Taunton Vs Chinnor

The match last Saturday was sponsored by Veritas Glazing Solutions who claim the naming rights for the Titans home ground in Hyde Lane down at Bathpool and to match the occasion the stadium was looking a picture, showing off its new 100-seater spectator stand backing om to the railway side of the ground, writes Dick Macey.  The Titans, in only their third home game of the season thus far, were hosting Chinnor who hail from Thame in the Thames Valley, in what always looked as if it was to be a tight scrap between two sides desperate to make an impact in their seasons as they struggled for results in the lower half of the league table and so it proved.   In the end Chinnor ran out victors 21-31 in a game that the Titans would have felt they could have squeezed a result but seemed to run out of momentum in the final ten minutes which was sufficient for the visitors to nip in and grab the spoils.

There were two deciding factors which shaped the outcome from this correspondent's viewpoint:  the first and probably the most telling was the very efficient Chinnor rolling maul which once it had gained some momentum going forward was able call-in other troops from the three quarters to the forward shove  to bring more weight to bear and that proved something the Titans found difficulty in containing, providing an opportunity for the Chinnor hooker to touch down four of their five tries during the game and ensuring comfortable conversions for the extra points on two occasions   Although this was far from a one-way street with the Titans grafting throughout they had to wait until the 52nd minute of the game before they could edge in front through a try by the admirable Brett Harvey,  and there was a feeling amongst the faithful at that time that the Taunton boys had worn down their opposition but Chinnor had other ideas.   It was then, more apparently than before, that Chinnor's second strength showed its hand in their refusal to be sucked too readily into the rucks leaving capacity to effectively deploy a drift defence, snuffing out Taunton's attempts to penetrate the Chinnor line.

Brett Harvey was rightly named as Taunton's man of the match for his endless impact in open play and his support play generally to say nothing of his efficiency in the line out - a first class all-round performance.   The Titans will be disappointed with this outcome but this was a genuine arm-wrestle between two well-matched teams and absorbing entertainment.

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