Chinnor Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Thame, Oxfordshire. They currently play in the third tier of the English league system, National League 1 following their promotion from National League 2 South via the promotion play-off at the end of the 2017–18 season, but will play in the RFU Championship for the 2024-25 season, having won promotion in the 2023-24 season. The club regularly runs five senior teams as well as a full youth setup from age 5 upwards. Chinnor's youth setup is widely thought of as one of the best in the country having produced top Premiership players such as Tom Varndell (Leicester Tigers), Tom Johnson (Exeter Chiefs), Dave Seymour (Saracens), Paul Volley (Wasps), and Sam Jones (Wasps). Chinnor became the first club in Oxfordshire or Buckinghamshire to establish an under-19 academy.
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| Full name | Chinnor Rugby Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Union | RFU | |
| Nickname(s) | The Villagers | |
| Founded | 1962 | |
| Region | Oxfordshire Rugby Football Union | |
| Ground(s) | Kingsey Road, Thame (Capacity: 2,500) | |
| Chairman | Nick Stainton | |
| President | Simon Vickers | |
| Director of Rugby | Nick Easter | |
| Coach(es) | Craig Hampson, Tom Cruse | |
| Captain(s) | Willie Ryan | |
| League(s) | National League 1 | |
| 2023–24 | Champions (promoted to RFU Championship) | |
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| Official website | ||
| www | ||
History
Chinnor RFC was formed in 1962, by Frank Angel, Cyril Perry and Marcus Cann at the Bird in Hand pub in Chinnor, playing its first game the following year.[1] Norman Baldwin (the sponge) was one of the first to play for Chinnor and wrote the clubs first “song book”. The 1970s saw the club expand to include junior and youth teams and in 1976 the club won the Oxfordshire Cup. When the English league system started the club was placed in Bucks and Oxon Division 1 and have progressed through the Southern Counties section to gained promotion to the National Leagues in 2006; the youngest club to do so.[2] The club gained a further promotion from National League 3 South West in 2012.
During the 2016–17 National League 2 South season, the club achieved a (then) record attendance at Kingsey Road of 1,580 during a top of the table clash against Bishop's Stortford, a game Chinnor won 27–25.[3]
On April 13th 2024 Chinnor beat Birmingham Moseley to take the National League 1 title with a game to go.[4] During this season, he club also smashed the previous Kingsey Road attendance with 2,270 spectators attending the top of the league clash with rivals Rams on 15 December 2023, which would also be the best attended game in National League 1 that season.[5]
Honours
1st team:
- Oxfordshire RFU County Cup winners (5): 1977, 1999, 2002, 2010, 2011
- Bucks/Oxon 1 champions: 1994–95
- South West 2 East champions: 2000–01
- South West 1 champions (2): 2005–06,[6] 2007–08[7]
- Oxfordshire Cup winners (3): 2010, 2011, 2012
- National League 3 (south-east v south-west) promotion play-off winner: 2011–12
- National League 2 (north v south) promotion play-off winner: 2017–18
- National League 1 champions: 2023–24[8]
2nd team:
- Berks/Bucks & Oxon Premier A champions: 2005–06
- Oxfordshire RFU County Cup winners (2): 2012, 2013
3rd team:
- Berks/Bucks & Oxon 1 champions (2): 2005–06, 2016–17
Current standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chinnor (C) | 26 | 22 | 0 | 4 | 1039 | 403 | +636 | 21 | 3 | 112 | Promoted |
| 2 | Rams | 26 | 19 | 0 | 7 | 787 | 585 | +202 | 20 | 3 | 99 | |
| 3 | Rosslyn Park | 26 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 765 | 656 | +109 | 17 | 5 | 82 | |
| 4 | Plymouth Albion | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 631 | 571 | +60 | 13 | 4 | 77 | |
| 5 | Birmingham Moseley | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 649 | 667 | −18 | 12 | 6 | 76 | |
| 6 | Richmond | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 689 | 681 | +8 | 14 | 8 | 68 | |
| 7 | Darlington Mowden Park | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 635 | 682 | −47 | 12 | 7 | 67 | |
| 8 | Blackheath | 26 | 12 | 1 | 13 | 641 | 613 | +28 | 10 | 4 | 64 | |
| 9 | Sedgley Park | 26 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 657 | 784 | −127 | 11 | 4 | 61 | |
| 10 | Sale FC | 26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 567 | 628 | −61 | 8 | 4 | 56 | |
| 11 | Bishop's Stortford | 26 | 10 | 0 | 16 | 592 | 746 | −154 | 10 | 6 | 56 | |
| 12 | Leicester Lions | 26 | 11 | 0 | 15 | 525 | 697 | −172 | 7 | 3 | 54 | |
| 13 | Taunton Titans (R) | 26 | 8 | 0 | 18 | 713 | 930 | −217 | 17 | 4 | 53 | Relegated |
| 14 | Cinderford (R) | 26 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 528 | 775 | −247 | 6 | 6 | 48 |
Source: "National League Rugby – Promotion and Relegation: 2023-24".
Rules for classification: If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
- Number of matches won
- Team with most draws
- Difference between points for and against
- Total number of points for
- Aggregate number of points scored in matches between tied teams
- Number of matches won excluding the first match, then the second and so on until the tie is settled
(C) Champion; (R) Relegated
