December 28, 2024
Unusually for Chinnor they had a fixture between Christmas and New Year as they headed to Richmond to play London Scottish. They started the day in 7th place in the table, but this was pending the result of the appeal by Doncaster on the award of the match abandoned due to the floodlight failure during Storm Darragh. London Scottish were 11th, with just Caldy below them.
London Scottish
London Scottish were founded in 1878 and are tenants at Richmond’s Athletic Ground. I had twice seen Richmond play there but never London Scottish. As their name indicates, the club was formed to cater for Scots exiled in London and the South-East, on a similar basis to London Welsh and London Irish. The club went open in 1996 and now the number of Scottish players in their first XV squad are a very small minority.
The Exiles are one of the famous names from the amateur era and in 1974 they played in the John Player Cup Final, losing 6-26 to Coventry.
In the professional era Scottish played just one season in the Premiership, in 1998/99, when although they finished 10th out of 12, they went into administration at the end of the season, and their amateur club restarted at level 10 in the pyramid.
London Scottish achieved 8 promotions in 12 season to enter the Championship for the 2011/12 season, where they have played every season since, apart from 2020/21 when they declined to play due to the Covid pandemic but were allowed to retain their place in the Championship for the following year.
London Scottish’s best finish in the Championship was 3rd place in 2014/15.
London Scottish have struggled in recent seasons. In 2019/20 they were 11th, ahead of only Yorkshire Carnegie when season was stopped due to Covid. On 2021/22 they came 11th and last, with just one victory, but there was no relegation that season.
In 2022/23 Scottish controversially brought in virtually an entire side of Harlequins players to win their last three games of the season to avoid relegation after having won just one of their previous 19 games, and landlords Richmond were relegated instead. Ever since they have been dubbed McQuins, and have continued to be reliant on large number of Quins players in order to be competitive.
Last season the Exiles finished 9th out of 11, above Caldy and Cambridge, with an average attendance 732.
London Scottish This Season
The Exiles results this season have been variable, often depending on the number of Harlequins players they have been able to select.
They started the season with a predictable 19-45 hammering at home to highly fancied Coventry but then produced a highly respectable performance at Hartpury University, losing by one point in a 33-34 defeat.
Against most people’s expectations, Scottish then overturned Cornish Pirates 26-15 at the RAG and then produced an even more remarkable upset with a 12-0 win at Doncaster Knights.
However, the season has been downhill since these high points, with their last five matches all being defeats, going down 14-48 at home to Nottingham and a 28-63 thrashing at Ealing Trailfinders, before narrow losses at home to Ampthill ( 14-15 ) and to a last minute penalty at home to Bedford Blues ( 20-22 ). Last time out they gave Caldy their first victory of the season, going down 10-20 on the Wirral.
The Exiles average attendance so far this season was 816, with 991 turning up to see Cornish Pirates, but only 569 for the game against Ampthill. No attendance figure was published for the game against Bedford.
The Exiles record so far in the Premiership Cup was undistinguished, losing all three matches played so far, going down 22-35 at home to Harlequins, 27-99 at Saracens and 5-36 at Ealing.
London Scottish Squad
The Exiles matchday squad for today’s match included nine Harlequins in the starting XV, with another three on the bench.
Wing Noah Ferdinand was the leading try scorer with 3 tries whilst fly-half Alexander Lloyd-Seed had scored 24 points. Both are bona-fide London Scottish players.
The Exiles’ coach was former Scotland scrum-half Bryan Redpath who won 60 caps.
Previous Meetings
Chinnor and London Scottish have met before, in National 3 South in 2008/09. Chinnor were hammered 3-45 in Richmond but gallantly battled to a 29-59 loss in the final game of the season, and in doing so became the only side to take a four try bonus point off the Exiles. However, London Scottish were unbeaten champions whilst Chinnor were relegated after just one season at that level.
The two sides also played a friendly prior to the start of the 2019/20 season when the Exiles edged home 17-5 against National League One opposition.
Matchday Information
The journey from Thame to Richmond is around 50 miles and should normally take just over an hour. However, there was traffic everywhere today on the M40, M25 and A316 ( and in both directions ! ) so the journey took nearly two hours. With an arrival just 10 minutes before kick-off there was no opportunity to check out the beers available !
The weather at the 15.00 kick-off was dry and cloudy, with a temperature of 7 degrees.
Tickets for the match for non-members were an eye-watering £25 for a seat or £20 to stand in the “Tartan Terrace”, to watch what is effectively an Harlequins A team. For students it was £10 and £5 for Under 16s. VIP Hospitality was £40 although a ticket for the game was extra. Once inside the ground there was no-one checking tickets for the seats so next time buy the terrace ticket and then sit down !!
A quick survey of other Championship ticket prices over the next few weeks showed London Scottish to have the most expensive seats for non-members to watch Championship rugby. Whilst Cornish Pirates had premium seats costing £28, it was possible to get a seat at The Mennaye for £21. Similarly, the most expensive seats at Ealing Trailfinders were £25, but other seats were available for £20.
The programme for the match was free online and was a decent effort. Personally though, I find the links to drill down to the detailed articles a minor pain !
Parking at the RAG was free, although confusingly there are signs stating that permits needed to be displayed otherwise a £100 fine would be imposed. However, from previous experience this doesn’t apply on matchdays and was only applied for parking on the site during the week, and I had to reassure two uncertain parkers today.
Chinnor announced on social media they had two changes to their side that started against Bedford Blues, with the injured Willie Ryan being replaced by George Stokes in the back row, and Tim Hoyt swopping with Rob Hardwick at tight-head prop. However, on the day, Hardwick was back in the side with Hoyt not even on the bench, whilst hooker and captain Alun Walker was missing and replaced by Will Cave, and Ryan Crowley had replaced Joe Browning on the wing. Chinnor’s resources were such that retired hooker Mark Darlington, now a coach, was on the bench.
Chinnor were in their change kit of yellow shirts with black shorts and socks, whilst Scottish were in a traditional dark blue shirt, with white shorts and red socks.
Match Report
The pitch looked in good condition despite the recent poor weather and the floodlights were already on. With a Bagpiper playing before the start, it could only be London Scottish !
Scottish kicked off and Chinnor fly-half Slevin returned with a kick to the Scottish 10 metre line. Scottish showed an enterprising intent by taking a quick throw, but it came to nothing.
When Scottish kicked away possession Chinnor fullback Feeney kicked into the Exiles 22, but the ball was kept in play 5 metres from the Scottish line and when the ball was kicked back to Feeney he produced a superb 50:20 kick to give Chinnor the line-out just inside the Scottish 22.
In what was to become a regular occurrence, London Scottish won the Chinnor throw and kicked to their 10 metre line, where again they won the lineout. Prop Tom Osborne received an inside pass and showed surprising speed to break through the Chinnor defensive line and then kicked ahead. Feeney was covering and Chinnor won a penalty at the subsequent ruck for not rolling away.
Chinnor failed to find touch and Scottish full-back Cameron Anderson, who I think was the only Scot in their XV, made a break, and when this was stopped, fly-half Tom Wilstead progressed to the Chinnor 22 but again Chinnor won the penalty at the ruck.
For the third time in a row Scottish won the Chinnor lineout throw and Wilstead chipped ahead for a lineout inside the Chinnor 22. This time Chinnor won their ball and number 8 Izzy Wharton made a break from which Feeney looked for another 50:20 to give the visitors a lineout close to the Scottish line, but Noah Ferdinand did very well to keep the ball in play, and Scottish were able to clear their lines.
Will Trenholm won the Chinnor line-out for Scottish and scrum half Johnny Law launched the ball high into the sky, but Kieran Goss caught and then kicked into the Scottish half, where the Exiles were pinged at the breakdown. Chinnor had the input at the scrum and won a penalty, and opted to go for the posts, Slevin was successful with his kick from the Scottish 10 metre line to make the score 0-3 after 12 minutes.
Scottish won turnover ball from the restart and with a penalty advantage they went wide but Ferdinand was stopped. They decide to open their account and from in front of the posts on the Chinnor 22, Wilstead slotted the ball between the uprights to take the score to 3-3 after 14 minutes.
The game then became attritional. After another Scottish lineout win, Law again kicked high for Goss to knock-on. From the scrum, Law’s kick hit Chinnor hooker Cave, but Scottish were able to gather after some untidy play. Law again kicked, Feeney made the catch and passed inside for Slevin, whose kick to the Scottish 22 was poor, giving them the chance to run it back, but again the Exiles infringed at the ruck and a penalty was awarded to Chinnor. The touch-judge had other ideas though and advised the referee that there had been a high tackle, so the penalty was reversed and Chinnor centre Grant Hughes was shown the yellow card.
Scottish kicked to the Chinnor 22 but their line-out was deemed to be not straight, and Chinnor were awarded a free-kick at the scrum. Scottish claimed the high kick and returned in a similar vein, and won a penalty when Chinnor lock Scott Hall pushed a Scottish forward off the ball. The attempt to kick to 5 metres was kept in play Feeney, who kicked back into the Scottish half.
Predictably Scottish won their line-out but after several drives prop Will Hobson knocked on. Chinnor’s scrum was secure but when Slevin sent the ball into orbit, Goss interfered with Anderson as he jumped for the catch to give a penalty to Scottish.
The Exiles threw long at the line-out for Carr to catch and Waghorn made a break in midfield and found Wilstead, but the fly-half’s attempt to find Ferdinand in space on the wing was a Dam Buster pastsand went forward to squander a glorious opportunity.
From the Chinnor scrum, Feeney uncharacteristically kicked straight out to give Scottish the lineout just outside the Chinnor 22 and unsurprisingly they won their ball. Bryn Bradley was set-up to go on a crash ball run and when Scottish reworked possession Roma Zheng appeared on his opposite wing to run deep into the Chinnor 22. Although he was stopped short of the line, the Scottish forwards made several drives towards the whitewash, but eventually a pass was popped up for Zheng to dive over in the corner. The touchline conversion from Wilstead drifted wide but it was now 8-3 with 30 minutes played.
Scottish claimed the restart and Law launched another high kick for Feeney to claim, and yet again Exiles were penalised at the ruck, enabling Chinnor to take play back to half-way.
In the 33rd minute Scottish won another Chinnor throw-in albeit untidily, for Law to send the ball into the heavens again but Scottish knocked on to give Chinnor a scrum on their 10-metre line. Steam was now visible from the forwards in the scrum, and Scottish forced a penalty.
They secured possession from the ensuing line-out and hooker Austin Wallis made a dash for the try-line but was stopped short, and in another case of déjà vu Scottish infringed at the ruck enabling Chinnor to clear to their 10-metre line.
Amazingly Chinnor won a lineout, throwing long for Hall to catch. When Scottish returned Chinnor’s kick into their 22, Feeney sent a bouncing kick into touch inside the Scottish 22, helped by Zheng slipping as he attempted to make the catch. Chinnor won a second lineout in a row but were adjudged to have obstructed at their rolling maul, and Scottish took play back to their 10-metre line.
The Exiles won their lineout, but the tap was untidy, forcing Law to kick again for Goss to catch, who passed inside for Pascoe to kick towards the Scottish 22. Law made the catch outside his 22 but passed to Anderson who kicked the ball into touch. Unfortunately for Scottish the ball had been taken back inside their 22 so Chinnor had the lineout from where the ball was kicked.
Play was now in first half added time so it was a great opportunity for Chinnor to level the scores before half-time, but the line-out was knocked on and the referee blew for half-time.
London Scottish had been the better side in the first half, dominating the lineouts but had failed to take advantage by ill-discipline at the rucks and choosing to kick away possession despite their backs looking lively. For Chinnor, Feeney’s kicking had help to keep Scottish at a distance. Free Tulloch bars were distributed to the crowd as the game restarted !
Scottish knocked on straight from the restart for the second half, enabling Chinnor to kick into their 22. The lineout was won, and Wharton made some yards, but the forwards knocked on to give Scottish a scrum about 10 metres from their tryline. Scottish were awarded a free kick at the scrum and kicked to their 10 metre line.
Chinnor won another lineout and engaged in a number of drives in midfield, but the ball was dropped and Scottish fly hacked deep into the Chinnor 22. It looked like Ferdinand would win the foot race to score, but Hughes came from nowhere to dive on the ball just before it crossed the line and as he slid into the in goal area, he was to force him to ground the ball to give Scottish the 5 metre scrum.
The Scottish forwards drove for the line but when Trenholm was stopped inches short he was able to offload to Zheng, who dived over in the corner for a similar try to his first one. Wilstead again dragged his touchline conversion wide, but it was now 13-3 after 47 minutes.
Law continued to kick to keep Chinnor in their half and after a knock-on by Chinnor, Scottish had a 3 on 1 overlap, but the long-floated pass was intercepted by Goss who had a clear run to score. Unfortunately for the visitors, the referee took play back for the scrum for the knock-on.
Unexpectedly, The Exiles ran the ball from the scrum but were met by good defence in the Chinnor midfield but they won a penalty at the ruck. Scottish opted to take the points and Wilstead slotted the ball through the posts to make it 16-3 with 53 minutes on the clock.
After another Scottish kick to the Chinnor 22, Feeney weaved his way through several would be tacklers to get to the halfway line, but his attempted chip ahead hit a Scottish player, and the Exiles were able to gather the ball and kicked high again, only for Feeney to be taken out in the air for a penalty to Chinnor.
Chinnor kicked to the Scottish 22, won the lineout and had a number of drives for the line but were held up. The referee awarded a penalty to Chinnor and from the tap a smart reverse pass saw Wharton crash over the line close to posts for Chinnor’s first try. Amazingly Nick Smith missed the simple kick, so the score stayed 16-8 with 59 minutes now played.
Scottish were soon back on the attack, and it looked like a dive for the line might have been successful as the Chinnor defenders dithered, but the referee awarded a goal-line dropout to Chinnor. Scottish gathered the kick and attacked towards the Chinnor 22 but with an overlap on the left, Law’s pass evaded Ferdinand and went straight into touch.
Chinnor won their lineout ball but knocked on when they tried to break out of their 22. Scottish again ran from their scrum and from Waghorn’s grubber kick it looked like Scottish should score but Hughes again managed to get to the ball first, and Chinnor were able to clear to their 22.
The relief was short-lived as Scottish won their lineout and won a penalty to kick to the 5-metre line. The line-out was won and the rolling maul rumbled over, with substitute George Head credited with the try. Wilstead’s conversion was good to make the score 23-8 after 67 minutes.
Scottish were rampant now and after a penalty from the restart for taking a player out in the air, they were back into the Chinnor half, and a penalty at a ruck for being off his feet, gave Wilstead another kick which took the score to 26-8 with 72 minutes played.
Out of the blue, replacement scrum-half Luke Carter made a break and scuttled under the post for an unexpected try for Chinnor, and Smith didn’t miss this time from the tee. 26-15 with 75 minutes on the clock
Chinnor now had a sniff at a losing bonus point, but Scottish were after the four try bonus point, and from another kick ahead towards the tryline, Crowley did well to gather and win a penalty. Chinnor failed to find touch from the penalty and Scottish kicked back and pegged Chinnor back inside their 22. Eventually Hall was able to make some yards and fed Goss who ran to half-way only to be illegally stopped by substitute Johnny Green, who was shown a yellow card for his efforts.
Chinnor had the extra man for last couple of minutes and kicked the penalty to just inside the Scottish 22. However, the line-out throw wasn’t straight to seemingly end Chinnor hopes of snatching a bonus point.
Scottish won their scrum and rather than kicking the ball off to end the game, in an effort to score their fourth try they tried to run, but after failing to get out of their 22 they decided enough was enough and kicked to touch to win 26-15.
Frankly, Scottish deserved their victory as they dominated the lineouts and deprived Chinnor of possession for large chunks of the game. They would probably be a little disappointed though by only taking 4 points from the game.
For Chinnor, the exertions in achieving victories over Doncaster and Bedford looked to have taking its toll and they now have a few weeks rest before facing the challenge of league leaders Ealing Trailfinders !
