Chinnor Rugby Football Club is an English rugby union club based in Thame, Oxfordshire. They currently play in the second tier of the English league system, Champ Rugby, following their promotion from National League 1 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.
 | |||
| Full name | Chinnor Rugby Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Union | RFU | ||
| Nickname | The Villagers | ||
| Founded | 1962 | ||
| Region | Oxfordshire Rugby Football Union | ||
| Ground(s) | Kingsey Road, Thame (Capacity: 3,000 (560 seats)) | ||
| Chairman | Nick Stainton | ||
| President | Simon Vickers | ||
| Director of Rugby | Nick Easter | ||
| Coach(es) | Craig Hampson, Tom Cruse | ||
| Captain | Willie Ryan | ||
| League | Champ Rugby | ||
| 2024–25 | 10th | ||
| |||
| Official website | |||
| chinnor-rfc.com | |||
History
editChinnor 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 club's 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 progressed through the Southern Counties section to gain 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 13 April 2024, Chinnor beat Birmingham Moseley to take the National League 1 title with a game to go.[4] During this season, the 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]
Ground
editChinnor originally played at the Towersey Playing Fields in the village of Towersey being granted a 25 year lease in 1971 and building a club house in 1972, before moving to their current ground, Kingsey Road, 1.5 miles away in Thame in 1986.[6]
Kingsey Road is situated on the eastern outskirts of Thame. The ground has been upgraded throughout its history with a 350 seated temporary stand added ahead of the 2024–25 season, later upgraded to a permanent 560 seater stand ahead of the 2025–26 season.[7][8] Capacity is currently around 3,000, which includes 560 seated in the covered grandstand.[9]
A record crowd of 3,000 was achieved on 14 March 2026 when Kingsey Road hosted England U18 against France U18.[9]
Honours
edit1st 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,[10] 2007–08[11]
- 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[12]
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
edit| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ealing Trailfinders | 26 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 1125 | 437 | +688 | 23 | 0 | 127 | Play-off semi-finals |
| 2 | Bedford Blues | 26 | 18 | 1 | 7 | 802 | 643 | +159 | 20 | 3 | 97 | |
| 3 | Coventry | 26 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 1053 | 723 | +330 | 22 | 7 | 93 | Play-off quarter-finals |
| 4 | Worcester Warriors | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 899 | 652 | +247 | 21 | 6 | 87 | |
| 5 | Chinnor | 26 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 697 | 635 | +62 | 12 | 6 | 82 | |
| 6 | Hartpury | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 772 | 632 | +140 | 14 | 3 | 81 | |
| 7 | Cornish Pirates | 26 | 13 | 1 | 12 | 770 | 671 | +99 | 16 | 3 | 73 | |
| 8 | Doncaster Knights | 26 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 729 | 655 | +74 | 15 | 4 | 73 | |
| 9 | Nottingham | 26 | 12 | 1 | 13 | 639 | 647 | −8 | 14 | 8 | 72 | |
| 10 | Ampthill | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 828 | 890 | −62 | 18 | 5 | 71 | |
| 11 | Caldy | 26 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 574 | 814 | −240 | 11 | 5 | 52 | |
| 12 | Richmond | 26 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 525 | 823 | −298 | 7 | 4 | 41 | Relegation play-off |
| 13 | London Scottish (R) | 26 | 6 | 0 | 20 | 475 | 923 | −448 | 8 | 3 | 35 | |
| 14 | Cambridge (R) | 26 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 447 | 1190 | −743 | 7 | 4 | 13 | Relegated |
Rules for classification: If teams are level at any stage, tiebreakers are applied in the following order:
- Number of matches won
- Number of matches drawn
- 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
Current squad
editThe Chinnor squad for the 2025–26 season is:[13][14]
| Chinnor 2025–26 Champ Rugby squad | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Props
Hookers
Locks
|
Back row
Scrum-halves
Fly-halves
|
Centres
Wings
Fullbacks
|
| (c) denotes the team captain. (vc) denotes vice-captain. Bold denotes internationally capped players. ST denotes a short-term signing. |
References
edit- ↑ "Welcome To The Bird In Hand". chinnor-rfc.com. 30 March 2021.
- ↑ "Club History" by former player John Gardner, at official website
- ↑ "Bittersweet victory for Chinnor in pulsating match". Chinnor RFC (Pitchero). 1 April 2017.
- ↑ "Champions! Chinnor celebrate in fine style". The RugbyPaper. No. 813. 14 April 2024. pp. 28–29.
- ↑ "Results". The RugbyPaper. No. 796. 17 December 2023. pp. 30–31, 41.
- ↑ "Building On Strong Foundations". Towersey Community Fields. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
- ↑ "Chairman's BIG August Update". Chinnor Rugby. 2 August 2024.
- ↑ "Minor/Major improvement works version 2". National League Rugby. 24 September 2025.
- 1 2 "Heartbreak for most of Bath stars involved in Six Nations finale". Bath Echo. 17 March 2026.
- ↑ "South West 1". Archived from the original on 22 May 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
- ↑ "Trelawny's Army Final League Tables 2007-2008".
- ↑ "Champions! Chinnor celebrate in fine style". The RugbyPaper. No. 813. 14 April 2024. pp. 28–29.
- 1 2 "First XV squad". www.chinnor-rfc.com. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
- ↑ "Chinnor squad for season 2025/2026". all.rugby. Retrieved 8 January 2026.
