CHINNOR created their own piece of history when beating Sedgley Park 40-31 in a nail-biting National League 2 play-off at Kingsey Road.
Just one score separated the sides with four minutes to go, but George Oliver’s try sealed promotion to the third tier for the first time in front of 1,378 supporters.
Chinnor survived early pressure and took the lead when Bertie Hopkin crossed to make it 5-0.
A Steve Collins penalty reduced the arrears, but the hosts went on to lead 12-3 thanks to Josh Barton’s try, Jonny Bentley adding the extras.
Collins converted his own score for Sedgley, only for Chinnor to open up a 12-point lead at the break when Bentley kicked a penalty before converting Luke Hibberd’s try.
It was soon 30-10 when George Oliver crossed after Bentley had kicked another penalty.
But Sedgley hit back and closed the gap to six points when Matthew Riley and Hallam Chapman went over, Collins converting.
Chinnor crucially replied to lead 35-24 on 65 minutes after Ben Manning ran a superb line to slice through the defence.
However, the visitors, once again, refused to lie down and a converted try brought them to within four points on 76 minutes.
Excellent game management saw Chinnor pen Sedgley in and the celebrations could start when a line-out was executed to perfection, allowing Oliver to cross for a try which sealed their promotion to National League 1.
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