Nerveless Ryan salvages draw with late kick

Chinnor .......... 20 Old Elth’s ...... 20

CAOLAN Ryan nailed a last-gasp conversion to secure Chinnor a thrilling draw with Old Elthamians in a match that came alive in the second half.

The visitors looked set for victory until Reon Joseph crossed in the corner, leaving Ryan with a tough kick from near the right-hand touchline to bring the scores level.

And the fly-half did not falter when it mattered most, nervelessly cutting through the posts to the delight of the home crowd and director of rugby Matt Williams.

“It was a tough one for a right footer but when it sailed through the posts, I was mightily relieved when the whistle went,” he said.

“It was a great game. There were two very similar terms with superb defences battling it out.

“The opportunities to score for both teams came from small individual errors which both teams punished, it was a very even game.

“I think the fair result was a draw. The last two minutes were crazy. We pressed hard, they defended well and then we got a finalplay scrum and our scrum-half Craig Goodfellow set the try up very well.

“We took our final chance.”

In a tight first half, Chinnor missed the first chance of points with Ryan missing a penalty – but he made amends just a minute later.

The away side soon took control though and eased into the match but a

Thomas White penalty was all they had to show for their efforts.

A second Ryan penalty before half-time put Chinnor back ahead and after the break they scored the game’s first try through wing Craig Holland – Ryan converting.

But Old Elthamians kept going and turned it around, with Frederick Hosking and then Hamish Barton crossing for scores to put them ahead.

White’s penalty with just two minutes left opened a seven-point gap and looked to have secured the points before Goodfellow set up Joseph in the corner off the back of a scrum.

That left it all down to Ryan and the fly-half did not show any nerves, sendiong the kick through the posts for the draw.