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.
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