Ealing Trailfinders fell to a 29-21 defeat against Ampthill away at Dillingham Park.
Tries from Lloyd Williams, Rayn Smid, and Cian Kelleher were not enough to garner any points from Trailfinders’ trip to Bedfordshire.
The result leaves the West London outfit at the top of the table with a 10-point gap to Coventry in second.
The game started with Trailfinders on top. Exploiting a dominant set piece, they won back-to-back penalties from their hosts in the first ten minutes.
Ampthill managed to keep the men in green and white out initially, that is until Nathan Earle brilliantly broke down the right and found Williams on his inside feeding the Welshman over the whitewash.
Trailfinders kept the pressure on after the opening score but could not break the Ampthill defences for large swathes of the first term.
It was so much so that Brandon Jackson brought the home side level after 28 minutes, as Ampthill re-asserted themselves on the occasion.
However, the travellers grabbed the momentum right back when Dan O’Brien broke down the right wing and found Smid with a magical offload to send the South African under the sticks.
Then, on the stroke of half time, Kelleher produced one of the season’s best scores.
After receiving a looping wide ball from Billy Twelvetrees, the Dublin native chipped the ball over the Ampthill defence and regathered to soar over the line in the right-hand corner.
That score meant that the teams went into the sheds with the scoreboard reading 7-21 to Trailfinders, with the league leaders in command.
Half-time was when disaster struck for Trailfinders, however, as replacement hooker Henry Walker was substituted due to injury, meaning Flanker Richard Hardwick was forced to throw in at the line out, and scrums would be uncontested.
As a result, Ampthill regained control of the game as the set piece that had been so dominant for Trailfinders was taken apart.
The hosts scored 22 unanswered points, and a Josh Barton penalty kick in the 77th minute ensured Trailfinders left Bedfordshire without any points.
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Ealing Trailfinders managed to stifle a strong second half resurgence as they ran out 52-35 winners over London Scottish at Trailfinders Sports Club.
The home side topped fifty points through eight different scorers, with Matt Cornish, Jordan Holgate, Bobby De Wee, Craig Willis, Biyi Alo, Jonah Holmes, Ollie Newman and Reuben Bird-Tulloch all getting on the scoresheet.
A derby day bonus point victory ensured that Trailfinders maintained their 10-point lead at the top of the table.
Cornish opened the scoring on three minutes as he added to his impressive season try tally, dotting down off the back of a rolling maul. Willis added the extras.
Trailfinders then quickly extended their lead nine minutes later as the debutant Holgate cruised in to score under the posts, having been teed up by a delightful inside pass from Holmes. Willis converted again.
The early first half onslaught continued through De Wee, who used his large frame to crash over the whitewash after successive phases inside Scottish’s 22. Willis’ conversion was good.
Just when it was looking to be a drubbing for the away side, scrum-half Dan Nutton hit back with a well-worked team try to score under the posts. Sheppard converted.
The action continued at a frantic pace, with Trailfinders then scoring again through Willis, as he saw a gap in the Scottish line and darted his way over, leaving the score 26-7 at half time.
London Scottish came out raring to go after the half and struck with two quickfire tries within five minutes.
Fly-half Harry Sheppard scored and converted his own try as Scottish exploited gaps within the Trailfinders defence, with Nutton scoring his second of the day in similar fashion two minutes later. Sheppard converted both.
A disconcerted Trailfinders side steadied themselves as they know best, with Alo scoring off the rolling maul after repeated Scottish penalties. Willis nailed the conversion.
Sustaining this momentum, they extended the lead through Holmes after a well-worked move down the right flank, as he shrugged off the last man to score under the posts. Willis added the two points.
Scottish would just not lie down however, scoring through Will Brown and Bryn Bradley as they continued to exploit holes in the Trailfinders line, reducing the deficit to just three points. Sheppard’s perfect day with the boot continued for both.
It wasn’t enough however, as the home side crushed the Scottish resistance with two unanswered tries through Newman and Bird-Tulloch, leaving the final score 52-35.
Coventry came out on top against Ealing Trailfinders in a tense clash at Butts Park Arena this afternoon, winning 34-32.
Tries from Jonah Holmes, James Cordy-Redden, Craig Hampson and a brace from Nathan Earle meant Trailfinders travelled back to West London with two points.
Trailfinders remain top of the Championship table, ten points clear of Coventry in second.
It was an electric start from the visitors as they crossed the whitewash twice in the opening ten minutes. First on the scoresheet was Jonah Holmes, the full back went over untouched on the left hand side after some neat handling from the back line.
James Cordy-Redden doubled the lead minutes later, the ball was moved to the far left, he crashed over his opposite man and dotted down with an outstretched arm.
Coventry hit back with two tries of their own. Ollie Betterridge received the ball ten metres out and spotted a gap in the Trailfinders’ defensive line to score underneath the sticks and make it a straight forward seven pointer.
An overthrown Trailfinders’ line out collected by Jordon Poole put Coventry into the lead, with a try that was easier to score than not.
Nathan Earle scored his first of the afternoon when Craig Hampson sent a looping miss pass out to the right wing beating the cover defence.
After an assist five minutes before, it was time for Hampson to score a try of his own. The second rows combined as Bobby Dee charged down the field and passed out wide to Andrew Davidson, who eventually popped it inside to the scrum half.
Coventry had the last say in the first half, Jordon Poole scored his second of the match to make it a one point game at the break.
The West London outfit headed into the changing rooms 22-21 up.
Pat Pellegrini helped his side regain the lead shortly after the match resumed with a shot at goal from a relatively straight forward angle.
Ten minutes later, the Championship’s leading try scorer Matt Cornish added to his tally as he burrowed his way over after he broke from the back of a rolling maul.
The hosts put themselves back into the lead through James Martin, before Pellegrini added a further three points to extend their lead to seven.
With only two minutes remaining on the clock, Earle crossed the whitewash to get Trailfinders back within two points. The kick was pushed wide, but there was time for the restart and a final chance for the visitors.
After two successive penalties to get them into their opponents 22, Trailfinders knocked the ball on and Coventry kicked the ball out of the ground, which left the final score Coventry 34-32 Ealing
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Ealing Trailfinders stamped their authority on a resilient Nottingham side with a 52-26 victory at TFSC.
Tries from Billy Twelvetrees, Matt Cornish (3), Biyi Alo, Angus Kernohan and Jonah Holmes secured all five points for the home side to extend their lead at the top of the Championship to 13 points.
Twelvetrees opened the scoring with a classy interception, reading the pass with ease inside the Nottingham 22, leaving him free to saunter over the line and dot down under the posts. He converted the extras.
The Archers hit back as a looping pass on the Trailfinders five-metre line managed to elude three players and Ryan Olowofela was able to cruise over in the corner. The conversion was missed.
Trailfinders’ Richard Hardwick was then sent to the sin bin midway through the first half.
Nottingham capitalised on their player advantage through Beltus Nonleh, who bundled over the whitewash having been put in great territory by a slick 50-22 from Ellis Mee. Matt Arden converted.
The scoring pendulum swung again as Matt Cornish did what he does best, crashing down over the line off the back of a rolling maul. Twelvetrees missed the conversion.
Within a matter of minutes however, the away side retook the lead as Joe Woodward sliced through the Trailfinders line far too easily to score under the posts. Arden converted.
With the pendulum failing to halt, the combination of Matt Cornish and a rolling maul resulted in the inevitable just before half time. Twelvetrees missed the conversion to leave the score 17-19 at the break.
Jordan Burns ensured the home side started the second half in the ascendancy with an immaculate 50-22, and after successive penalties the referee had no choice but to award a penalty try. With the extras guaranteed, Nottingham were also reduced to 14.
Despite their handicap, the Archers spread the ball swiftly across the field, opening space for Dafydd Tiueti to burst down the left flank and dot over the line. Arden’s conversion was good.
Trailfinders response was emphatic, with Alo scoring the first five of 28 unanswered points as he bulldozed his way over the line off a stiffened rolling maul. Twelvetrees converted.
Cornish secured his hattrick of tries just as he had scored his first two, off the back of the unstoppable Trailfinders rolling maul. Twelvetrees converted again.
Trailfinders next try had a bit more flair to it, with both wingers combining beautifully to allow Kernohan to power through a gap in the line and score on his return to TFSC. Twelvetrees nailed the extras.
Only on the pitch for a matter of minutes, Holmes was the next beneficiary of some swift hands in the build-up as he was freed down the right flank, using his pace and strength to finish brilliantly in the corner. Twelvetrees maintained his perfect second half from the tee to leave the final score 52-26.
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