Round 20 Round-up
Catch up on the weekend's action in The Championship, as Ealing Trailfinders clinched a second straight league title.
Ealing Trailfinders sealed their successful defence of the Championship trophy with a 34-7 win at Caldy.
The West London outfit ran in six tries to open up an unassailable 13-point lead at the summit with just two rounds remaining.
Bedford Blues are on the brink of sealing second spot after a big win at Cambridge, while Cornish Pirates and London Scottish won close encounters against Ampthill and Chinnor respectively.
Coventry came out convincingly on top against Nottingham while Sunday’s game saw Doncaster Knights battle to victory away at Hartpury RFC.
Party starts for Trailfinders
Ealing Trailfinders wrapped up their latest Championship title triumph with victory at Caldy.
Craig Hampson’s third-minute score represented a perfect start for Trailfinders but they crossed just once more before the interval as Caldy dug in, Hampson turning provider for Francis Moore to dot down.
Angus Kernohan’s try early in the second period extended the lead to 17-0 but Caldy hit back through Matt Gallagher, who marked his 50th appearance with a try after Ealing’s Lefty Zigiriadis had been sent to the sin-bin.
The visitors hit straight back as Craig Willis secured the bonus point before Mike Willemse and Rob Farrar added gloss to the scoreline for the champions.
Blues run riot at Cambridge
Bedford Blues ran in 11 tries to defeat bottom club Cambridge 73-15.
The first quarter was hard fought and the scores were locked at 12-12 after 25 minutes, Josh Skelcey and Sam Hanks cancelling out early tries for Blues’ Lucas Titherington and Jamie Jack.
Dean Adamson re-established the visitors’ lead and Louis James’ bonus-point score made it 26-15 at the break.
It was one-way traffic in the second half as James and Titherington completed doubles and Adamson took his tally to four, while Matt Worley and James Lennon also added their names to the scoresheet.
Pirates fight back to down Ampthill
Cornish Pirates came from 23-7 down to beat Ampthill 38-33 in a thriller at Mennaye Field.
The hosts drew first blood through Josh King but tries from Valentino Mapapalangi and Byron Sharwood, along with three Josh Barton penalties, opened up a sizable advantage for Ampthill.
Jack Forsythe and Billy Young reduced the arrears to 23-21 at the break and Pirates went in front when Matt McNab crossed for the bonus point score.
Rhys Marshall’s try levelled it up at 28-28 but King’s second put Pirates back in front, with the boot of Bruce Houston stretching the lead to 10 points.
Lekima Ravuvu set up a tense finish with a late try but Pirates held on.
Five-star Opoku inspires Coventry win
Only Ealing Trailfinders and Bedford Blues have scored more points than Coventry this season and thy underlined their offensive prowess with a 67-5 victory against Nottingham.
Winger David Opoku was in irresistible form, crossing for a club record five tries, as the hosts punished a Nottingham team that spent a quarter of the match with 14 men due to a pair of yellow cards.
Flanker Matt Kvesic scored the first try, before Opoku scored twice in three minutes – the first following a Sam Maunder kick-through.
A penalty try on the brink of half-time confirmed the bonus-point, while Nottingham responded for their only try minutes into the second half when James Cherry crossed in the corner.
But Coventry hit the accelerator again as Opoku added three more tries, Aaron Hinkley, Tom Hitchcock (2) and Will Lane also crossed to cement a special win.
Scottish edge past Chinnor
London Scottish put some distance between themselves and Chinnor in the scrap for ninth-place with a 24-19 away win.
The visitors made a fast start and crossed for the first try in the 10th minute as Jonny Law crossed, but Chinnor hit back with two tries to take a 12-7 lead shortly before half-time.
Roman Zheng replied for Scottish, before Will Trenholm powered over on the stroke of half-time whistle to establish a 21-12 lead.
Kieran Goss threatened a Chinnor comeback by scoring a try 10 minutes from time, but a late Josh Bellamy penalty secured Scottish the points.
Doncaster hang on to win thriller
Obi Ene scored two tries as Doncaster Knights saw off Hartpury RFC 41-35 and leap into fourth place in the table.
In a thrilling final 10 minutes, the two teams traded three tries but Hartpury just ran out of time to snatch an unlikely win.
Hartpury were quick out of the blocks, as Josiah Edwards-Giraud and Toti Benz-Solomon crossed for tries within the first 10 minutes, before Ene replied for the Knights.
Alex Dolly and Ben Murphy then helped Knights into a 19-15 half-time lead with a try each, while Ene’s second soon after the re-start looked to have put the visitors decisively clear.
Zach Kerr added a further score but James Short reduced the gap to 34-23 with 11 minutes to go. Oliver Fox seemingly iced the game for Knights with a try five minutes from time, but Alex Morgan’s score and a Harry Bazalgette penalty cut the gap to six at full-time.