On and open and blustery pitch (not helpful for those of us with receding hairlines), Chiltern sought to gate-crash Oxford Harlequin’s “light” party as they christened their new floodlights. Chiltern however, ultimately held them to account, claiming a famous away scalp and ruining the celebrations with a big 5 points on the road.

In remarkably consistent fashion though, Chiltern warmed up terribly & continued to play terribly for the first 15 mins. The definition of insanity is “doing the same thing again and again & expecting different results.” Evidently the captain needs some new material and ideas. Thankfully, our new DoR Gibbo will be leading the charge against Banbury in the warm-up next week so no excuses…

So after a slow start, Chiltern found themselves 7-0 down. Not ideal when playing with the wind for the first half. As so often happens, that sparked the light in the lads who put on their dancing shoes & played some truly fantastic rugby. First, Andre McFarlane, who was sensational throughout burst through the Quins defence off a set-play, linking up beautifully with Craig Whyte. Conversion by Jonny Kenyon & the score was 7-7.

Moments later, Chiltern scored again. Having missed two tackles already, being bounced horribly on both occasions, captain Ed Wainwright scored cutting in from the left. Those 80kg squats really paying dividends as Quins forgot how to tackle. Try beautiful converted by Jonny Kenyon from the touchline. Chiltern led 7-14.

Like all great parties, the try’s were flowing like drinks at a free bar. Oscar Heath exacting revenge on the Quins full-back for bouncing the skipper twice, burst through off a set-play, sending him flying into the party next door. I extend my sympathy to their full back as I can say with absolute certainty, I would have also missed the tackle or “slipped” in the process. Try under the posts and Chiltern led 7-21.

That sort of lead would ordinarily be a comfortable buffer, but Quins had a huge tail wind behind them in the second half & a formidable forward pack. Quins mounted attack after attack at pace and proceeded to set up camp in our half. Through a combination of great attack and I’ll discipline, Chiltern we’re soon on their last warning with the referee and after repelling wave after wave, Chiltern scored arguably the try of the season.

Kenyon, showing you don’t need Prosecco & nibbles to party, only a goosestep, afterburners & flowing red hair, broke free of the Quins defence. Showing the pace the Chiltern faithful have seen so often over the years, nobody could catch him. With a moment of Wizardry, seeing the fullback cutting across, Kenyon drew his man & threw a delicious no look pass to the on-rushing Harry West who continued his sensational form for the 2XV, scoring under the posts. Conversion successful. Chiltern led 7-28

Oxford Quins, fought back with great resolve however, scoring quickly to make the score 14-28 before some unsavoury antics saw one of their players Red carded. Notwithstanding this, Quins continued to attack relentlessly supported by the howling wind which made exiting our 22 extremely difficult. Chiltern yet again turned it on though and scored probably the best try I’ve seen at 2XV level, trumping the aforementioned try.

Buoyed by some heroic defence, Kenyon saw an opportunity to break from his own 5 metre line. Linking up with multiple players, the ball was neatly offloaded up the left flank. The lads flooding through on the shoulder were available for offload after offload. Eventually Chiltern were dragged down, with Craig Whyte recycling the ball at pace & the ball was flung out wide to Andre McFarlane who expertly finished in the far right corner. End to end in 15 seconds & that try alone was worthy of whatever they spent on their floodlights (make sure you watch the video). Chiltern led 14-33

The game was far from over, with Quins quickly scoring to take the scores to 19-33, before quickly crossing again to make the score 24-33. Both times, brave defence saw Quins scoring out wide with both conversions crucially missed giving us the 7 point buffer we needed & deserved. Despite our best attempts to not end the game at full time (Cough….Harry Bradshaw & Craig Whyte), Chiltern eventually got the ball off the pitch denying Quins a second losing bonus point.

As darkness fell and the brand new lights shone brightly, it was Chiltern who walked off with 5 points and another huge scalp on the road. Huge thanks must be extended to our hosts Oxford Quins who battled resolutely throughout and were great hosts on the day. We look forward to the battles continuing next year and wish them all the best for the remainder of the season.

To a man, we were absolutely outstanding and to date it's my favourite game of the season. But....man of the match this week goes to Harry Bradshaw who was immense throughout. Thanks must be extended to his mother Liz, who on top of all her great work for the club, showed she also excels at player recruitment.

This Saturday the 2XV welcome Banbury to Weedon Lane in what should be a titanic clash. All support as ever would be hugely appreciated