FOUR IN A ROW FOR THE RAVERS

Caldy struck late at Paton Field to topple the in-form Bedford Blues and clinch a fourth straight league win. Chris Pilgrim and Sam French traded early scores inside eight minutes, but Louis Beer and Adam Aigbokhae put the hosts into a 14-point lead soon after, before Matt Worley pegged one back for the Blues just before the break. Kieran Curran and French, darting over for his second of the afternoon, put Bedford in front soon after the restart, but Elliot Gourlay’s unconverted 64th minute try set up a two-point game with 15 minutes to go. With a minute to go, Oliver Heard crashed over from a lineout drive to edge Caldy in front, and as Bedford worked their way upfield after the restart, Joe Murray picked out an intercept and fed Nick Royle, who glided over in the corner to seal a memorable win for the Ravers.

REDS ROLL ON

Jersey Reds outscored Cornish Pirates six tries to three to seal their 13th win of the season and cut Ealing Trailfinders’ lead at the top of the table to just one point. The Pirates racked up 13 points in the first half through a Garyn Smith try and eight points from the boot of Arwel Robson, but a Jordan Holgate brace followed by a 39th minute Macauley Cook try saw the visitors take a four-point lead into the break. Will Brown crossed for the bonus point less than a minute after the restart, and James Hadfield followed that up with the Reds’ fifth soon after. Alex Schwarz hit one back for the Pirates, but when Will Brown crossed for his second and Jersey’s sixth, the result was all but confirmed. Tom Wyatt hit one back for the hosts with 11 minutes to go, but the Reds saw out the remainder of the game to clinch a bonus-point win at The Mennaye for the first time.

KNIGHTS DEFEND CASTLE PARK FROM ARCHERS

Doncaster Knights avenged their early season loss at Lady Bay with a bonus-point win against Nottingham at Castle Park. Robbie Smith and Will Holling crossed early for the Knights, but Harry Graham and Jack Dickinson responded for the visitors, all inside 20 minutes. Doncaster finished the first half brightly, with Alex Dolly slotting a penalty and Tom Smith following that up with a try to give the hosts a 24-10 lead at the break. Archie Vanes reduced the deficit with a try shortly after the restart, but Nottingham were unable to make any further inroads, while Doncaster racked up eight more points in the second half through an Alex Dolly penalty and a late score from Billy McBryde.

COVENTRY STUN LEADERS

Coventry pulled off a fine result against Ealing Trailfinders, beating the league leaders 19-22 and forcing another twist in an already enthralling title race. Pat Pellegrini got the visitors up and running with a penalty inside three minutes, but the league’s leading try scorer, Carlo Tizzano, sprinted over for a first-half brace to give the Trailfinders a 14-3 lead at the interval. Rhys Thomas kick started the fightback with a try seven minutes after the restart, and added another soon after to edge the visitors in front for the first time in the game. As the clock crept into the final quarter, Coventry opened up a gap on the halfway line and unleashed Lucas Titherington, who sprinted under the posts, with Pellegrini’s conversion giving his side an eight-point cushion. Luke Daniels scored a late try for the Trailfinders, but it was too little too late, as Coventry held on to secure a famous win in West London. 

FIRST-HALF BLITZ SEES HARTPURY THROUGH

Hartpury got back to winning ways with a bonus-point victory against Richmond at the Alpas Arena, but it was a tale of two halves, with Hartpury scoring all of their points in the first, and Richmond doing the same in the second. Charles Foley and Brad Denty sprinted over early on, and Jacob Morris and Oli Robinson added two more with the first half drawing to a close. Trailing by 26 points at the break, Richmond rallied in the second half with Paul Kiernan sprinting over for a double, but were unable to close in on a losing bonus point. The result sees Richmond drop to 11th in the table, but remain 10 points ahead of London Scottish.

EXILES AGONY

Ampthill struck twice at the death to deny London Scottish any points in a hard-fought encounter at The RAG. The Exiles got off to a strong start, with Matas Jurevicius darting over twice in the opening 25 minutes, before Ben Harris clawed one back for The Mob. Viliami Taulani then scored for London Scottish for the second week in a row to give the hosts a 19-7 lead at the break. Ampthill hit back through Morgan Strong, but were unable to add to the scoreboard until 76th minute when second half replacement, Oli Hartley, snuck over, and – just one minute after the restart – Strong rumbled over for his second of the game to seal a bonus point and the win. Another narrow, heart-breaking late finish for London Scottish, but another a game in which there were plenty of signs of improvement, despite the lack of points.