3xv pushed all the way by Bicester

Chiltern hosted Bicester at home in a close encounter which could have gone either way in the second half.

The opening 15 minutes produced some of Chiltern's best rugby of the season scoring 3 tries in the process but its fair to say the home team switched off and let Bicester back into the match afterwards.

The first try was a great team effort using the width of the pitch and finished well by captain Luke Donnebaum in the corner, the conversion was missed.

The second try started with a clever chip into the corner by Jake Cutter and grubbered forward and collected very well by Johnny Rice to score his first of the day. The conversion was missed from out wide

The third was a try for fly half Jake Cutter who stepped his way to the line and finished well under the posts. The conversion was successful by Josh Davies.

At 15 minutes into the game at 17-0 up Chiltern got complacent and Bicester earned their way back into the match.

Their first try was from a penalty inside the Chiltern 22 and the Bicester scrum half who was sharp all game took a quick tap penalty to score under the posts. The conversion was successful

The second was a poor lineout from Chiltern which Bicester collected and drove over to score, the conversion was successful to make the score 17-14.

An unfortunate injury to Josh Davies just before half time meant a re-shuffle in the backs. We hope he has a speedy recovery

HT 17-14

The second half started with a Bicester penalty which they successfully converted and now with the game at 17-17 the game truly could have gone either way especially as Bicester had the momentum of 17 unanswered points.

Chiltern gathered their composure and got their fourth try came after a good line from Joe Carey who setup Johnny Rice to score in the corner. The conversion was very well converted from out wide by Phil John

Chiltern had opportunities to close out the game but a couple of knock ons at crucial times prevented them from adding to their score.

The home team did have the final say with a penalty for Phil John to make the final score 27-17.

Bicester were much improved from the team that Chiltern played earlier in the season and there's no doubt they will finish well in this league if they keep performing as they did in this match.

FT 27-17

Next week Chiltern travel away to Newbury.

Line up:
1 Lewis Godfrey 2 Adam Cook 3 Harvey Gould 4 Dave Robertson 5 Colm Gilhooly 6 Guy Aikenhead 7 Simon Thomas 8 Luke Donnebaum (c) 9 Phil John 10 Jake Cutter 11 Joe Carey 12 Gus Pollard 13 Josh Davies (vc) 14 Johnny Rice 15 Alex Nicholas 16 Edd Hedley 17 Lee Morgan 18 Richard Gazzard

Tries:
Johnny Rice x2
Luke Donnebaum
Jake Cutter

Conversions:
Josh Davies
Phil John

Man of the Match:
Joe Carey