Phoenix RFC 10 – Chipping Norton RFC 33

Phoenix produced a first half to forget against Berks, Bucks & Oxon Championship leaders Chipping Norton on Saturday (24 November).
The Taplow-based club welcomed the unbeaten league leaders to Institute Road with a view to gaining revenge for a heavy opening day defeat.
However, despite making the long journey from West Oxfordshire, it was the away team who came out of the blocks faster.
With just two minutes on the cock, Chipping Norton’s scrum-half collected the ball from the base of a scrum and scampered over untouched from the 22-metre line.
Yet more loose tackling from the home side allowed Chipping Norton to stretch their advantage to 26-0 within the opening 30 minutes of the contest.
Phoenix inside centre Tim Cronbach helped reduce the deficit after bursting out of the defensive line to charge down a defensive kick. The bounce was kind and allowed Cronbach to collect the ball and offload to his centre partner Bradley Coomber to score an unconverted try.
Any hopes Phoenix had of gaining momentum from this score were instantly dashed as a slick Chipping Norton passing move saw them wrack up a 33-5 advantage at halftime.
As has so often been the case this season, the second half saw a marked improvement from Phoenix. A more robust defensive display was complimented by a solid set-piece and some individual sparks of brilliance.
One such spark was provided by Coomber, who collected the ball deep in his own half before shrugging off his opposite number and racing the length of the pitch to score, leaving two Chipping Norton players trailing in his wake.
Despite some late pressure, Phoenix were unable to add to their points tally and the game finished 33-10.
Phoenix will look to bounce back when they travel to Faringdon on 1 December. Phoenix II entertain Windsor IV.