Late drama as Old E's tie 20-20 with Chinnor

The visitors held a 20-13 lead heading into injury time but were stunned when Chinnor winger Reon Joseph raced over for a last gasp try on the right after good work from scrum-half Greg Goodfellow, fly-half Caolan Ryan holding his nerve to kick the crucial conversion.

It was a hugely disappointing end to an otherwise impressive performance from Elthamians who had fought back from 13-3 down to take a deserved lead as the game entered its final stages.

The Old Boys had not won in three attempts at Kingsey Road and the signs were ominous in the early exchanges as the well drilled Chinnor pack came storming out of the blocks.

But in a tight hard-fought encounter, dominated by two outstanding defences, try-scoring chances were few and far between, particularly in an attritional first half.

It was Chinnor who held a slender 6-3 lead at the interval, courtesy of two Ryan penalties, Tom White replying for Elthamians. But the game exploded into life within three minutes of the restart when Chinnor full-back Kieron Goss made in-roads down the left flank before kicking ahead for winger Craig Holland to win the race to the ball over the OEs try-line. Ryan converted to give Chinnor a deserved 13-3 lead.

But Elthamians came storming back with two tries in the space of 10 minutes. First lock Fred Hosking, who enjoyed an outstanding afternoon, drove over from close range, and then a wonderful break from Elthamians full-back Charlie Dockery created quick ball for skipper Hamish Barton to squeeze over in the corner.

With the visitors now securing the lion’s share of possession and territory, they looked to be heading for victory when White kicked his second penalty of the afternoon with just two minutes remaining on the clock.

But to their credit, Chinnor refused to panic and from the restart, they patiently worked their way into Elthamians territory to set up Joseph’s crucial score and Ryan’s nerveless conversion.