Gale force winds and hailstones can’t stop the Chiltern Juggernaut!

Leaving Amersham in the morning sunshine little did they realise what the gods would throw at them! By kick off time the wind was streaming down the pitch at about 50 mph and Chippenham decided to take its advantage. It looked a good move when Chiltern’s kick off went backwards; from the resulting scrum Chippenham kicked the ball into the corner and from a well worked catch and drive scored a try wide out which unsurprisingly went unconverted.

It soon became obvious that any sort of passing game was out of the question, so the Chiltern pack decided to take control and employ close quarter tactics. Even that was really difficult as any attempt at even short passing saw Chippenham hack forward dropped ball towards Chiltern’s try line. Midway through the half Chiltern tried to break out but turned the ball over and then offended. From about 50 metres the Chippenham full back somehow managed to kick the goal, 8-0.

Right from the restart it was Chippenham’s turn to fumble the ball, it came back on the Chiltern side was picked up by Jack Kenyon who sidestepped two defenders to race to the line for the try. It almost wasn’t worth taking the kick as it pirouetted in the air before coming backwards! Chiltern defended well for the rest of the half and turned round just 8-5 down.

The second half was even more difficult than the first, with the wind strengthening to such an extent that both sides had no option but to rely on their forwards leaving the backs to watch and try to scavenge any dropped ball. If we thought the weather couldn’t get any worse, the wind increased still more and a torrential hailstorm obliterated any sign of the players on the pitch for about five minutes!

Still they played on and with ten minutes to go and with the greater Chiltern fitness now evident, drive after drive took them nearly 50 metres towards the Chippenham line. On the 20th phase of play, the handling being exceptional, Chiltern finally smashed through wonderful Chippenham defence and Stuart Day crashed over under the posts. Ross Bugden converted and that was that. Four points secured with a display of character and determination that made the visiting spectators proud to be watching such a great bunch of players and coaches.

In 50 years of playing, refereeing and watching rugby these were the worst conditions I have ever seen on a rugby field and at the end of the game, never can the safety and warmth of the showers and clubhouse have been a more welcome sight!

A great performance from both sides, well done all.

Match report by Charles Owen-Conway