Chipping Norton RFC 43 - Phoenix RFC 7

Phoenix RFC suffered a heavy defeat in their second outing of the season, going down 43 - 7 away to Chipping Norton on Saturday (15 September).

The Taplow-based club has now recorded back to back losses at the start of 2018/19 BBO Championship season, having lost 22 - 8 to Berkshire Shire Hall the previous week.

Phoenix started brightly against Chipping Norton, with their dominant pack rewarded after a series of big carries with a penalty on the home side's five-meter line.

However, an unforced error after an ill-advised 'tap and go' resulted in Chipping Norton gaining significant ground and eventually scoring a try at the opposite end of the pitch.

Phoenix were undone again soon after the restart, with the elusive running of Chipping Norton's fullback causing havoc and leading to a score underneath the posts.

A further try for the home team was compounded by a missed penalty kick by Phoenix's flyhalf on the stroke of halftime, with the scoreline reading 19-0.

The early stages of the second half were littered with yet more Phoenix errors, which were ruthlessly punished by Chipping Norton's pacey backline.

However, the Phoenicians ensured they didn't return from the 120-mile round trip scoreless when their powerful pack won a scrum against the head on the home team's five-meter line, allowing number 8 Callum Brodie to dot down.

Phoenix Director of Rugby Tony Golder said: "I thought we played some good rugby in patches and probably didn't deserve to lose by such a heavy margin. We dominated in the scrum and lineout but, unfortunately, we let ourselves down with some sloppy errors and loose tackling.

"We will focus on bouncing back in our first home game next Saturday."

Phoenix’s first XV will entertain Faringdon RFC at Institute Road on 22 September