Chinnor Preview

In their last outing, the rearranged fixture away at Cinderford, Taunton Titans led for much of the game before finally succumbing to a team challenging at the top end of the division. Given the opportunity to bank a couple of league points at the start of the day, one suspects Titans’ Head Coach Tony Yapp might have accepted but to have come so close to grabbing all five points in a 38-36 reverse must be hard to take. Nonetheless, as they bid to secure their National League One status, Taunton can surely take heart from their recent performances and build on that confidence.

This Saturday’s opponents, Chinnor, are now in the Titans’ sights, albeit eight points ahead. Taunton will head to Thame in Oxfordshire to take on the side occupying tenth position in the table. Tony Yapp’s men now know that they are within touching distance of that place.

A relatively young rugby club, formed only in 1962, Chinnor has been playing in National League One since 2018 after gaining promotion via a play-off against the runners-up from the North Division of National Two. Last season they ended up one spot above the Titans in seventh place in the table.

Chinnor appointed a new Director of Rugby at the start of December in the shape of Nick Easter. The former Harlequins and England number 8 has a wealth of coaching experience with Natal Sharks, Newcastle Falcons and most recently Worcester Warriors on his CV as well as an appearance on Pointless Celebrities. The Head Coach meanwhile is Craig Hampson, the former Wasps scrum-half combining his coaching duties at Chinnor with representing leading Championship side, Ealing Trailfinders.

Tom Varndell who was only surpassed at the top of the all-time Premiership individual try scoring list last season by Chris Ashton began his rugby career at Chinnor’s Kingsey Road ground in the nearby town of Thame before going on to represent Leicester, Bristol, Wasps and England. Other Chinnor alumni who have progressed to the top tier include Dave Seymour (Saracens and Sale) and Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs and England).

When Chinnor visited Veritas Park in October, they pulled off a surprise 21-31 win but that’s a long time ago now and Taunton Titans have every reason to believe that they can raid Kingsey Road and take four or even five points from the encounter.

Entrance to Chinnor RFC at Kingsey Road in Thame is £13.00 per adult for ground entry whilst Under18s enjoy free entry. A two-course meal is available before the game in the Members’ Bar for £27.00 which includes the match ticket. Contact Vicky Clarke on events@chinnor-rfc.com for information or book via the Chinnor RFC website. Kick-off is at 3.00pm.

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