Exclusion and Determination: Chinnor Battles Through Premiership Rugby Cup Snub
02/26/2025 04:19 AM
By George Wellbelove
Chinnor’s promotion to the Championship last year was nothing short of legendary. The Oxfordshire side crushed all competition to secure a place in England’s second tier for the 2024/25 season. However, their maiden Championship season has not been without its challenges, with their exclusion from the Premiership Rugby Cup being a major issue surrounding the club.
From their humble beginnings, Chinnor has experienced rapid growth throughout their history. The Villagers steadily climbed the leagues and by 2006, they had become the youngest club to achieve promotion to the National Leagues.
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Last year marked perhaps the most important year in the club’s youthful history with a record-breaking promotion from National One. It is an understatement to describe their title-winning campaign as a complete domination. Losing only one of their last seventeen league games and scoring an average of a whopping 40 points per game.
George Worboys and Alun Walker were standout try-scorers in the team with eleven and twenty tries respectively. Promotion to the Championship was secured with a memorable 52-0 defeat of Birmingham Moseley in the West Midlands to cement the club’s name into the history books.
Promotion to Championship ushers in new era
Despite the success on the playing field, the step up from National One required significant investment in infrastructure and off field developments.
Speaking to Ruck, Chinnor RFC Chairman, Nick Stainton said, “We had to assess what the priorities were. Budgets were set accordingly. For the squad, but also for the infrastructure and the facilities at the club. We were guided by the RFU new Tier 2 minimum standards.”
“We wanted to be competitive in the Championship, met the league standards and remain financially stable.”
“It was a step up for sure. We set up several working parties and funding initiatives to allow us to kick start priority capital projects, such as buying a stand, improving walkways, the medical and media provision, and a new camera gantry.”
“Plus, to make sure that facilities could cope with an increase in spectators, so toilets and bars and food provision, to make sure we were commercially successful.”
“What we really wanted to focus on was matching the on-field quality with the off-field experience. Ultimately, trying to give the best experience to people who came to the club.”
“The big thing about the exclusion was the impact on the players, our supporters and the club”
One of the most controversial moments of Chinnor’s first Championship season was their exclusion from the Premiership Rugby Cup. In recent years, all Championship clubs have been invited to compete alongside Premiership teams in the tournament, offering those in the second tier to test themselves against the best in the country.
Not only does this have a benefit for the players as they are able to play against the best of the best but also for clubs, there are financial gains to benefit from in high-profile fixtures. However, for the 2024-25 season, only selected Championship clubs were included, leaving Chinnor and Cambridge out in the cold.
“The big thing about the exclusion was the impact on the players, our supporters and the club,” said Stainton. “Initially, the players felt let down and that they were missing an opportunity to play against the top teams in the country. And this would have been their first experience of that.”
“It’s missing the opportunity and also, it’s the fact that you are not playing for huge, huge periods of time. So, it was very difficult and hugely disappointing for supporters, for season ticket holders, for the club financially and also the players who are trying to maintain peak physical fitness.”
With a short turnaround time to try and organise fixtures, Stainton revealed that there were limited options on the table with regards to filling the club’s newfound gaps in their fixture list.
“We went for it after we realized that we were going to have these gaps during the Autumn Internationals and the Six Nations. We thought initially that we were going to be able to get some other fixtures, but actually it was too late.”
“It’s not just having a fixture. It’s having a competitive fixture. So, we were really limited in terms of that audience, in that who do you target?”
“We didn’t have any fixtures for six weeks and this block is even worse. This block we’ve got is eight weeks without playing league rugby and no home fixture for over two months in the middle of a season.”
Home fixtures are critical to all rugby clubs. With two less competitive home fixtures than the previous season in National One and three less than Championship peers Chinnor threw out the original budgets and got creative.
‘Not The Prem Cup’– Chinnor vs Cambridge
In response to their exclusion, Chinnor and Cambridge arranged their own two-leg fixture, appropriately dubbed the ‘Not The Prem Cup’.
With Chinnor recording a 33-24 win in the first leg at Kingsey Road, they hold the advantage as they travel to Cambridge on 1st March. Whilst the matches try to provide as much game time as possible for players, this initiative clearly does not replicate the financial and competitive benefits of facing Premiership and fellow Championship opposition in the Premiership Rugby Cup.
The Championship sides involved in the cup competition could be seen to gain an advantage by playing matches and therefore maintaining match fitness and learning from playing against Premiership opposition.
“Ealing Trailfinders have represented the Championship brilliantly. That’s fantastic. We're genuinely pleased for them.”
“(They’re) playing Premiership clubs. The Champ sides should really be well oiled, match hardened, ready to really get stuck into the Championship.”
Stainton said, “There's certainly a financial advantage of record home crowds but we've moved on.”
“The players, coaches and everyone associated with the club are looking forward to the Cambridge 2nd leg. We had over 1,500 to watch the first leg under lights and I'm sure many will make the trip."
“We started off like a steam train.”
With the ‘Not the Prem Cup’ fixture on the horizon, the rest of the long-awaited Championship season looms into view with 10 matches in 11 weeks starting off at Caldy on the 22nd March.
The Villagers started the season strongly with a 24-57 plundering of Cambridge in their first match. Narrow losses to Ampthill, Cornish Pirates and Nottingham followed, with a win over Caldy featuring in between, before Chinnor ended their losing streak with a statement victory over Championship stalwarts Bedford Blues.
“We started off like a steam train”, said Stainton, “but now we are sort of settling in. Most pleasing is we've been competitive at this level, let's hope the enforced rest kick starts a strong second half to our debut season.”
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