Championship Weekend Review
Action and reaction from the latest round of The Championship.
A weekend of rescheduled fixtures saw three entertaining games. Cornish Pirates secured a crucial bonus point win ahead of their meeting with Ealing Trailfinders. Jersey Reds claimed the fourth spot in a high-scoring game against Coventry. And Bedford Blues ended their season on a high by putting 62 points on the board against London Scottish. Here’s a look back at how the action unfolded. [Photo Copyright: Brian Tempest]
Cornish Pirates 31-24 Hartpury
It was the visitors who struck first at The Mennaye, pinning the Pirates deep into their 22 from a penalty and the subsequent lineout saw Hartpury push themselves over the line from a strong rolling maul. The Pirates’ response was immediate, hitting back with two tries in three minutes. On his 150th appearance for the side, Tom Channon crashed over the line from the back of a maul to level the score. Moments later, captain Tom Duncan scored the home side’s second as the phases in Hartpury’s 22 mounted and the Pirates forced their way over the line. Incredibly, Hartpury replied almost instantly. Will Britton touched down in similar fashion after Hartpury won a penalty in the 22 and attacked from 5m out. James Williams’ conversion levelled the scoring. Hartpury took the lead going into halftime through winger George Simpson after some impressive work from the pack, giving Hartpury their third score in three visits to the Pirates’ 22. Just under 10 minutes into the second and Pirates had their equaliser. A scrum penalty against Hartpury on halfway was pushed back a further 10m for some backchat, allowing Arwell Robinson to kick deep into the opposition 22. Channon nabbed his second of the day in the following phases as the pressure of his pack was too much for the away side. Tries from lineouts were aplenty, and Duncan received his second try courtesy of one in Hartpury’s 22, securing a crucial bonus point for the hosts. Hartpury kept pushing, and it was clear that Pirates would need a fifth try to protect the victory, which finally came just over five minutes from fulltime. Winger Callum Sirker was the recipient of some swift handling in the backline to touch down, and the conversion stretched the lead to 12 points with little time remaining. Hartpury had the last say, however, as their pressure led to yellow cards for Duncan and Sam Rodman in the closing minutes. Hartpury’s Iain Grieve finally scored to signal fulltime and two well deserved bonus points for the visitors.
Coventry 38-66 Jersey Reds
Jersey Reds secured their fourth-place position with a bonus point win, whilst Coventry saw retiring captain Ryan Burrows off in style with a man of the match performance. In an entertaining and high-scoring game, Jersey Reds pounced first with a strong scrum in the opening five minutes and Dan Barnes scored for the visitors, with Sam Leeming’s conversion sailing through the uprights. Coventry’s Senitiki Nayalo answered back after his side cleverly stole a scrum and began thumping the Jersey line to equalise through the flanker. Coventry got their second just three minutes later, Tom Stanton was left free on the wing and the hosts did well to work the ball to him quickly through the hands and put his side in front. A number of penalties against Coventry gave the Reds possession in the 22, and hooker Eoghan Clarke eventually carried over from a lineout. Coventry grabbed their third try when Suva Ma’asi crossed over from a maul after a penalty placed Coventry within metres of the try line. Jersey equalised shortly after the half hour mark when a period of patience produced a well worked try for Harry Simmons. Shortly before halftime, another lineout produced the goods for the Reds when Eoghan Clarke grasped the ball at the back of the maul once again and crashed over. Simmons' second of the game shortly followed to send the visitors into the break 14 points ahead. Less than five minutes into the second and Jersey had their sixth try of the day as Barnes was found in space on the wing to score in the corner. Coventry still had plenty of fight in them, James Tyas carried hard over the line and the extras from Evan Mitchell signalled the possibility of a comeback. Unfortunately for Coventry, two tries in quick succession for the Reds saw the lead climb to 26-54. Two more tries came for the hosts through Will Owen and James Martin, but two tries for Jersey from James Mitchell and Simmons scoring his third extended their lead to 38-66 by the full time whistle.
London Scottish 21- 62 Bedford Blues
Bedford Blues ended their season on a high with the perfect celebration of Mike Rayer’s 500th game in charge. London Scottish were first on the scoresheet as Cam Anderson scored a stunning solo try with just three minutes played. Bedford responded with two tries of their own, with on-loan centre James Little scoring his first for the side. Prop Joey Conway grabbed his side’s second try after Jordan Onojaife disrupted a Scottish lineout and Conway promptly gathered the loose ball. Scottish quickly swung momentum back in their favour through captain Brian Tuilagi after a penalty taken quickly. Bedford scored through a quick tap penalty of their own, as Alex Day raced clear before releasing Dean Adamson to score into the corner. The final play of the first half saw Scottish go ahead through flanker Morgan Dawes. Dawes crossed over with a close-range drive. Nutton’s conversion established a 21-17 lead heading into the break. Dawes’ try was Scottish’s final score of the day as the Blues scored an unanswered 45 points in the second half. Oli Stedman capitalised off a smart peel from the scrum to make it 22-21. Matt Worley was next to join in on the act as Blues displayed some neat handling. Then it was the turn of Jamie Elliot to run in form distance with an impressive show of pace. Just after the 70th minute mark, Blues hit the 50-point mark. Adamson got his second as he regathered his chip and chase, before Josh Pieterse scored his second of the season to bring up the landmark score. Two more followed for Adamson, bringing his tally for the day to four, and his Bedford total to 98 as he edged closer to a century of tries.