delivery was poor and cleared by the first Thame defender. Reading City regained possession and a cross was sent towards the far post but under pressure Jama could only head a couple of yards wide.

The referee blew for full time and Thame breathed a huge sigh of relief to hang onto the win and to enter Monday’s draw for the next round. Reading City would probably be wishing they could have played as well as they did in the final 30 minutes for the most of the first half.

Thame United : Callan – Hall, West, Murray, Ulas ( Stranks ) – Alexander ( Davies ), Tutton, Riddick, Daffern ( Hackett ) – James ( Beadle ), Brown ( Bacon )

Reading City : Mussilhy – Williamson ( Mansel ), Bourne, Cowd, Baker ( Donville ) – Harris ( Cooper-Clarke ), Hayden, Valentin, Paxford ( Mattimore )– Denny, Taplin ( Jama )