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.
Ealing Trailfinders secured a commanding 7-57 bonus point victory over Cambridge this afternoon.
Tries from Biyi Alo, Matt Cornish, Lloyd Williams, Ollie Newman, Andrew Davidson, Bobby De Wee, Reuben Bird-Tulloch, Mike Willemse and Dan O’Brien helped them to their tenth win in the league this season.
Trailfinders moved 12 points clear at the top of the Championship table after this weekend’s action.
The hosts started the brighter of the two teams. Turnover ball on halfway allowed Kwaku Asiedu to take advantage down the left wing and run round under the posts to make it a straight forward seven pointer.
This would prove to be Cambridge’s best moment of the half as Ealing Trailfinders went on to score five unanswered tries. Biyi Alo opened the scoring for the visitors, powering himself over from just a couple of metres out. Five minutes later, Matt Cornish scored Trailfinders’ second. It was smart thinking from the hooker, as the forwards were counter rucking, he picked the ball up and dived over the line.
Lloyd Williams would provide the next try of the game. A mazy run from Reuben Bird-Tulloch following a broken tackle on halfway allowed him to gift the Welshman a five pointer. Bird-Tulloch popping it up to him from two metres out after a great covering tackle from the Cambridge defence. Minutes later, Ollie Newman secured the bonus point. He broke from the driving maul to dot down out wide.
40 minutes was up on the clock, however Andrew Davidson wasn’t ready to head to the sheds just yet. The second-row hit a short line off Williams and crashed through the defensive line to score, making the half-time score 7-31 in favour of Ealing Trailfinders.
The West Londoners’ physically dominant display would continue in the second half, with Bobby De Wee first to get his name on the score sheet. De Wee had defenders hanging from him as he fell over the line to extend the lead.
With a quarter of the match to play, Reuben Bird-Tulloch raced away to score the eighth try of the contest. He intercepted a miss pass and dotted down underneath the sticks. Ten minutes later, replacement hooker Mike Willemse would break through the Blood and Sand’s defensive line after a pick and go, to bring up a half-century of points for Trailfinders.
Dan O’Brien would have the final say in this encounter. A huge hit from Will Montgomery knocked the ball loose allowing O’Brien to pick up inside his own half and run away to the try line.
An emphatic performance and second half clean sheet meant Ealing Trailfinders took all five points back to West London.
Ealing Trailfinders increased their lead at the top of the Championship table with their 40-12 victory over Cornish Pirates at TFSC.
A brace from James Cordy Redden and tries from Matt Cornish, Jonah Holmes, Reuben Bird-Tulloch, and Dan O’Brien meant Trailfinders took all the points from this top-of-the-table clash.
The win leaves Trailfinders eight points clear at the top of the table with a game in hand on Pirates in second.
The match started perfectly for Trailfinders. A couple of early penalties against Pirates gave Billy Twelvetrees the opportunity to kick the Homeside down to the opposition 5m line, and Cornish opened the scoring from the back of the resulting maul.
The second came quickly after, as Jonah Holmes crashed over in the right corner to stretch the score to 14-0 in as many minutes with Twelvetrees’ conversion.
Pirates replied just three minutes later as the scorers struggled to keep up. Will Trewin latched onto the end of a Ruaridh Dawson break to score under the sticks.
Then Bird-Tulloch, on his 50th game in Green and White, carried hard from short range to score under the posts after a period of sustained Trailfinders pressure in the Pirates’ red zone.
Sustained pressure was the feauture of the next ten minutes of the game, as Trailfinders had chance after chance in opposition territory but failed to convert.
The pressure was somewhat self-inflicted by Pirates who kept giving penalties away, resulting in two yellow cards in the 31st and 34th minutes.
These sin-bins led to Cordy-Redden wrapping up the first-half bonus point just before halftime, meaning the two sides went into the shed with the scoreboard reading 26-7.
The second term would not start as quickly as the first with a few passes going to floor, but Pirates would make their job even harder as Joe Elderkin was yellow carded for a high tackle.
JCR would capitalise once more, as a lovely first-phase set play gave him an easy run down the left wing.
The Pirates then battled back well and managed to keep the ball much better than they had for the rest of the game. They went on to score in the 63rd minute, making the score 33-12.
Trailfinders then killed off the game with some brilliant line speed and a sensible kicking game, slowing the pace of the match.
The occasion was then capped off by O’Brien latching on to an Ollie Newman grubber hacked through into the backfield, leaving the final score 40-12.
Ealing Trailfinders were able to secure a tense 36-20 victory against Hartpury University RFC at TFSC.
Tries from Tom Collins (2), Matt Cornish (2), Craig Hampson and a penalty from Billy Twelvetrees secured an important bonus point victory for Trailfinders, which sees them remain top of the Championship table.
The home side made an electric start to the game, scoring within two minutes as a two on one down the left flank allowed Collins in to score in the corner. Craig Willis missed the conversion.
Hartpury’s fly-half Harry Bazalgette reduced the deficit to two with a penalty in front of the posts.
Trailfinders answered emphatically as Cornish drove off the back of the maul inside the Hartpury 5-metre line and crashed over the whitewash. Willis nailed the extras.
Collins then scored his second of the day after an impressive breakthrough by Hampson, who fed in Collins to score with ease under the posts. Twelvetrees, on for Willis, converted.
Cornish emulated the form of Collins to also score his second, bursting through the line off a lineout on the 5-metre line and bundling his way over just before the half. Twelvetrees’ conversion was good to make it 26-8 at half time.
Trailfinders started the second half in the same fashion as the first, as man of the match Richard Hardwick made a brilliant 20-metre breakaway from the halfway line to set up Hampson for an easy finish under the sticks. Twelvetrees conversion was good.
Hartpury found themselves back in the game after sustained pressure inside the Trailfinders 5-metre line led to Will Montgomery collapsing the maul, resulting in him being sent to the sin bin and a penalty try.
The home side found themselves down to 13 or 14 for a lot of the second half, as two subsequent high tackles led to Pat Howard and Will Goodrick-Clarke being sent to the sin-bin also.
Hartpury were rarely able to take advantage of the varying men advantage but did manage to capitalise off a rolling maul as Harry Short crashed over to reduce the deficit to 13 points. Bazalgette missed the extras.
After holding up several waves of Hartpury attack, some effective defence turned into brilliant offense which then set up Twelvetrees to kill the game, nailing a penalty through the posts to leave the final score 36-20.
Ealing Trailfinders secured an emphatic 49-31 victory over Doncaster Knights in a frantic 12 try thriller at TFSC.
The away side took the lead on four minutes through Rhys Tait after a brilliant breakaway down the right flank from Maliq Holden, who grubber kicked through to himself only to be felled at the line, which Tait then picked up and bundled over. Bennett’s conversion was missed.
Trailfinders answered impressively, putting the Doncaster attack under serious pressure and driving them out on their own 5-metre line. Matt Cornish scored off the rolling maul to give the home side the lead, with Craig Willis adding the extras.
The home side scored again three minutes later, as Rayn Smid powered over the gain line after some slick play in the build-up to crash over the whitewash. Willis nailed the conversion to make it 14-5.
Trailfinders began to exert their dominance on the game, extending their lead further with a magnificent team try that began with a break down the left-hand side, and was stylishly finished off by Tom Collins with a quick step to cruise over the line. Willis’ clinical day with the boot continued.
An excellent hold up by Trailfinders on their own try-line prevented an impressive Doncaster breakaway from scoring, as Archie Smeaton fed in Ollie Fox off a 30-metre run only to be felled at the line.
Doncaster did make their efforts count not long after however, as a brilliant out of the back of the hands offload sucked in two Trailfinders defenders, leaving George Simpson free to score in the corner. Bennett added the conversion.
A spectacular Richard Hardwick try made it a 16 point lead again, as he broke through two hard-hitting tackles and burst through the Doncaster line to score from 40-metres out under the posts. Willis’ simple nudge made it a 28-12 game at half time.
Trailfinders started the second half emphatically, as Cornish scored his second of the day in the same fashion as his first, off the rolling maul. Willis converted again.
The home side continued to crank up the pressure, and made it count as Smid scored his second of the day, crossing the line uncontested after a smooth miss pass off a tap and go penalty. Willis’ conversion was good.
Doncaster put a dent in Trailfinders’ 30-point lead with a try finished and converted by Russell Bennett, who was played in by a ridiculous offload from Metcalf after a swiftly executed team move.
They scored again with slick try off a penalty in their own half. Fly-half Billy McBryde broke through Trailfinders’ line for a 25-metre run and calmly passed the ball inside to Metcalf who sauntered over the line. Bennett drop-kicked the extras.
Jonah Holmes’ try killed the spirited Doncaster revival as he was set up in acres of space by a delightfully chipped cross-field kick from Tom Collins to finish with ease. Willis made it a perfect day from the tee with his seventh conversion of the game.
Joe Margetts’ consolation score for Doncaster in the corner reduced the final score to 49-31, after Barney Maddison was sent to the sin bin in the final minutes to round off a frantic game.
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