Round 8 Review
A look back at the day's action in The Championship.
After a four-week break, the league returned on Saturday with all 12 teams in action on a thrilling day that threw up statement performances, landmark wins, and last-gasp drama. Fans who tuned into the live stream from The Mennaye were treated to a knife-edged clash, with reigning champions Ealing Trailfinders leaving it late to secure a bonus-point win against Cornish Pirates.
Hartpury climb to eighth
Hartpury leapfrogged Ampthill in the table with a 12-20 win at Dillingham Park. Tom Mathews produced a decisive 10 point haul from the tee - two conversions and two penalties - with Brad Denty and Harry Short crossing the whitewash either side of half time for the visitors. Alex Harmes and Zach Nearchou scored in the 47th and 67th minutes for the hosts, but it wasn't enough to rescue a losing bonus point, as The Mob slip to 10th in the league and Hartpury climb to eighth.
Blues edge out Archers
Bedford Blues and Nottingham played out a nine-try thriller, with the hosts emerging as the victors by a single point. Despite the 63-point haul, it took 28 minutes for either side to break the deadlock, when Nottingham's Harry Clayton darted over. Bedford responded with 17 points in 7 minutes, as Luke Frost and Joey Conway both went over, with Will Maisey adding two conversions and a penalty to put the Blues in front. Morgan Bunting cut the deficit with a penalty in the 40th minute and Clayton crossed for his second four minutes later. Karl Wilkins restored Bedford's advantage, with Maisey's conversion and a penalty opening up a 10-point gap, before Jake Garside scampered over for the bonus point with 10 minutes to go. But the Archers rallied late on, with Michael Stronge and John Neville grabbing a try each in the final five minutes, but the hosts saw out the closing seconds of the game to secure a 32-31 win and extend their run in the top four of the The Championship.
Trailfinders leave it late
The day's live streamed clash saw Ealing Trailfinders overturn a 12-point deficit to beat Cornish Pirates 12-25 and clinch an eighth straight bonus-point win in The Championship. Will Crane rumbled over from a lineout drive in the 12th minute to give the hosts an early advantage, and in the 34th minute Tom Wyatt sprinted the length of the pitch following an intercept, with Arwel Robson's conversion pushing the Pirates into a 12-0 lead at the break. The Trailfinders rallied in the second half though, and restored parity with two well-executed 5-metre lineout drives finished off by Simon Uzokwe and Carlo Tizzano. Heading into the final 10 minutes, with the visitors piling on the pressure, Craig Willis edged Ealing in front from the tee, and a late brace from Jordan Burns in the 76th and 79th minutes secured a last-gasp try bonus point for the Trailfinders, who continue to lead the charge at the top of the table with eight five-point wins from eight.
Statement performance from Coventry
The most eye-catching result of the day came at Butts Park Arena, where Coventry ran in eight tries against last year's runners-up, Doncaster Knights. Patrick Pellegrini's 17th minute penalty was the only difference between the sides approaching the half-hour mark, but Will Rigg and Pellgrini crossed in quick succession to open up a 13-point gap, before the visitors pegged one back through Sam Daly, with Sam Olver's conversion reducing the deficit to five points going into the break. After the restart, however, Coventry produced one of their strongest 40-minute periods of the season. Louis Brown took just six minutes to get on the scoresheet, with Will Talbot-Davies adding another either side of a Pellegrini brace, as the Coventry fly half darted over for his hat-trick. Will Lane and James Martin added two more in the closing stages, as Coventry recorded their biggest win of the season, much to the delight of a rapturous BPA.
Reds continue to lead the chase
Jersey Reds ran in six tries against Richmond at The Stade Santander, to record their sixth bonus-point win of the campaign and stay within touching distance of Ealing Trailfinders at the top of The Championship. A blistering start saw Jordan Holgate cross inside one minute, with Ben Woollett adding a double in the 17th and 23rd minutes, with a Russell Bennett conversion opening up a 17-point gap. Richmond eventually got points on the board just before the half hour mark through a penalty try, but the hosts stemmed the riposte and took a 10-point lead into the break. The visitors started brightly in the second half, with Jake Monson scoring two minutes after the restart, and Bill Johnston adding the extras, but the Reds ramped up the pressure in the final quarter, as Woollett crossed for his hat-trick, Holgate added a second, and Bristol Bears loanee Charles Powell sprinted over for the hosts' sixth. Richmond scored a late consolation through Owain James, but it was 'job done' for the hosts, whose 34-19 try-bonus-point win ensures the Reds remain just two points behind Ealing Trailfinders at the top of the table.
Exiles up and running
London Scottish produced a hugely significant result at The RAG on Saturday: a 19-10 victory against Caldy - The Exiles' first league win of the season. Sam Riley and Luke Mehson scored for the hosts in the first half, with Harry Sheppard's conversion giving Scottish a 12-point half time cushion. Elliot Gourlay got Caldy's first points from the tee five minutes after the restart, but Matas Jurevicius crashed over on the hour mark, with Sheppard's conversion taking the score to 19-3. Gourlay scored a late consolation try for Caldy in the 78th minute, but it wasn't enough to stop The Exiles celebrating a landmark win when the final whistle went, as the gap between the bottom two sides in the league now closes to just three points.
