Defence on Top as MK Surge into the Final

With the teams positioned third and first respectively in the league this was going to be close match to claim a place in the final of the South West Cup competition. There was the added incentive of the winner of the two semi-finals having a home draw for the team with the greatest winning margin.

Chipping Norton were dominant for much of the first half. Despite this the strength of the MK pack and backs meant there was always a chance of a home try. This occurred after only 5 minutes into the game with James Pickles making it over the Chipping Norton line following a break from defending their line.

Chipping Norton continued with the pressure not helped by the number of penalties conceded by the home team. This resulted in the referee awarding a ‘team yellow’ to captain Stuart Phipps after some 15 minutes. This intensified Chippy’s efforts to score with a constant barrage at the MK try line. Sterling defence by the home team denied any score, with Adrian Teckoe, Michael Fitzgerald and Man of the Match Ben Pearson leading the line.

MK had to continue to perform at their best to compete with a strong Chippy side. The second try came from some powerful scrummage which disrupted Chippy’s defence. This resulted in an error by their centre allowing Dylan Greenwood to dive onto the ball to score, following some great footballing skills.

There was some good defensive kicking by fly half Will Banister. This frustrated the visitors and spurred on the home team further. One kick resulted in the third try with the speed to the backs outpacing the Chippy defence with the try being scored by Adam Howe and converted by Lee Tribe.

The half time score was 17-0 but the game was far from over.

MK took more control of the game in the second half. The scrummaging was strong and despite this Chippy elected to take scrums in preference to kicks from their regular penalties. They continued to struggle to control the ball at the back of the scrum which didn’t help their cause.

Will Banister completed the MK scoring on 55 minutes after a quick tap penalty from John Marchbank got the CN defence on the back foot and with Banister on his shoulder, offloaded at the perfect time for Will to dive over in the corner.

Chippy got a well earnt try on the 75th minute, as relentless pressure finally told against a very stubborn MK defence.

This was an excellent performance by MK. The pack performed well in tight and loose play. The lineouts were effective, winning all their own throws and nicking a couple of Chippy’s. The backs were effective both in defence and attack - the were always a threat with ball in hand. However, its was the team’s resolute defence against several waves on attack that won the match.

The other semi final resulted in Dorchester beating Tadley by a greater margin than the MK result. This means a trip to Dorchester on 22nd February for the final. Book your place on the coach before it’s too late!