Wheatley headed into Saturday's Semi-final cup tie with some work to do. Their opposition were top of the league above and Wheatley were coming back after a week off, and having lost a number of players to international call-ups.
Despite the strong side Chipping Norton fielded, they only managed to scrape by without Wheatley breaking the deadlock. Chippy hit back and scored a try or two before half time, so a close half finished 28-0 to the visitors, despite excellent pressing from Wheatley towards the end of the half. Highlight of the first half was Banton taking a kick off and running a distance measured in metres before being tackled.
Belief was high in the Wheatley camp at half-time and entering the second half, winger Alex Cove danced around the defence to score in the corner. This would be the start of Wheatley's fightback. Or not.
Some defensive lapses allowed Chipping Norton to cross over in quick succession and Wheatley's heads were down. A few tries more left the spectators wondering why they were there, instead of the pub watching England beat the All Blacks. Highlight of the second half was Poochie barging through the defensive line, and the lowlight was Tamworth's excellently placed kick through, which unfortunately lead to a Chippy try.
Chipping Norton edged it at the death, final score Wheatley 5 - 70 Chipping Norton.