November 14, 2025
Tonight saw Chinnor’s third home match of the season and the first under Friday Night Lights with the visit of London Scottish. Two weeks ago, these diaries covered Chinnor’s hard fought 17-10 home win over Ampthill, then last week they recorded arguably their best ever result in their history with a tight 23-21 victory at full-time professional Doncaster Knights.
Chinnor had lost every match they had played against The Exiles so they would be hoping to break their duck tonight. Last season London Scottish were victorious 26-15 at the Richmond Athletic Ground in a meeting between these two sides during the Christmas holidays, when the Scottish squad that day included twelve Harlequins players. Scottish also won the return at Chinnor in May, holding on win 24-19 with seven Harlequins in their team.
London Scottish Update
London Scottish came in to today’s fixture second from bottom in the table with one win and five losses from their 6 matches. The victory was achieved at Cambridge by a comfortable margin of 38-15.
Their season started with a 10-26 loss at Caldy after leading 10-7 at the interval, but were well beaten at home to Nottingham ( 7-26 ) and Cornish Pirates ( 10-38 ), and then at Worcester Warriors ( 19-52 ).
Last time out they fell to a 7-26 at home to Bedford Blues after being level at 7-7 at half-time. Indeed, there had appeared to be a pattern of Scottish being competitive in the first half before falling away in the second half.
As Harlequins have been playing in the Premiership Cup during the Autum Internationals, no Quins were made available for The Exiles last two matches, which was unusual, as last season a small number still lined up for Scottish when Quins were engaged in Premiership Cup matches. Consequently, all the players taking to the field were bona-fide London Scottish players.
Average home league attendances for London Scottish were 896, with the highest being the 962 who saw the game against Bedford.
The highest points scorer for London Scottish this season was ex-Bury St Edmunds, Plymouth Albion, Redruth and Rams fly-half Fraser Honey with 17 points, whilst ex-Henley and Wallingford wing Murray Bellis had scored three tries.
Matchday Information
According to AA route planner, the journey from Richmond to Thame is 50 miles and should normally take around an hour.
There had been heavy rain over night and throughout the day but Storm Claudia relented close to the 19.45 kick-off, and the temperature was 12 degrees. The infamous Chinnor breeze was absent.
Adult tickets purchased online were £16. For over £65s it was £14 but an extra £5 was being charged to sit in the new covered stand behind the goal at the ring-road end. Prices at the gate were £20 for adults.
An online programme had been produced in advance of today’s game.
With the member’s 10% discount, a pint of Brooklyn IPA was £5.38
London Scottish made two changes to the XV that started against Bedford, with Matt Wilkinson coming into the back row and Dan Nutton at scrum half. For the third week running there were no Harlequins players involved, although ex-Chinnor prop Ben Wilkinson, brother of Matt, had been brought in as injury cover, and was currently playing for Oxford Harlequins !
Chinnor made eight changes to the side that won in Doncaster, most notably with the return of South African winger Kieran Goss for his 200th appearance for Chinnor. Full-back Joe Brock, signed from Leicester Lions in the summer, was making his debut.
London Scottish were in a change kit of red shorts with blue shorts and red socks, whilst Chinnor were in their usual black and white hoops
Match Report
Brock made a nervy start, dropping a high ball after Scottish kicked back the Chinnor kick-off, to give the visitors a scrum.
Scottish started strongly, although a penalty aimed for the corner failed to find touch, and Chinnor cleared for a lineout inside their 22.
Ex-London Irish, Wasps and Northampton lock Luka Vukasinovic was winning the early line-outs for The Exiles and when Chinnor strayed offside at a ruck, Scottish opted to take the points. Fly-half Tom Wilstead stepped up to stroke his kick through the posts. 0-3 after 6 minutes.
Brock’s unimpressive start continued as he dropped a pass from Goss after the winger had fielded a high kick.
In the 9th minute, Scottish scrum-half Nutton sent a bouncing kick in to touch inside the Chinnor 22. From the line-out Wilstead kicked high, and although Brock made the catch, the ball appeared to go forward in the tackle, although the scrum was awarded to Chinnor.
Rafferty picked up at the base of the scrum and made yards, and as Chinnor drove forward, Scottish were penalised, and Worboys kicked Chinnor to just outside the Scottish 22.
Chinnor won the lineout and released the ball to their backs, with wing Grant Hughes breaching the gain line, and after being tackled, Chinnor reworked possession and won a penalty, which was kicked to 5 metres. Chinnor’s rolling maul was stopped short of the line but they drove several times for the try. Eventually they crashed over, with possibly prop Ramiz Rukhadze being the one to touch down. Worboys added the extras as Chinnor took a 7-3 lead with 15 minutes played.
Scottish won a penalty shortly after the restart on the Chinnor 10 metre line and again chose to go for the posts rather than the corner flag, but this time Wilstead’s attempt drifted wide of the uprights.
Chinnor scrum-half Luke Carter kicked out on the full but Chinnor won a free-kick at the subsequent scrum. The ball was sent into orbit and was knocked on twice, and Scottish had the put in at the scrum.
Scottish were starting to apply some pressure. Carter knocked on at a ruck, and Scottish attacked from the scrum, but a long pass went straight into touch. After Chinnor won the lineout and Goss ran down the touchline, prop Rob Hardwick dropped the inside pass. Scottish kicked long but Hughes was covering back and called for the mark, but his kicked didn’t go very far.
Scottish attacked but again a pass went astray and into touch, but they were playing with a penalty advantage, which this time, they kicked to 5 metres. The rolling maul slowly went forward until illegally stopped, and Scottish had another 5-metre lineout. Chinnor stole the lineout, and although Carter’s attempted clearing kick was charged down, the ball fell kindly for Chinnor to keep possession, and they eventually cleared.
Scottish won their line-out and inched forward, until Wilstead attempted an ambitious cross-field kick which was too high for wing Noah Ferdinand and went dead to give Chinnor a line-out on their 22. After hooker Alun Walker made a break, Chinnor tried to play wide but the impressive pressing from Scottish forced them into blind alleys then backwards. Being forced to kick, Scottish knocked on, and after Chinnor regained possession, a kick bounced into touch 10 metres from the Scottish line despite the valiant efforts of Ferdinand to keep it in play. Geordie Irvine won the lineout for Chinnor but Carter knocked on. From the scrum, Nutton sent a good clearing kick to half-way.
Irvine again won the lineout, and Chinnor broke through the centre of the Scottish defence, but again they kicked, and Scottish claimed, and cleared.
Chinnor again won their lineout ball, and at the following ruck, a London Scottish forward was clearly offside as he took out Rukhadze for an obvious penalty, and Worboys kicked to 10 metres from the Scottish line. Lock Jamie Campbell won the lineout and the Chinnor pack rumbled over the line, with Walker getting the credit for the try. Worboy’s conversion went wide but Chinnor led 12-3 as the half-time whistle blew.
The first half was very even but Chinnor’s late score gave them a slightly flattering lead.
London Scottish substitute full-back Jack Leslie made an eye-catching introduction, breaking through several flimsy tackles, and when Wilstead went aerial, Ferdinand beat Brock in the air, but with a penalty advantage the Scottish attack came to nothing. With a kick in a central position around 25 yards from the posts, Scottish opted to take the points and Wilstead duly obliged. 12-6 after 42 minutes.
Chinnor quickly hit back and were awarded a scrum penalty after a scrum wheeled, and Worboys kicked them back to 5 metres from the Scottish line. Chinnor’s rolling maul was heading for the line but when they were halted, the referee awarded a penalty try and showed a yellow card to Wilkinson. It was now 19-6 with 47 minutes.
With a man advantage, it looked like Chinnor would run away with the game, and Carter sent a great kick into the Scottish 22, but Leslie was back to gather and skipped past Brock’s attempted tackle, but unfortunately for him sliced his kick into touch for a Chinnor lineout midway inside the Scottish half.
Chinnor took a short throw to the front of the lineout and Walker made progress into the Scottish 22, but The Exiles forced a turnover and cleared.
The Scottish defensive was working overtime and they won the put in at a scrum after Carter knocked on at a ruck. Scottish cleared their lines with a kick into Chinnor’s 22 which Goss attempted to play with his feet. The referee awarded a penalty to Scottish on the Chinnor 22, although I had no idea why ! The penalty was kicked to 5 metres and the Scottish rolling maul was illegally stopped, and for the second time in the match the referee awarded a penalty try, and showed a yellow card, this time to Walker. It was now 19-13 with 55 minutes played and it was game on !
Wilstead tried another cross-field kick which Goss fielded with a superb catch and then offloaded to Carter, who kicked. When Scottish returned the kick, Worboys sent a bouncing kick deep into the Scottish 22.
The tap from Scottish was messy, but they gathered and cleared. Chinnor won their lineout and pressed close to the tryline, but just when it looked like they must score, they lost possession and Scottish were able to clear into the Chinnor half, and when The Exiles secured the ball, Nutton sent a kick bouncing into touch inside the Chinnor 22. Again, the referee made a strange decision after consulting with his assistant, taking play back for a penalty to Scottish on halfway rather than a lineout inside the Chinnor 22. It didn’t matter though as Wilstead kicked to within 10 metres.
Scottish won their lineout and drove for the line. Despite Ferdinand being in acres of space out wide, the Scottish forwards ignored him as they continued to drive for the Chinnor line, and after the umpteen attempts, flanker Jack Ingall crossed the whitewash close to the posts, and Wilstead added the extras. Scottish now led 19-20 with 67 minutes on the clock.
Play became scrappy as both sides adopted the aerial bombardment approach, but the Scottish back three seemed to handle it better than their Chinnor counterparts. Scrums now seemed to take an age with resets, injuries and perhaps some fuzzy refereeing. Chinnor’s frustrations led to a free-kick after an early engagement at a scrum.
Nutton sent a grubber kick deep into the Chinnor 22 but Brock did well to gather, make some yards then find Carter, who cleared to midway inside the Chinnor half. At this stage it felt like Scottish were in control and edging towards victory as Chinnor persisted with kicking away their possession.
To huge cheers, Chinnor won a Scottish lineout, and substitute scrum-half Callum Pascoe kicked into the Scottish 22 where the catch was made but poorly kicked to touch.
Chinnor centre Tom Watson made a good break into the Scottish 22 but the visitors won a turnover at the ruck and cleared, but Chinnor had been playing with a penalty advantage.
The penalty was on the Scottish 10 metre line, and it was Chinnor’s turn to point to the posts, and Worboys impressively sent his kick through the uprights to give Chinnor the lead. It was now 22-20 with 78 minutes on the clock.
The referee though indicated there were 8 minutes still to be played. Chinnor were looking to keep play in the Scottish half, and a good shove at a scrum gave them a penalty, which they took quickly, and Hughes went on a mazy run into the Scottish 22. However, the referee again took play back for an earlier offence, probably offside when the quick tap was taken, and Chinnor had a penalty on the Scottish 10 metre line.
Rather than take another three points, needing another try for the bonus point, Worboys attempted to kick to the corner but failed to find touch, and Scottish attempted to run out of their 22. However, the Chinnor tackling was good, forcing them to kick, and Goss made the catch. From the ruck, Pascoe kicked to take play back to the Scottish 22, although after the mark, it was back to a lineout on halfway.
At this point the tension from the Chinnor supporters was audible, but Chinnor threw long and Scott Hall made the catch and charged forward. After several drives around the Scottish 22, Chinnor spread play but again Scottish won a turnover and kicked high to clear. Scottish regained possession and kicked high again, but knocked on in their efforts to win the ball.
Chinnor were able to take play back into the Scottish 22, and Campbell won the lineout for Chinnor. They released the ball to their backs rather than sticking it up the jumper, and were pinged for not releasing in the tackle.
Scottish were able to clear to their 10-metre line, and although it looked suspiciously as if they had knocked on at the lineout, the referee deemed the ball had not gone forward, and Scottish won a penalty after trying to go wide. However, the kick was shanked and only took play back to the half-way line. Although Scottish tapped the lineout, when they tried to run another knock-on ensued, and the referee blew to end the game.
Chinnor took four points from the match to keep their 100% home record. This was probably a game they would have lost last season, but in the past two weeks they have kicked late penalties to take the lead and then had the nouse to hold onto the lead.
London Scottish will feel disappointed to come away with only one point from this tight encounter, but they way they responded in the second half to come back and take the lead when they could have fallen apart should hold them in good stead for the rest of the season. Personally, they seem to be better off without their Harlequins !
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