NATIONAL 2 SOUTH

CHINNOR squeezed to a 20-18 home victory over Taunton that keeps them above the relegation zone.

This win and results elsewhere mean that two victories from their remaining three matches will guarantee their survival.

Taunton opened the scoring in the 13th minute when scrum half Stuart Townsend sniped round the blindside for a try, converted by full back Gary Kingdom.

Chinnor fly half Will Millett replied with a penalty, but with their scrum starting to dominate, the visitors went further ahead as Kingdom slotted three-pointers on 24 and 31 minutes.

Full back Matt Mountford collected his own up-and-under to launch a Chinnor attack, which ended with centre Jack Hayes grabbing a loose ball to score their opening try.

Millett converted from the touchline and Chinnor completed their turnaround straight after the break.

Flanker Nick Harrison reacted quickly to a loose Taunton pass and kicked through to score, with Millett converting for 17-13.

Chinnor dominated the next 15 minutes, but some superb Taunton defence meant they had just a Millett penalty to show for their efforts.

Taunton were right back in the match when fly half James Forrester was driven over on 68 minutes.

Now galvanised, they kept up the tempo and it was Chinnor’s turn to man the barricades, which they managed until the final whistle.