Oxford City 2-0 Peterborough Sports ( att : 731 ) - 2025/26 National League North

April 6, 2024

Today’s Easter Monday afternoon entertainment was the crucial National League North relegation battle between Oxford City and Peterborough Sports, whereby 20^th played host to 23^rd.

This was a re-match between the two sides, having met in the FA Trophy in November when two minutes after Oxford City had missed a penalty to take the lead, Peterborough Sports scored a late winner to grab a 2-1 victory in a game watched by Fatbear.

https://fatbearssportingdiaries.blogspot.com/2025/11/oxford-city-1-2-peterborough-sports-att.html 

Oxford City Update

These diaries last featured Oxford City in mid-February when they fell to a limp 0-2 home defeat at the hands of Marine. However, since then they battled to a 0-0 draw at home to mid-table AFC Telford, and then recorded an important 2-1 victory at King’s Lynn.  Another lame 0-2 home defeat followed, this time to Scarborough Athletic, but since then The Hoops were unbeaten in 5 games to move clear of the relegation zone. A 2-2 draw was achieved at Curzon Ashton and Southport were vanquished 3-1 in Lancashire. Chorley ( 2-0 ) and Kidderminster Harriers ( 3-2 ) were beaten at Court Place Farm, then Oxford City came back from Wales on Good Friday with a point after a 1-1 draw at play-off contenders Merthyr Tydfil.

Consequently, Oxford City were now five points clear of the relegation zone with 5 games to play, and 5 or 6 points from their remaining games would probably be enough to avoid the drop. However, they still had to play three of the four sides below them in the table so there was no room for complacency, but today’s game was a huge opportunity to take another step towards safety.

The Hoops had been active in the transfer market. Ex-Oxford United, Bristol Rovers, Bristol City Forest Green Rovers and Cheltenham striker Matty Taylor had signed after taking a job as an academy coach at Oxford United. Taylor had scored nearly 200 goals in just over 600 appearances.

Also joining was 34-year-old striker Ashley Hemmings on loan for the rest of the season from Dagenham & Redbridge. Hemmings had scored 30 goals in NLN last season for Kidderminster Harriers to win the Golden Boot, and according to Wikipedia had scored 141 goals in 575 matches. His former clubs included Wolverhampton Wanderers, Plymouth Argyle, Walsall, Mansfield Town and Boston United, in addition to Kidderminster and Dagenham & Redbridge.

Last week saw the return to Marsh Lane of iconic defender Canice Carroll for his third spell with the club. The Irish centre-back had been a key member of the Hoops side that won promotion to the National League at the end of the 2022/23, and after leaving the club following relegation, he re-joined towards the end of last season to help steer Oxford City away from relegation. Having left again in the summer to join Chippenham Town, Carroll had returned to again help avoid relegation from National League North.

On the debit side, striker Callum McFarlane had been recalled by his parent club, having been on loan from Solihull Moors.

Previous Meetings

As mentioned above, Peterborough Sports won the meeting in the FA Trophy, but the league game at Sport’s Lincoln Road in December was a drab 0-0 draw.

Peterborough Sports did the double over Oxford City last season, winning 2-1 at home and 3-1 at Court Place Farm so The Hoops were yet to beat Sports in the league, but had won an earlier FA Trophy tie, when they won 2-0 in February 2021.

Peterborough Sports Update

Peterborough Sports arrived today second from bottom with a 10-8-24 record and were 8 points adrift of Oxford City having played one game more. Away from home they were 4-2-14. Realistically, Sports needed to win all four of the final games, and then hope 50 points would be enough. They also had a much inferior goal difference to the sides they needed to climb above in the table.

The chances of Sports going on such a winning run looked bleak as they had only won one of the last 14 games, 2-0 at fellow strugglers Alfreton, with 9 defeats and 4 draws. However, clutching at straws, they did have a 2-2 home draw with Kings Lynn on Good Friday.

In between beating Oxford City in the FA Trophy and the start of this disastrous run from the beginning of February, Sports had won 5 and drawn 2 of their 12 league matches and had peaked at 17^th in the table. A 0-5 defeat had been suffered in the FA Trophy at National League Scunthorpe United.

Recent signings since the FA Trophy game included ex-Wycombe Wanderers centre-back Anthony Stewart, who featured in these diaries’ first ever report in January 2020 ! Centre-back Ian Kamga was on loan from Watford.

In early March, ex-Hull City manager Phil Brown moved up to become Director of Football, and after being sacked as joint manager in September, former player Colin Gash returned as head coach.

Midfielder Luca Miller was the top scorer with 13 goals, followed by midfielder Max Booth with 7 goals.

Matchday Information

According to AA Route Planner, the journey from Peterborough to Oxford is 88 miles down the A45 and M40 and should normally take around 2 hours. Around 20 Turbine fans gathered behind the goal their side was attacking during the second half, with a handful more dotted around the ground.

Tickets for today’s match were £13 online or £16 at the gate. There were a whole range of reductions depending on ages, from seniors to children.

An online programme was available and a cup of tea cost £2.50.

The weather at the 15.00 kick-off was sunny and 14 degrees.

Bet365 made Oxford City 4/5 favourites, with Peterborough Sports at 27/10 and the draw at 5/2.

The Turbines made just one changes from the side that drew with King’s Lynn with the return of veteran striker and captain Mark Jones replacing Shaq Coulthirst.

Oxford City made three changes to the side that drew at Merthyr with Zac McEachran, DJ Sturridge and Ewan Clark coming into the side with Tom Scott, Jack Bearne and Josh Parker dropping to the bench.

Sports were playing in their usual kit of orange shirts, with black shorts and socks whilst Oxford City were in their usual blue and white hoops.

Match Report :

Peterborough Sports kicked off towards the Clubhouse End, sending the ball into touch for what would have been a 22-metre line-out in Rugby Union.

The early stages were quiet, with Hemmings and O’Shea Ellis showing nice touches for Oxford City whilst Sam McLintock was impressively spraying cross-field passes for Sports.

Miller hit the deck far too easily whilst running towards the home area and the referee waved away appeals for a free-kick and gave a goal-kick to Oxford City.

Oxford City won the first corner of the match in the 5^th minute after Sturridge had a shot blocked and the loose ball was scrambled to safety. Centre-back Aaron Harper-Bailey rose the highest but his header went a few feet wide, although the Sports defender on the back post had it covered.

It was then Clark’s turn to go down too easily following a challenge by Stewart after inter-changing passes with McEachran to run down the left-wing.

The first effort on goal arrived in the 14^th minute, but Josh Ashby’s lofted 20 yarder was a routine catch to his left for Sports keeper Peter Crook.

Oxford City then enjoyed a spell of possession without putting the visitors under any pressure, although a through pass from McEachran needed a timely interception from right-back Marcel Oakley to prevent Sturridge going clear.

In the 19^th minute Peterborough Sports looked threatening for the first time as Booth skipped past Byron Wilson on the left and his pass reached Dan Jarvis just inside the penalty area, but the midfielder was crowded out by the City defence. Sports recycled possession and McLintock threaded a ball between the Oxford City right-back and centre-back, but the marauding left-back Connor Wood saw his low ball cut-out. Wood was played in again but this time his cross was headed clear.

The influential Hemmings released Sturridge to the byline, but the cross was headed high in the air by Kamga, and Ashby fouled Stewart in his effort to get to the bouncing ball.

With 25 minutes played, McLintock tried his luck from long range but his shot bounced through to Oxford City keeper Max Metcalfe, who made a comfortable save.

A couple of flowing moves from the home side were ended by the linesman’s raised flag for offside, before Sports created the best chance of the game so far in the 30^th minute. A low 20-yard shot from Jones looked to be creeping into the keeper’s bottom left hand corner, but Metcalfe dived to push the ball away. Kaine Felix pounced onto the loose ball, but Metcalfe was able to recover and block his effort from a tight angle at the expense of a corner.

The game’s comedy moment came a couple of minutes later as Hemmings and McEachran combined to play in Wilson near to the Sports corner flag, but The Hoops full-back was bundled over. Thinking he had won a free-kick, Wilson put his hands on the ball, only for the referee to award the free-kick to the visitors for hand-ball !

Sturridge took a knock to his ankle and was unable to continue, so Oxford City were forced into making an early change, with Parker coming on as his replacement.

A piece of head tennis ensued around the Oxford City area until Wilson was fouled in the act of escorting the ball off the pitch for a goal-kick.

Peterborough Sports then had a spell of possession, passing the ball around nicely until Booth had a cross blocked by Wilson, shortly after which Miller fell to the floor in search of a free-kick on the edge of the Oxford City, with the referee again unimpressed.

Oxford City’s best chance to-date came on the stroke of half-time as after Kamga clearly poorly, Hemmings played an inviting ball into the danger zone for Clark to slide in, but the ball went just wide. The home side appealed for a corner but goal-kick was the decision.

The game was still goal-less at the interval, which seemed to be a fair reflection. Both sides had played some pretty football at times, but there had been little goal-mouth action. Oxford City had enjoyed more of the possession, but The Turbines had created the best chance of the game.

The half-time announcements and music over the tannoy were far too loud, making it virtually impossible to make a phone call. Clearly, the time to do this is during the football !

The Hoops make a strange substitution at the start of the second half, as substitute Parker was replaced by Taylor. The veteran Antiguan had been on the pitch for just over 10 minutes, but had apparently picked up an injury just before the half-time whistle.

Taylor was immediately in the action, running on to a ball down the right-hand channel and winning a corner. After the set-piece was cleared, keeper Crook dived bravely to save at the feet of Taylor after Harper-Bailey had headed the ball back into the 6-yard box.

Ten minutes into the second period Clark’s cross intended for Taylor was headed away by Jarvis. City reworked possession for McEachran to lift the ball over the square Sports backline to Ashby, but the volley was mis-hit and was put off for a corner before it could fall to Hemmings.

Ellis was shown a yellow card for a hefty challenge on Miller and five minutes later again brought down Miller. It could have been a second yellow for the Oxford City midfielder, but the referee kept his cards in his pocket, and instead just had a word with the on-loan Birmingham City player.

In between, Miller had teed up Jarvis, who could only weakly put the ball over the bar from the edge of the Oxford City 18-yard line. A minute later McEachran had a shot from just outside the Sports penalty area heading towards the far corner blocked, which came after a flowing move involving Humphries, McEachran, Taylor and McEachran again had needed a return pass to be put out for a corner by Stewart.

The game was now going end to end as both sides searched for the opening goal, and after McLintock crossed to beyond the far post, Miller won a corner off Wilson. The corner was drilled low towards the near post but was cleared, and when Sports regained possession, McLintock’s 20-yard attempt deflected high over the bar for another corner.

The set-piece was cleared and Sports carelessly gave away possession mid-way inside the Oxford City half. Ellis quickly played for Clark to run down the left-wing, and his cross was pin-point perfect to find Taylor, who had escaped behind his marker, to volley from 10 yards into the bottom corner. It was a glorious finish not really in keeping with what had gone before, but it was now 1-0 after 64 minutes.

Peterborough nearly had a sniff of a chance immediately after the restart as the under-pressure Carroll under-hit a back pass, but Metcalfe came out of his area to hoof off for a throw before Felix could take advantage.

Taylor seemed to be determined to make his mark on the game, flattening keeper Crook in an effort to reach a high cross from Wilson. McEachran then wastefully shot high over the bar from an acute angle when a cross looked to be the better option.

Taylor showed good control to lay off a hoof from Carroll to Clark, who swopped passed with McEachran, but then went down easily again and failed to fool the referee.

The visitors appeared to be running out of ideas on how to get back in to game, and cross from Booth was meat and drink for Metcalfe to catch.

The inter-play between Clark and Taylor continued to catch the eye and after Taylor had played in Clark inside the Sports area, he received the return pass after the midfielder had run into a dead end, and a low left-footed shot from the edge of the area went inches wide.

With 12 minutes remaining, Ellis passed to Taylor just inside the Peterborough area, and a clever back-heel gave Ellis the opportunity to run on to the ball, but good defending by Stewart ended the danger.

Oakley complained after not being awarded a free-kick and stopped playing. The Hoops quickly took the throw-in and launched the ball forward for Clark to run into the gap vacated by Oakley. McLintock, covering back, chopped down Clark near the corner flag to allow his side to regroup. Ashby’s free-kick was dropped by Crook but Sports partially cleared as far as Clark on the edge of the area, but his drive was blocked.

With 8 minutes remaining, Sports made a last roll of the dice with a triple substitution, although it didn’t appear to have any impact as Oxford City dominated the closing stages. City appealed for handball when Clark’s cross struck a Sports defender, but play continued.

As the game moved into added time, Taylor lobbed a ball forward from the half-way line. Crook came outside of his area to play the ball, but Bearne got their first and nicked the ball past the stranded keeper, and then squared from close to the byline across the goal-mouth. The only player in the Sports penalty area was Clark who tapped into the empty net. 2-0 with 92 minutes played.

With results elsewhere, the final whistle signalled relegation for Peterborough Sports, whilst Oxford City moved up to 19^th and extended their unbeaten run to 6 games. However, they are not safe yet, and have another relegation 6 pointer next Saturday at 21^st placed Alfreton Town.

Highlights :  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fItWdRMBEY

Oxford City : Metcalfe – Wilson, Carroll, Harper-Bailey, Humphries – Hemmings ( Bearne ), Ashby, Ellis, McEachran ( Scott ), Clark – Sturridge ( Parker, Taylor )

Peterborough Sports : Crook – Oakley, Stewart, Kamga, Wood ( Powell ) – Felix ( Cadogan ), McLintock ( Coulthirst ), Miller, Jarvis ( Whitehouse ), Booth – Jones ( Beresford )

 

 

 

 

Chinnor 42-12 Cambridge ( att : 1,673 ) - 2025/26 English Champ

April 3, 2026

After these diaries covered Chinnor’s 48-36 victory over Caldy two weeks ago, they followed that up with a hard fought 26-19 win at Nottingham in poor conditions, although on the balance of play Chinnor probably should have won by a greater margin. However, the win took Chinnor up to 5^th in the Champ table, and today they entertained winless Cambridge, looking for a 5-point victory to further consolidate their position in the play-offs.

In the meantime, Chinnor had announced plans to achieve planning permission for the installation of  a 5,000 capacity stand in readiness for the 2027/28 season.

 

Previous Meetings

With the exclusion of both Cambridge and Chinnor from last season’s Premiership Cup, the two sides agreed to play their own Cup competition, the Not The Prem Cup, with Chinnor emerging victorious in both matches, with a 33-24 win at home and a 33-31 success in the return in March to take the Trophy.

Chinnor also did the double over the Blood and Sand in their first season in the Rugby Championship, winning 57-24 on the opening day of the season at Cambridge, and 82-34 at home in the final game of the season.

However, Fatbear witnessed a 19-17 victory for Cambridge in March 2023, on their way to promotion to the Championship.

Prior to that, matches between these two sides at Kingsey Road had historically been extremely close. In the 5 previous encounters, Chinnor had won three and lost twice, with four of the games being decided by 4 points or fewer, with Chinnor’s 34-22 win in November 2019 being the outlier. These diaries also covered a 32-30 victory for Cambridge in November 2021, although a late converted try made the score look closer than it should have been.

Cambridge This Season

Cambridge finished bottom of the Championship last season with just three victories, and the club had a massive clear out of their squad, with over 20 players leaving, including Sam Hanks who was now with Chinnor.

However, the wholesale changes had led to even worse results, as Cambridge came to Kingsey Road today already relegated, with an 0-1-20 record. The only time they had avoided defeat was a 12-12 home draw with Doncaster Knights, and they had only achieved 4 losing bonus points, going down 32-36 and 17-21 to Nottingham, 28-29 at Bedford Blues, and 24-26 at home to Caldy. Six four try bonus points had also been registered.

Cambridge’s average home attendance so far this season was 1,206, with 1,438 seeing the Christmas fixture with Coventry. Last season their average was 1,364.

Cambridge Squad

Ex-Nottingham fly-half Jamie Annand was the leading points scorer with 39 points whilst ex-Loughborough University and former England Under 20 back-row forward Dan Eckersley had scored 5 tries.

Amongst their many new recruits were New Zealand centre Levi Reweti, hooker Dylan Irvine from Cornish Pirates, ex-Bristol and Ampthill Welsh back-row forward Arthur Thomas, ex-Ealing Trailfinders South African full-back Ben Currie, and Samoan prop Paul Masoe.

Centre Jasper Sorrell had played in the Championship for Ealing and Ampthill, hooker Jack Doorey-Palmer was ex-Harlequins and was one of their many loanees to London Scottish last season.

Irish lock Jacob McCay joined having played in Spain last year and prop Billy Walker joined from Nottingham, having previously played for Saracens, Ampthill, Bedford, Old Albanians and Bishop’s Stortford. Centre Epi Rokodrava joined from Ealing Trailfinders, having appeared 11 times for Chinnor on loan last season but was missing today.

Matchday Information

According to AA route planner, the journey from Cambridge to Thame is 79 miles and should normally take around an hour and fifty minutes.

Adult tickets purchased online were £16 and £20 at the gate and the £5 charge to sit in the stand appeared to have been waived for today. An online programme had been prepared in advance of today’s game.

There were dark clouds overhead at the unusual 17.00 kick-off time but the forecasted light rain fortunately stayed away during the game. There was a strong breeze, with gusts of up to 20 mph expected and the temperature was a chilly 11 degrees.

Cambridge announced five changes to their starting XV that lost to Bedford. Jake Ellwood, who made 9 appearances for Chinnor on loan from Ealing Trailfinders in 2018/19 was back at prop, Gareth Baker and Northampton loanee Jack Lawrence were the locks, South African Rhys Fulford came into the back row, and Ethan Thorne was on the wing, replacing Ksenia Izu who was on England Under 19 duty. Four of their squad today played at Chinnor last season, captain Ben Adams, winger Elias Cavan, Ellwood and Baker.

Chinnor made nine changes to their side that won at Nottingham, with only back-row forwards Scott Hall and Will Cave, lock Jamie Campbell, fly-half Nathan Chamberlain, centre Tom Watson and wing Grant Hughes retaining their places.

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

Match Report

Chinnor kicked off into the strong wind and in what was to become the pattern for the first-half, Cambridge would launch a high kick only for Chinnor to return in a similar manner. Most of the time Chinnor looked secure under the aerial bombardment whereas Cambridge often struggled to deal with the kicks in their direction.

At the kick-off Cambridge scrum-half Ollie Allen’s return kick was well caught by Chinnor full-back Joe Brock who made yards down the touchline, but after a ruck was formed when Brock was tackled, Chinnor scrum-half Callum Pascoe’s box kick was caught by Allen, and the return kick was claimed by Scott Hall. However, Chinnor were judged to be offside when Pascoe kicked again, and Annand kicked the visitors to within 15 metres of the Chinnor line.

The Cambridge throw went too long, and Chinnor hooker Alun Walker caught the ball and fed Pascoe, who made a half-break but was illegally halted. Chamberlain’s kick was taken in the wind and barely crossed the half-way line. Jamie Campbell won the line-out for Chinnor but when they went down the blind-side, Freddie Owsley was tackled into touch after gaining 15 metres.

Cambridge threw low to the front of the line-out for Rhys Fulford to catch, but a period of kick tennis followed, until Owsley again made yards down the touchline and passed to Pascoe, who entered the Cambridge 22, but the visitors won turnover ball only to kick poorly back to Owsley who made another strong run. Centre James Bourton made a further break only to be tackled just short of the tryline, but Will Cave was in support, caught the offload, and dived over under the post. Chamberlain added the extras to take the score to 7-0 with 7 minutes played.

The restart was caught in the wind and sailed dead to give Chinnor a scrum on the half-way line. Chinnor moved the ball wide from the scrum but Brock knocked on and Cambridge kicked high again, and this time gathered the loose bouncing ball, but kicked again, only for Chinnor to gather and clear to mid-way inside their half.  

For the second time in the match, Cambridge threw too long and Walker caught for Chinnor, who moved the ball wide to the left for Owsley to again cross the gain line and feed Brock, who was tackled. Cambridge won possession and kicked again, only for the ball to go into the in-goal zone where Chinnor winger Grant Hughes touched down for a goal-line drop-out.

Cambridge won a penalty at a ruck, which was kicked to 8 metres from the Chinnor try-line. Although Campbell stole the Cambridge throw, Chinnor knocked on to give Cambridge a scrum 5 metres from the try-line. Allan’s pass from the scrum was taken by centre Sorrell in what appeared to be a planned move, who forced his way over the line. Annand was successful from the tee to level the scores at 7-7 after 17 minutes.

Cambridge kicked back the restart to Owsley, who set off on a mazy run across the pitch without making much progress, and the Chinnor pack transgressed at a ruck close to half-way. However, the kicking from Cambridge again lacked accuracy and went dead, to give Chinnor a scrum near the half-way line.

Chinnor attempted to move along the backs but Brock’s attempted off-load in the tackle went into touch for line-out for Cambridge on their 10-metre line. The ball was knocked forward by Cambridge at their throw and Pascoe took the catch. Chinnor spread the ball with Owsley getting into the visitors’ 22 before being tackled into touch.

Cambridge won their line-out and after a bit of a fumble, the clearing kick touched a Chinnor hand attempting the charge-down and went off for a Cambridge line close to half-way. Allan kicked again from the line-out and Owsley called for the mark, and kicked to touch on the Chinnor 10 metre line.

The Cambridge throw went to the front of the line-out but the referee saw something he didn’t like and awarded a free-kick to Chinnor. The kick was sent into the heavens and swirled in the wind and Cambridge failed to deal with it. Cave gathered and charged through a gap but a tap tackle stopped the try. However, Cave was able to get to his feet and dived over the line close to the posts for his second try, and Chamberlain added the straight forward conversion. The score was now 14-7 after 26 minutes.

Cambridge had a scrum after a Chinnor hand pushed a line-out throw forward, from which Sorrell did excellently to catch a poor pass from Allen, and Chinnor were drawn into conceding another penalty, which Annand kicked to 5 metres. Baker claimed the line-out but the rolling maul was stopped short of the tryline. However, hooker Doorey-Palmer was able to burrow his way over the whitewash. Annand had to replace the ball back on to the tee after it was blown away in the wind, but he could only kick well wide. It was now 14-12 with 32 minutes played.  

Chinnor’s restart drifted with the wind straight out on the full, and Cambridge kicked from their scrum only for Chamberlain to make an outstanding catch as the ball appeared to be sailing away from him. Chinnor kicked the ball back, and yet again Allen failed to judge the wind correctly with another kick going dead to give Chinnor a scrum on the Cambridge 10 metre line.

The home side were awarded a penalty at the scrum which was kicked to 15 metres. Campbell won the lineout and the rolling maul rumbled towards the line only to be illegally stopped, and Chinnor kicked the penalty to 5 metres. The line-out was messy but Chinnor gathered and made several drives for the line which were repelled until another penalty was yielded.

Chinnor opted to take a tap penalty but were held up over the line to give a goal-line drop out to Cambridge. Hall took the catch and charged back into the Cambridge half but the maul was held up to give Cambridge a scrum, at which they won a penalty to take play to the Chinnor 10 metre line.

Campbell tapped the Cambridge throw back to Walker, who kicked the ball out of play to end the half. Chinnor held a 2 point lead at the interval, and with the elements in the favour would have expected to go on to win the match.

To illustrate the difference in the quality of the two sides’ kicking, shortly after the start of the second period, Pascoe’s kick with the wind stopped just short of the corner flag, forcing Currie to pick up and play, and substitute Joe Green’s attempted return pass went directly in to touch.

Chinnor had a line-out 8 metres from the line and after Hall made the catch, and the Cambridge defence was powerless to stop the rolling maul from marching over the line. Walker emerged with the ball and Chamberlain kicked the conversion. 21-12 after 42 minutes.

Quickly after the restart Chinnor won a penalty at a ruck on their 10-metre line, and an excellent kick took them back to 5 metres from the line. Dan Cooke won the line-out and for the second time in two minutes the Chinnor rolling maul rumbled over the line, and Walker had his second try. Chamberlain’s conversion struck the post and went over the bar. It was now 28-12 after 44 minutes.

Chinnor were now dominating and Walker was bundled into touch just inside the Cambridge 22. Cambridge kicked after winning their line-out and Chinnor were caught off-side after the ball was tapped back. Cambridge took play to the Chinnor 10 metre line but when they tried to move the ball along their backs, Chinnor forced a penalty at a ruck, which Chamberlain superbly kicked to 5 metres.

Willie Ryan won the line-out for Chinnor, but the Cambridge forwards won a turnover, and their backs attempted to move the ball from behind their own line but were forced back. The attempted clearing kick was partially charged down but Eckersley was able to pick up and together with Green, took play up to their 10-metre line and Cambridge were awarded a scrum.

The Cambridge scrum appeared to be in difficulty but replacement scrum-half Ruaridh Dawson was able to pick up and run, but then undid the good work with a dreadfully wild kick straight into touch.

Chinnor had a line-out on the Cambridge 10 metre line and with all the players in the line-out standing still, Walker threw the ball to Campbell ,who passed back to his scrum-half. To the bemusement of the Chinnor players and most of the crowd, the referee awarded a free-kick to Cambridge.

Cambridge took a tap but were halted on half-way, and Chinnor had the put-in at the scrum. However, Cambridge won another scrum penalty and were back inside the Chinnor half. Baker won their line-out ball and the Blood and Sand launched several attacks but the Chinnor defence was good, until a loose Cambridge pass bounced into touch.

Cooke won the line-out for Chinnor just outside their 22 and Pascoe kicked, but Currie made a good catch. Cambridge moved the ball across the field but without any penetration, and Chinnor won turnover ball and kicked again, where this time Tonga international Otumaka Mausia ( 12 caps ) took a good catch. However, Chinnor won a penalty at the ruck, and kicked to about 8 metres.

Hall won the line-out but the ball slipped out of his hands, so it was a scrum to Cambridge for a knock-on. For the second time in the match the Cambridge scrum looked under pressure but Dawson managed to make a clearing kick, but only as far as Owsley, who made a jinking run deep into the Cambridge 22.  The ball went loose and Cambridge were deemed to have knocked on to give Chinnor a scrum 10 yards out.

The scrum collapsed and Chinnor were awarded a penalty, for which they decided to scrum again rather than go for the corner. Bourton broke through a couple of tackles but was brought down short of the line. With the Cambridge defence scrambling to prepare for the anticipated forward drives, Pascoe looked up and sent a long pass to Owsley in oceans of space near the touchline, and the Chinnor winger sauntered over the line. Chamberlain added a great conversion from out wide with the wide, taking the score to 35-12 with 67 minutes on the clock.  

Cambridge now enjoyed their best spell of the game. Mausia made a good run after a Cambridge scrum but despite a fumble in midfield, Cambridge won the put in at the scrum just outside the Chinnor 22. Cambridge again tried to run, but Mausia was flattened by a robust tackle. Cambridge attempted multiple attacks but the Chinnor defence was good.

From another Cambridge scrum near the Chinnor 22, the visitors went down the blindside but Green was tackled into touch. Baker stole the Chinnor throw, and more waves of attacks were launched, and Chinnor eventually conceded a penalty. Cambridge decided to take a tap 5 metres out but the drive was held up over the line.

Cambridge ran the goal-line drop-out back into the Chinnor half but were pinged at a ruck, and Chinnor kicked into the Cambridge 22. After securing line-out ball Owsley chipped over the flat Cambridge defence but Dawson was first to the ball and touched down in goal to concede a 5-metre scrum for Chinnor.

Chinnor drove for the line and Ryan was stopped short, but substitute prop Ramaz Rukhadze picked up barged over for Chinnor’s 6^th try. Chamberlain maintained his 100% record from the tee so Chinnor extended their lead to 42-12 with 79 minutes played.

The final moments of the game were scrappy as Chinnor threw a loose pass in to touch, the Cambridge line-out wasn’t straight, then Chinnor won a scrum penalty. When Chinnor tried to go wide from the scrum, Currie attempted to make an interception but was unable to hold onto to the ball, and the referee blew for the knock-on and to end the game.

With the 5 point victory, Chinnor consolidated their place as 5^th in the table.

 

 

 

Chippenham 34-22 Trowbridge ( att : 350 est ) – 2025/26 South West Regional 2 Severn

March 28, 2026

Today saw Fatbear make his first visit of the season to Chippenham Rugby Club, which was also their last home game of the regular season. Today’s visitors were Trowbridge who ironically, were the opponents for the last game seen by Fatbear at Allington Fields, in March last year.

2025/26 Season

Trowbridge came into this game having clinched the division title last Saturday. A 68-24 home win over Witney coupled with Chippenham’s 17-19 defeat at Thornbury left Trowbridge 11 points clear of second placed Chippenham with only two rounds of fixtures remaining to be played.

Trowbridge had impressively won all but one of their 20 games played so far this season, with the only set-back being a 28-31 defeat at Longlevens in February.

Chippenham had a 16-1-3 record to be four points ahead of third placed Cleve, and were 100% at home. In addition to last week’s loss at Thornbury, their other defeats had been 26-27 at Trowbridge and 40-56 at Cleve. A 22-22 draw had been played at Old Centralians.

The RFU have introduced promotion and relegation play-off at all levels for this season although no-one seems to be too sure as to exactly how they will work. Fatbear’s understanding is that for this league it will be 2^nd vs 5^th and 3^rd vs 4^th in a one-off tie, with the two winners then playing for the right to play at either 9^th or 10^th place in the higher level Regional 1 South-West in a single match.

Based on the positions prior today, the play-off games would be Chippenham vs Newbury and Cleve vs Keynsham, although Old Cents, Thornbury and Longlevens could still sneak into 5^th place. The surviving side would then play at either Sidmouth or Chew Valley. It is thought this would based on the closest match geographically, so in this scenario that would be Chew Valley, who are based just outside of Bristol. Of course, the league placings could change between now and the end of the season, and the RFU could make some other decisions !

Previous Meetings

Games between these two local rivals are invariably close. As mentioned above the first meeting this season saw Trowbridge victorious by one point.

In the corresponding fixture last season, Chippenham were leading 27-16 with time 79 minutes on the clock, but then conceded three tries in the closing moments to give Trowbridge a get out of jail 35-27 win. Chippenham had won the reverse fixture 22-17.

This was the third time Fatbear had seen these two sides play, in September 2021 Trowbridge were again the victors with a 33-22 win.

Chippenham Squad Update

New recruits to the Chippenham squad for this season include full-back John Rumsey from Chobham, prop Leo Palmer from Old Sulians, lock Kieran Edgar from Trafford MV, and scrum-half Thomas Fogarty had returned to the club from Old Redcliffians. Number 8 Iestyn Asher was a current Dorset and Wiltshire Under 20 player.

Trowbridge Squad Update

Of the newcomers to the Trowbridge squad this season were ex-Clifton full-back Alex Kilbane, ex-Old Redcliffians number 8 Kacey Pike, and lock Olly Bilton was previously with Dings Crusaders.

Matchday Information

According to AA route planner, the journey from Trowbridge to Chippenham is 13 miles and should take 24 minutes.

The weather at the 15.00 kick-off was sunny with blue skies but a stiff breeze, and with temperatures at 9 degrees.

Admission was free as were the programmes. The clubhouse was packed on our arrival with 100+ diners enjoying pre-match hospitality, and quite a few may not have seen the match !

One new innovation since Fatbear’s previous visit was a stall with a local butcher selling burgers and chips outside the clubhouse and looked to be doing good business. Fatbear was tempted to sample but resisted !

 

Trowbridge made four changes to the side that won the league last weekend, selecting prop Jack Davies, lock Gareth Davies, flanker Rory Murchison and centre Sam Harrison, with Jaden Ephgrave, Max Day, Ben Mallett and Alex Murchison missing out. Seven of the side played in last season’s game at Chippenham.

Chippenham made three changes to the side that narrowly lost at Thornbury. Chris Cook replaced the injured John Rumsey at full-back and current Dorset and Wiltshire Under 20 Callum Angel was in at centre instead of the injured Archie Healey. Salah also was selected at number 8, Alex not Mo, and Jamie Webb was dropped to the 2nds. 10 of the matchday squad of 18 players were home-grown.

Trowbridge were playing in a kit of dark blue shirts with thin yellow and light blue hoops, and dark blue shorts. Chippenham were playing in their usual black and white hoops with red trimmings, with black shorts and black and white socks, which was a bit of a colour clash.

Match Report

Chippenham kicked off with the breeze, and Trowbridge cleared back for a line-out on their 10-metre line. Chippenham threw low to the front of the line-out, and centre Will Hendy made a break to the Trowbridge 22 but was stopped by a good tackle. Trowbridge won a penalty at the subsequent ruck and kicked to halfway.

Trowbridge won their line-out but Chippenham won turnover ball and lock Edgar made a break into the Trowbridge 22, and just when it looked like Chippenham must score, the ball was knocked on to give Trowbridge the put in to a scrum 5 metres from their line. A good shove by the Chippenham pack saw them awarded a scrum, but then Trowbridge were awarded a penalty at the next scrum.

Trowbridge won their line-out ball through lock Gareth Davis and number 8 Pike made a break to the Chippenham 10 metre line, but a box-kick from scrum-half Ali Lane sailed directly into touch.

Asher won the line-out for Chippenham on their 10-metre line but the referee deemed the throw to be not straight.

In the 8^th minute Kyle Oakley won a line-out for Trowbridge and Pike made another break up to the Chippenham 10 metre line but Chippenham force a turnover at the ruck, and had the put in at resulting scrum. Fly-half Jack Smith chipped ahead from the Chippenham scrum but Will Hendy was unable to gather cleanly and Trowbridge full-back Kilbane picked up and ran back to the Chippenham 10 metre line.

Smith knocked on from a Chippenham scrum to give Trowbridge a scrum, from which Pike picked up and ran to the Chippenham 22 until being stopped. Trowbridge fly-half Tom Weaver chipped to the far corner where Chippenham winger George Brooks made the catch but was bundled into touch. However, Chippenham had been caught offside, and despite the penalty being in front of the posts, Trowbridge kicked to have a 5-metre line-out.

The throw was to the front of the line-out for Davis to catch, and a short pass went to fellow lock Olly Bilton, who crashed through a weak tackle and over the line for the opening score of the game. The touchline conversion from Weaver was held-up in the wind, so the score was 0-5 with 14 minutes played.

Shortly after the restart, Smith went on a jinking run, only to eventually run into a dead-end. When Chippenham recycled possession, Smith made another break and fed Salah, and received a return pass, then moved the ball onto Hendy, who dropped the ball 5 metres from the tryline. However, a penalty advantage had been played, which Chippenham kicked to 5 metres.

Lock Ed Hendy won the line-out for Chippenham but the rolling maul was halted. Scrum-half Fogarty took the ball off his forwards and snipped through a gap to score. Cook missed with the conversion so it was 5-5 after 19 minutes.

Chippenham made another break in the middle of the park through Angell but the attempted pass to Salah went to ground. Salah was able to gather, but his pass intended for his winger went directly into touch for a scrum to Trowbridge.

Trowbridge attempted to run out of their 22 but centre Sam Harrison was flattened by a strong tackle from Chippenham back-row forward Louis Healy. Lane attempted a clearing kick but Asher was able to charge down, collect the bouncing ball, then side-stepped past a covering defender for a solo score. Cook’s conversion drifted wide leaving the score 10-5 after 22 minutes.

The Trowbridge restart didn’t go 10 metres but Chippenham caught the ball and ran back into the Trowbridge half but were pinged at the subsequent ruck, enabling Trowbridge to kick into the Chippenham 22. At this point a few drops of hail started to fall.

Trowbridge won their lineout and Pike stormed towards the Chippenham line but was stopped just short. However, another forward was in support and burrowed over close to the uprights. Weaver added the easy conversion to bring the score to 10-12 with 26 minutes on the clock.

Another Chippenham line-out was not straight and after a Trowbridge scrum, Weaver kicked into the Chippenham 22, but Brooks was back covering and the home side won a scrum inside their 22. Chippenham then won a penalty at a ruck, and kicked to just outside the Trowbridge 22. Asher won the line-out but the attempted chip ahead was overhit and the ball went dead for a 22 metre drop-out for Trowbridge and a good chase from the kick saw Chippenham wing Danny Sugg tackled into touch.

Trowbridge spread the ball from their lineout and ex-Chippenham winger Alex Christopher scorched down the touchline and into the Chippenham 22 but the referee brought play back, judging that the pass from Kilbane had been forward.

Smith and Angell combined in midfield for Chippenham but an offload was intercepted. The referee appeared to award a penalty to the home side only to reverse it after some back chat, and Trowbridge were able to take play up to the Chippenham 10 metre line. This time it was Trowbridge who were guilty of a not straight throw.

Smith sent a kick bouncing deep into the Trowbridge 22 with the ball stopping just by the corner flag. Kilbane was forced to play the ball and was clattered into for his troubles. Desperate defending by Trowbridge resulted in a penalty being awarded, and Chippenham took a quick tap and drove for the line. Several drives were defended, and when they tried to run Smith dropped the ball with Brooks in acres of space out wide.

Trowbridge had the scrum put-in but they were driven a few yards backwards following a good shove by the Chippenham pack, and Chippenham were awarded a penalty in front of the posts. Rather than take the points with half-time fast approaching, Chippenham opt to take a tap and drive for the line. Again, several drives failed to find a way through the Trowbridge defence before the backs finally were presented with the ball, and passes from Smith and Cook enable Sugg to score in the corner. The conversion from Cook was again missed and the half-time whistle blew to leave the score at 15-12 at the interval.

Not much happened at the beginning of the second period until a Chippenham kick bounced into touch inside the Trowbridge half. Kilbane took a quick throw to himself, and although the ball bounced awkwardly, the Trowbridge full-back was able to gather and ran past 4 would-be tacklers and Trowbridge forced a penalty just inside the Chippenham half. After the replacement Chippenham hooker kicked the ball away, the referee marched Chippenham back 10 metres, and the kick took Trowbridge to 10 metres from the line.

Bilton won the line-out and Chippenham infringed at the rolling maul. Trowbridge kicked to 5 metres. Oakley won the line-out and the Trowbridge pack rumbled over the line. It wasn’t clear who had scored, possibly hooker Rhys Redman, but the touchline conversion narrowly missed at the near post. Trowbridge now led 17-15 with 45 minutes played.

Chippenham lock Ed Hendy made a bullocking run but after being brought to the ground, Trowbridge won a penalty. A bit of kick-tennis ensued until Oakley ran back up to the Chippenham 22 but the scrum was awarded to Chippenham.

Trowbridge were awarded a free-kick at the scrum and took a quick tap but the home side were given a penalty at the following ruck. Will Hendy made a break and Smith sent a bouncing kick into touch midway inside the Trowbridge half. However, the referee took play back for a penalty to Chippenham, which was kicked to virtually the same distance from the Trowbridge line, but on the other side of the pitch, and now with the line-out throw to Chippenham.

However, the line-out was messy and the tap from Healy went forward. Trowbridge cleared their lines and Sugg caught the high ball, but then dropped it as he started running. Trowbridge won a penalty at the scrum for the knock-on and they were back inside the Chippenham 22.

Chippenham stole the line-out and Smith made a break from inside his own 22, and Suggs redeemed himself by taking the pass and fending off Christopher to cross in the corner, and then ran around to touchdown under the posts for his second try of the day. Cross added the extras so Chippenham now led 22-17 after 53 minutes.

Trowbridge looked to hit back and Weaver chipped ahead deep into the Chippenham 22 but Hendy was covering and Fogarty was able make a clearing kick. Weaver was able to keep the ball in play and Trowbridge looked to run the ball. The referee awarded a scrum to the visitors on the Chippenham 22, at which they went down the narrow side. Lane fed Kilbane, who released Christopher to run for the corner but the wing was tackled just short of the line. However, Trowbridge were awarded a penalty, and so had a 5-metre line-out.

The Trowbridge throw was long but flanker Rory Murchison was able to catch and the Trowbridge forwards drove for the try. It appeared that the ball had been dropped over the tryline and the 5-metre scrum went to Chippenham. Salah picked up at the base of the scrum and went off on a run, and Hendy then made a length of the field break only to tackled a couple of yards short of the line.

Chippenham were awarded a penalty, and a quick tap from Fogarty saw the scrum-half force his way past Christopher and Pike to score. Cross made an excellent conversion from close to the touchline, as Chippenham extended their lead to 29-17 with 62 minutes played.

Chippenham were now full of confidence and moved the ball wide from the restart and won a penalty, which was kicked up to the Trowbridge 10 metre line. Chippenham ran from the line-out and won a penalty for a high tackle which took them to 5 metres. The line-out was secured through Asher, and substitute prop Jordan Brew scored from the rolling maul. The conversion drifted wide, with the score 34-17 after 68 minutes.

Play after the restart was messy, with a Chippenham dambuster pass, then a poor tap-back at a Chippenham line-out was bounced upon by a Trowbridge forward but the visitors squandered a promising position with a knock-on.

Salah won a Trowbridge line-out on the Chippenham 10 metre line and Smith’s kick bounced into touch outside the Trowbridge 22. Bilton won the line-out for Trowbridge and the ball was kicked back into the Chippenham half for Will Hendy to make an impressive break through the centre of the Trowbridge defence, only to be brought down by a tap tackle. Smith kicked a grubber for his backs to chase, but they were offside and Trowbridge had a penalty, which took them back to mid-way inside the Chippenham half.

The Trowbridge throw went long, and Chippenham fly-hacked the ball in to touch inside the Trowbridge 22. Play at a Trowbridge throw was again scrappy, and a scrum was awarded to the visitors. Kilbane set off on a run into the Chippenham half but Will Hendy made a great tackle. Trowbridge were awarded a penalty at the ruck, and a punch-up involving most of the players on both sides started. When everything had calmed down, Chippenham’s Cook was shown a yellow card with a couple of minutes of play remaining.

Trowbridge had a line-out inside the Chinnor 22, and an attacking move featuring Oakley, Harrison and Redman ended with an offload by Christopher going forward. However, the referee had been playing an advantage. More pressure yielded another penalty, and Trowbridge were now 5 metres from the line. The line-out was won and the rolling maul made its way over the whitewash, and Redman emerged with the ball. Weaver missed with the conversion and the game ended with the final score 34-22.

Trowbridge fell to their second defeat of the season whilst Chippenham maintained their 100% home record. The projected play-offs remained unchanged after today’s results, although Old Cents, Thornbury and Longlevens were now out of the equation. Also, Fatbear had finally seen Chippenham beat Trowbridge !