BERKSHIRE Shire Hall snapped their three-game BB&O Championship losing streak with a thrilling 26-24 home win against Chipping Norton.

The hosts got off to a slow start for the second week running and conceded two early tries before giving themselves a foothold in the game. A driving five-man line-out caught Chippy off guard and Shire Hall stormed 40 yards up the pitch, the ball was recycled and Matthew Margot was able to just get the ball down over the line.

Some more poor defensive work allowed Chipping Norton to re-open the gap to 17-5, but as the first half drew to a close Chris Harber went marauding through the centre, slowed down and looked for an offload before storming off again to break several more tackles.

The forwards carried the ball round the corner for several phases from the resulting break down before Tim Holmes saw an opening and dived over the line. Stephane Margot converted, reducing the deficit to 17-12.

Shire Hall came out in the second half a different side, with their ball retention much improved and defence more aggressive.

The pressure was building and Shire Hall thought they were over the line when Jack Proctor crashed through, only for the referee to call it short, but Matthew Margot was able to barrel over from the next phase of play. Rhys Stewart converted to give the home side a 19-17 lead.

However, Chipping Norton were awarded a free-kick inside their own 22 and quickly swung the ball across the pitch to score a breakaway under the post. At 24-19 down, Shire Hall had 10 minutes left to save the game.

With time running out, Shire Hall were awarded a scrum five metres out. The forwards got a shove on in the scrum and David Lloyd-Williams picked up from the back of the set piece, a good forward carry put Chipping Norton on the back foot and Harber was then able to punch through the defence and level the match. Stewart kept calm and slotted the conversion giving Shire Hall a 26-24 lead.

Chipping Norton kicked the resulting kick off into touch and it allowed the Shire Hall forwards to kill the remaining 30 seconds on the clock, securing a massive win as they aim for a top-three finish. Shire Hall – who are now just two points behind their opponents with a game in hand – travel to Harwell on Saturday, April 1.