Championship Round 15 Review
Action and Reaction from Round 15.
Ealing Trailfinders went five points clear at the top of The Championship this weekend, as Richmond and Cornish Pirates banked home wins, Jersey Reds got back to winning ways at Ampthill, and Hartpury struck late to deny London Scottish a famous victory at the Alpas Arena. Here's a look back at how the action unfolded, as well as the best of the reaction from around the grounds.
Hartpury 31 - 31 London Scottish
The Exiles put in a much-improved performance on Friday night but were denied victory by a last-gasp effort from the hosts. Hartpury took just one minute to register their first points, when Oli Robinson took a quick tap and fed the ball to fellow flanker Mitch Eadie who darted over for one of the quickest tries of the season, and followed that up with a Toby Venner score in the corner, as the scrum half posted his third try in two games. Far from being overwhelmed by Hartpury's blistering start, Scottish rallied and put the hosts under pressure before Sam Hanks broke through for the visitors' first points with half an hour on the clock. Hartpury held out and took a seven-point lead into the break, but Scottish levelled in the 46th minute when Cam King barged over from the base of a ruck after good work from Dan Nutton, and Harry Sheppard slotted the subsequent conversion. Hartpury's new arrival, recent England international Nathan Hughes, then rumbled over from a rolling maul for a try on his debut, and James Williams opened up a 10-point lead from the tee after Scottish were penalised at the breakdown. But the Exiles never gave up and sparked into life with a brace of maul tries from former Hartpury student Alex Gibson inside the space of four minutes. Trailing by seven points with one minute left to play, Hartpury broke from an attacking scrum as Hughes fed Ben Foley, who flew over in the corner to give the hosts a one-shot opportunity at a draw. James Williams stepped up and converted brilliantly from the touchline to level the scores at 31-31 and wrap up a frantic and entertaining encounter that could have gone either way.
Ampthill 12 - 17 Jersey Reds
Jersey got back to winning ways with a hard-fought win at Dillingham Park on Saturday but dropped to fourth in the table after Cornish Pirates recorded a bonus-point win against Nottingham. The Reds came out firing from the outset and rounded off a period of pressure with a try from Tom Pittman, who latched onto a grubber for the first points. Ampthill hit back just before the half-hour mark when Joe Goodchild intercepted a loose pass on the hosts' 22 and worked the ball to Joe Bercis, who unleashed Ben Cambriani to score in the corner with Russell Bennett's conversion locking the sides at 7-7 at the break. Scott Van Breda edged Jersey in front from the tee 10 minutes after the re-start, but again Ampthill responded, this time through Bercis, who crashed over in the corner to give Ampthill the lead for the first time in the match. The decisive moment came in the 70th minute when Jordan Holgate broke through the A's defence and scored a stunning solo effort, with Van Breda adding the extras to give Jersey a valuable four-point win against an in-form Ampthill side.
Cornish Pirates 52 - 17 Nottingham
Cornish Pirates were back in action for the first time in six weeks at The Mennaye on Saturday and marked their return with a ruthless performance against Nottingham. Antonio Kiri Kiri kicked off what would go on to be a Man of the Match performance with a close-range try after five minutes, and Jack Andrew followed that up with a similar effort soon after. Nottingham responded with a well-worked forwards effort of their own, which Nathan Tweedy finished off in the corner and crossed again four minutes later when Harry Graham broke down the left flank to score. Shortly after the restart, Kiri Kiri won a turnover, and the Pirates worked the ball upfield to Danny Cutmore, who blasted over for the Pirates' third as the hosts took a nine-point lead into the break, despite being a man down after Josh Caulfield was shown a yellow card for a mistimed tackle. Robin Wedlake brought up the bonus point six minutes into the second half, but Nottingham hit back straight from the restart, with Jacob Cusick finding a gap and sniping over to take the score to 28-17. From there on, Pirates shifted up a gear. Bazalgette kick-started a ruthless final 25 minutes with three points from the tee before Kiri Kiri finished off a slick score in the corner, and AJ Cant darted over for another following a pin-point offload from Joe Elderkin. Tom Duncan then barrelled over to bring up the half-century, with Bazalgette's conversion taking the final score to 51-17: an impressive return for the Pirates, who climb to third in The Championship.
Ealing Trailfinders 47 - 5 Coventry
Ealing Trailfinders went five points clear at the top of The Championship on Saturday with a big win against Coventry in West London. Rayn Smid got the hosts on the board with five minutes on the clock, after multiple phases on the Coventry line, and the pack did the damage again eight minutes later when Alun Walker - on his second appearance back from a long-term injury - muscled his way over for the hosts' second. Coventry stemmed the early barrage though and responded well with Rob Knox marking his return to the starting XV with a score in the corner. But the Trailfinders again reverted to the pace and power of the pack as Smid burst through for his second score of the afternoon. Ealing brought up the bonus point with half an hour on the clock, when Cian Kelleher cruised over after good work from Angus Kernohan, with Craig Willis' third conversion from four attempts giving Ealing a 26-5 cushion at the interval. The hosts came out flying in the second half and extended their lead with a brace from top-scorer Simon Uzokwe, running in two fine scores after barnstorming runs from Max Bodilly and then Rayn Smid. Coventry did well to keep Ealing at bay until the 73rd minute, when Shaun Malton powered over from the back of a maul, with Willis' conversion taking the final score to 47-5.
Richmond 22 - 19 Bedford Blues
Richmond continued their strong start to 2022 by recording a second win against a much-fancied Bedford Blues side at The RAG. It was the visitors, however, who struck first with Ollie Newman darting through a gap and under the posts after good work from Pat Tapley, but when Richmond forced a penalty at the ruck and Jame Kane slotted the resulting kick, the hosts were up and running. Just before the half-hour mark, Richmond got an almighty driving maul going in the Bedford 22, which the league's leading try scorer, Mark Bright, finished off to put the hosts in front. Bedford hit back just before the break when Oli Stedman crashed over from a quick tap and go, with Will Maisey's conversion giving the Blues a six-point advantage at the break. 10 minutes after the re-start, two former Blues linked up beautifully for Richmond's second, with Will Carrick-Smith breaking down the touchline and feeding Huw Worthington to score out wide, with Kane's expertly taken conversion edging the hosts back in front. A see-saw match then swung again on the hour mark, when Pat Tapley crossed for the Blues, but Maisey's missed conversion kept Bedford's advantage to just four points heading into the final quarter. Richmond applied the pressure up front and got their breakthrough in the 71st minute when James Hadfield finished off an unstoppable lineout drive, and Kane slotted another touchline conversion to put Richmond into a three-point lead. The hosts saw out the closing stages of the game to clinch an impressive victory aand maintain their 100% win-rate this year.