Bedford Blues’ best unbeaten run in 28 years came to an end on Saturday (17 January) as they lost at in-form Chinnor for the second consecutive season, falling 27-17 at Kingsey Road.
First half tries for Billy Pasco and Fred Tuilagi had seen the Blues keep in touch at the break, and while a third score came for Ryan Hutler in the early stages of the second half, 12 points from the boot of Nathan Chamberlain was key in securing Chinnor’s ninth win in ten Champ Rugby games.
In what was a long-awaited encounter between the two best in-form part-time clubs in the country, it was Nick Easter’s Chinnor who came out on top to add to an impressive list of recent scalps that include Cornish Pirates and Worcester Warriors.
It was Champ Rugby’s only fixture this weekend, with this game rearranged from 3 January following a controversial late abandonment for a frozen pitch, as Chinnor remain well in the play-off spots after another impressive performance.
Head coach, Nick Easter has been linked with a number of clubs in recent weeks, including the likes of Harlequins and Gloucester with his Chinnor team – only promoted to the second tier in 2024 – continuing to defy the odds.
Saturday’s game took some time to kick into gear, but it was Chinnor who took the lead on 16 minutes with Nick Smith diving over in the corner, but it was just three minutes before the Blues had responded thanks to Billy Pasco.
Under-19 Georgian prop, Ramaz Rukhadze doubled the home side’s try count shortly after as Chinnor dominated a scrum in dangerous territory, but the Blues again responded as they remained on the host’s coattails.
Fred Tuilagi reduced the deficit to four points as he found himself as the spare man after 35 minutes, with Bedford 14-10 down at the break of what was a fairly even encounter that could have swung either way.
Hutler try sees Bedford sneak ahead
The second half began with more mistakes than moments of quality from both sides, but come the 50-minute mark, Bedford were ahead for the first time thanks to their third try.
The move out wide was far from fluid, but the ball did eventually make its way out to the right wing where Ryan Hutler was waiting to add the finishing touches in the corner, with Maisey’s first successful conversion of the afternoon seeing Bedford sneak 17-14 ahead.
With the Blues still ahead on the hour mark, the rest of the game was controlled by a Chinnor side who refused to panic, and another rolling maul – finished off by Sam Hanks – saw them restore their lead, with Chamberlain’s reliable kicking extending their lead to four.
Indiscipline was not helping the Bedford cause either, and the game’s remaining points came via the boot of Chamberlain as the Blues continued to concede penalties.
Those penalties came on the 65th and 76th minutes; the latter of which killing off any hopes of a Blues victory, although they did push for a pair of losing bonus points in the final moments, denied by a mixture of handling errors and stringent Chinnor defence.
A yellow card for the hosts in the dying embers did little to damage their spirits, as they saw out the 27-17 win that sees Chinnor claim another valuable Champ Rugby scalp, and extending their own fantastic run to nine wins from ten games.
To extend that run further, they will have to do what no other side in the division has done and beat a rampant Ealing Trailfinders next Saturday; a side who have extended their advantage at the top Champ Rugby to 14 points following Round 13.
The Blues remain second on 50 points, three points ahead of Worcester in third and five ahead of next Saturday’s opponents in Coventry, as the old rivals visit Goldington Road looking to put the double over the Blues.
